Total pages in book: 111
Estimated words: 102942 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 515(@200wpm)___ 412(@250wpm)___ 343(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102942 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 515(@200wpm)___ 412(@250wpm)___ 343(@300wpm)
For most of the people here, this party is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so they’re living it up, just as they should.
As I stare out over the party below, I focus on Javier’s known associates and find myself coming back to Louis Mendez. There’s something about this man that doesn’t sit right with me, but I can’t put my finger on it.
He stands among other men just like him, each of them likely making shady deals meant solely to rip off the people of this country and line their pockets, but their conversation is cut short when a stunning woman in a skintight red dress steps into Louis’s side. Her back is to me, but even like this, I can tell this woman is as good as it gets.
Louis places his hand low on her back, his fingers grazing the top of her ass as she laughs and accepts a glass of champagne. Then, as she hands him a little black card, I can’t help but wonder if this is the woman he was bragging about meeting in some restaurant today, but more than that, I saw the wedding ring on his hand earlier.
The woman hovers with the men for just a short while, and there’s no denying that she holds all of their undivided attention, and then after pushing up onto her toes and brushing a soft kiss to Louis’s cheek, she finally pulls away and turns on her heel, her face coming into view and knocking the breath out of my fucking lungs.
There’s no fucking way.
Kiara St. James.
What the hell is she doing here?
I stand on the second-floor balcony, staring at the woman below in the most stunning red dress, and fuck me, I know I’ve seen this woman in nothing but a cotton sleep cami and a pair of barely there panties, but like this . . . holy fuck. My mouth goes dry.
I’ve never seen a woman so magnetic in my life. She commands the party, every eye following her movements, mine included. She looks destructive and yet fragile at the same time, like she could leave someone’s world in tatters, only to be the calming nature they need to rebuild afterward.
She’s a fucking powerhouse, and I don’t know how I haven’t seen it before.
She looks merciless. Fierce. Lethal. The sweetest temptation, and I want to sink my teeth into her. Hell, the nickname Firecracker doesn’t seem appropriate anymore. It pales in comparison to how she looks now. She’s a fucking empress. A ruler. And judging by the gleam in those stunning green eyes, she’s ready to let the world burn at her feet.
Despite her beauty, it doesn’t do anything to ease the shock blasting through my veins. Just yesterday morning, she was in her apartment making fake sex noises through the wall, and now she’s here in Barcelona, across the globe at the very same party as me. What are the fucking odds?
Shockwaves pulse through my veins as I watch Kiara weave through the buzzed people below, and then, as if sensing my heavy stare, her chin slowly rises, and those lethal green eyes come directly to me.
She stumbles for a moment, coming to a dead stop among the people below, recognition quickly flashing in her widened eyes. “What?” I see her mouth to herself.
A hint of panic flashes in her stare, and in the next moment, her eyes fall away, and she hastily loses herself with the crowd.
Oh hell no. Is she trying to escape? She doesn’t get to scramble away without answering a few questions.
Hurrying back into the home, I dash down the stairs as fast as I can without drawing any attention to myself, and the moment I hit the ground floor, my gaze sweeps through the crowd, frantically searching for the woman who has done nothing but drive me crazy for almost two straight weeks.
Desperation pulses through my veins, needing to find her as a million different questions swarm my mind. Why is she here? Is she following me? Has this crazy little firecracker been stalking me? Honestly, if she were, I’d be down with it. I love a little crazy in a woman, especially one who wants to spend every minute of her spare time consumed by me. Is it fucked up? Sure, but we’re all a little fucked up, right?
Seeing a flash of that stunning deep red gown across the yard, I cut to the right and hightail it toward her as she ducks and weaves through the crowd. She’s trying to leave, but not on my watch. Not until I have the answers I need.
The distance begins to close, and as she discreetly glances over her shoulder, I step into the shadows, concealing myself and watching her pace slow. She thinks she lost me.
Kiara passes the pool, and I keep moving, each one of my long strides equaling two of hers, until I step in right behind her. My fingers curl around her elbow, and I gently lead her away from the crowd.