by K E Osborn
My entire body shudders as I spin back around, glaring at her. “You fucking with me?”
She shakes her head with no remorse about what she’s just told me. “It’s a gala… black-tie formal.”
“You’re gonna be the death of me, woman!”
She smirks like she’s enjoying herself as I turn, heading for the stairs. “Phantom’s coming too. We need all the eyes on you we can get.”
Fin hums under her breath. “As long as you’re all wearing tuxes, I don’t care who comes!”
“Fucking hell,” I mumble as I stomp up the stairs to give the bad news to Phantom. Because now, we have to rent some tuxes to attend a gala that’s high risk. Finley is living life on the edge, and the problem with that is, on the edge is where things tend to topple over and get lost—worse than that, they stay lost.
As I stand in the bedroom attempting to do up my bowtie, I feel like a fucking fraud, and I am sure I look the part as well. I hear Finley and Phantom talking out in the hall as I fuck about with the damn piece of material, not knowing what the hell I’m doing. “Stupid piece of shit!” I drop the two strands of silk and let them dangle around my neck. “Fuck it!”
Letting out a loud grunt, I turn for the door and walk out into the hall. My eyes open wide as I take in Fin, her hair in loose waves styled perfectly down around her face, but it’s that dress. A sexy as sin sparkly red number that loops from both her breasts up onto her left shoulder, with a cut-out between her breasts going from the shoulder all the way to her belly button, showing her silky-smooth alabaster skin. My cock strains in appreciation as I stare at her stunning beauty. Her makeup is flawless. She’s always been beautiful to me, but right now, she’s sultry, sexy, alluring, and I want nothing more than to ram her up against the wall and fuck her like the seductive bitch I know she is.
Her eyes meet mine. The small train flowing out from her dress and around her makes her look like Jessica Fucking Rabbit as she smiles, taking me in. Her eyes linger up and down my body, pulling her bottom lip in by her teeth. “You look…”
I shake my head, my eyes meeting hers. They sparkle as the energy pulses between us. “You look…”
Phantom smirks at us both as he chuckles. “Having some trouble with your bowtie there, big man?”
Fin takes a step closer, her hands sliding up my chest. I inhale sharply at her touch as she grabs the bowtie ends and starts doing it up for me. My eyes stay focused firmly on her as she concentrates. “You know, I think we’re going to have a good night.”
Clearing my throat as I try to control my raging boner, my hand instinctively moves out to rest on her hip. She licks her lips, attempting to fight back her smile as she finishes off the bowtie. That volcanic eruption happening inside me at our close proximity never fails me. She smells like fucking heaven, and I want to pull her to me and kiss the living shit out of her. But that’s not what this moment is about.
Fin’s eyes meet mine, and she smiles. “There… a tux suits you. I’ll have to have you on my arm for more events like this.”
Letting out a laugh, I glance down at myself and shake my head. “I’ll let you hang off my arm anytime you want, but the monkey suit is not part of that deal. This is a one-time arrangement.”
She pats my chest, then straightens out my suit. “We’ll see.” She has the audacity to wink at me, then turns around. Her back is mostly on display, and I let out a long breath as she starts walking for the stairs.
Rubbing the back of my bald head, Phantom grins at me knowingly, then he takes off after Fin.
This is going to be a damn long night!
We make our way downstairs and outside to where a stretch limousine sits loud and proud in her driveway. I open the door for Fin, and she slides in, followed by Phantom, then myself.
I glance back at her house and shake my head—this was supposed to be a simple night in.
Taking my seat next to Fin, I send off a quick text message to Zero to let him know we’re on our way. He wasn’t happy when I told him we were heading out tonight, but when I explained that she was going to go with or without us, he was of the same opinion as me—that we needed to chaperone.
The limousine takes off, the destination not far. Fin is busy typing on her phone as I wriggle in my tux, trying to get comfortable. I hate these stupid things. I feel so fucking strange wearing them, whereas Phantom looks like he feels—a million bucks. “Why do you look so damn happy?” I ask him.
He chuckles. “Since when do we ever get to dress up like this and go to fancy galas, eat free food, and watch pompous assholes making dicks of themselves…” He looks at Fin. “No offense.”
She glances up from her phone with a shrug. “No, you’re right, the men and women at this thing will be pompous and arrogant, but they are people I work with, so please, be on your best behavior.”
“Phantom, you’ll be outside keeping guard, making sure nothing happens that we need to know about.”
He frowns like an errant child. “You mean I’m missing all the fun?”
“This won’t be fun,” I drone out.
Fin chuckles. “Yes, it will. You simply need to loosen up a little.”
“Said everyone before a major catastrophe.”
Fin groans. “You’re so dramatic. Everything is going to be fine.”
“Mm-hmm.”
“Stop your stressing, and let’s enjoy what tonight has to offer,” Fin demands.
“Fine! But I’m not making small talk.”
She rolls her eyes. “You’re here as my ‘date.’” She uses her fingers as air quotes around the word. “I need you to at least try to play the part, Texas.”
“You’re pushing it, Fin.”
“It’s one night of your life, Texas. Be a man.”
Scoffing, I scowl as Phantom glances from her to me and then shifts his gaze out the window like he doesn’t want to be a part of any of this bullshit carry-on that’s happening right now.
“Don’t talk to me like I’m just some asshole you can push around, Fin. You damn well owe me more respect than that.”
She rolls her eyes and turns her attention back to her cell, affectively ending the conversation.
Everything inside me swells in anger.
How can she infuriate me and turn me on so fucking much at the same time?
I swear this woman is like an eruption waiting to happen. My skin is burning, waiting for the impending explosion to burst out of me.
We pull up at the venue. Lights strobe outside, making it seem more like some fucking movie premiere.
Phantom slides out of the limo first. He scopes the area, then I slide out and place out my hand for Fin to take. She promptly ignores me and gracefully exits, then walks off ahead of me without looking back.
Phantom chuckles while shaking his head. “You’re in for a good night, brother.” He slaps my back as I shut the car door.
“Watch the perimeter. Call me if you see anything.” I let out a low groan before I take off after her.
Phantom nods, giving me a two-finger salute. I quicken my steps to catch up to Fin as she struts through the main entry. Her ass swaying in that dress makes all my fantasies come true right before my very eyes.
She’s a vision.
A stubborn, proverbial pain in my ass, but she’s still fucking stunning.
My hand falls to the small of her back as I slide in beside her. She side-eyes me, her nostrils flaring like she wants to kill me. “If you’re going to guard me all night, you don’t have to be so damn obvious about it.”
“Fuck, Fin. I’m being polite.” I drop my hand from her back and step away.
People greet her as she walks past them. She’s super courteous, even hugging some of them. They all look at me, obviously wondering who the hell I am, but she doesn’t make any attempt to introduce me, and I don’t make any effort to interact.
I’m here to keep an eye out.
I don’t need to pretend I’m enjoying being here with these pompous pricks.
We make our way through the crowd into the main room. It’s huge, which is not ideal—plenty of places for Maxen and his men to hide in plain fucking sight. And with that thought, I can’t help but rub the back of my neck.
The theme tonight is black and red. The floor is black as night, the same as the ceiling, which is littered with chandeliers. The tables are covered in bright red tablecloths with black napkins and black chairs. The dinnerware is white with silver edging—too fucking fancy for me. Giant centerpieces line each table—a tall see-through rectangular vase with three strands of crystals running through the center and a large bouquet of red flowers on top.
I guess it’s pretty, but for me, it’s ostentatious and way over the top.
Fin leads us to a table at the head of the floor and over to a rotund-looking older gentleman who has a much younger blonde woman hanging off his arm. A trophy wife for sure. Her eyes linger on me, and a sly smile crosses her face as she waggles her brows.
Fin notices, clearing her throat, catching the man’s attention. “Steve, how nice it is to see you and your wife…” She accentuates the last word for my benefit, I’m sure, as she turns to me. “This is my date, Logan.”
My head snaps to her as her eyes meet mine. She knows what she’s just done. My teeth grind together, and my muscles begin to tighten in response. My heart pounds as heat flushes over me so intensely, a bead of sweat forms on my temple.
I despise being called by my real name.
It reminds me of my childhood.
Reminds me of my past.
It takes me back to a place I never want to go again.
Why the fuck would she do that?
“Nice to meet you, Logan,” Steve chimes making my head snap from Fin to Steve. I want to punch him in the face, but he doesn’t know any better, and right now, I have to play it cool.
Swallowing hard, I place out my hand. “Nice to meet you, Steve.”
Fin rolls her shoulders, glancing from me to Steve’s woman. “Stacey, it’s so nice to see you again.”
“Likewise, Finley,” Stacey replies.
Okay, so there’s obviously bad blood between the two by the sarcastic tone they’re both exhibiting.
“I need to powder my nose. I’ll be in the bathroom… if anyone needs me,” Stacey hints, looking right at me, giving me the biggest of all smiles, followed by a sexy little wink. She’s not even trying to hide what she wants as she takes off toward the bathroom.
Steve picks up his drink while watching Stacey walk off. “She sure is a wild cat, that one.”
Fin somehow keeps her composure and smiles. “It’s good that you were able to make it tonight. I know the merger didn’t go to plan.”
Steve takes a long sip from the tumbler in his hand. It’s obviously hard liquor, which I can’t blame him for indulging in after his wife’s little show. “Wouldn’t miss this gala for anything, Fin. I’ve been coming for twenty years. It’s a highlight of the season. Any attorney who doesn’t show up to this shouldn’t be practicing in Houston as far as I’m concerned.”
Fin turns to me, raising her brow in an ‘I told you so’ kind of way.
I can’t help but scowl at her as she pats Steve on the shoulder. “Have a good evening, Steve. We’ll chat soon.”
“Keep hold of her, Logan, you got a good one with Fin, here,” Steve states then turns chasing after a waitress with lust in his beady old eyes. Okay, so maybe I misread that situation. He’s as bad as his damn wife.
Fin doesn’t wait and struts off for the table, taking her seat. I pull out mine beside her—luckily, there’s no one yet seated—and grab her chair, spinning it to face me.
Her eyes widen as she glares at me. “Stop it, Texas! Don’t macho out on me. Not now!”
“What the fuck was that?”
She shuffles her chair back around as music starts playing and people begin taking their seats. “I can’t call you Texas to these people. They would not understand.”
“Bullshit! You know what my name means to me. You know why I don’t let people call me that, and yet you said it anyway. You did it as a means to hurt me!”
Her tough façade crumbles slightly as she looks at me, her eyes drooping. “I… I didn’t mean to—”
“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Annual Attorneys Gala! We’re going to be giving you a great show tonight. But in the meantime, mingle. Work up those contacts and get ready for a great meal because dinner will be arriving shortly.”
Everyone in the room claps as people begin sitting around the table next to us. Shaking my head, I turn away from Fin, needing a moment to breathe and to calm the raging inferno building inside me. Suddenly, Fin reaches out a hand and places it on top of mine in a caring, comforting way. My head turns, her eyes are full of regret, and she’s sincerely looking like she’s sorry. But because of the people around us, she can’t say anything.
She leans closer, that adrenaline surging through me at the connection of our hands. ‘I’m sorry,’ she mouths to me.
I curtly nod.
It doesn’t fix what she did. An ‘I’m sorry’ does nothing to soothe the pain. She’s trying, I’ll give her that.
We’re like baking soda and vinegar. Put us together, and we’re volatile. We combust. Either it’s an eruption of epic proportions, or it can be something magical and beautiful. You just never know what kind of reaction you’re going to get between the two of us.
A waitress comes around and places a whiskey in front of me. Honestly, I shouldn’t be drinking tonight, I should be on guard, but to be fair, I fucking need this right now. Sipping back the liquid encouragement, Finley watches me with a weak smile, then turns back to the attorney next to her and continues networking.
I am completely out of place.
I am already on edge because Fin threw my name at me.
Stacey is on the prowl, and who knows when she might pop up again and try something. Maybe that’s why Fin went into attack mode because she was jealous Stacey was sizing me up. A slow smirk crosses my face as I watch Fin and chuckle under my breath.
She wants me, it’s clear.
Taking another sip of my drink, the food starts being served. I look at the giant plate in front of me with the smallest slice of completely rare beef, one thin carrot, and what looks like some sort of potato concoction with some foamy shit on top. I turn to Fin, scratching my head at how huge the plate is, but the meal itself is a lone island in a massive ocean of white surrounding it.
Grabbing my fork, I push the potato thing around the plate, and it slips into the foamy shit creating some gooey mush. I grimace as the attorney next to me scowls like I am some interloper ruining their gala.
The problem is, I am, but this shit looks fucking nasty.
Fin finally turns to me, seeing me playing with my food, and lets out a small laugh. “You don’t have to eat it if you don’t want to, but please don’t play with it.”
I place the fork down.
Fin reaches out with her hand under the table, squeezing my thigh. “You’re doing great.”
I snort out a laugh. “Somehow, I think that’s a stretch.”
Her lips turn up, making the entire room brighten with her brilliance. “After dinner, they’re going to open the dance floor.”
“No.” I jerk my head back.
She giggles. “C’mon, just one dance?”
“No!”
“You still grumpy about the name thing?”
I shudder, cracking my neck to the side. “Yes, but that’s not why.”
“You sure I can’t persuade you?”
“I don’t dance, Fin. I have two left feet. I’ll look like an idiot. Therefore, making you look bad in front of all your friends.”
She sighs. “Okay. Consider it dropped.”
I gesture to her plate. “Eat your dinner, you’re wasting away.”
“You’re so damn bossy.”
“You love it.”
She side-eyes me with a smirk, then places her
fork in the foamy shit and mixes it with some other shit, and slides it into her mouth. The way she licks whatever that stuff is off the utensil does things to me as she moans a little under her breath. “You don’t know what you’re missing.”
When it comes to you, Finley Knight, I know exactly what I’m missing. I want to taste every inch of you. Even if you irritate the fuck out of me.
“I’ll take your word for it.”
“Your loss,” she teases, shoveling another mouthful in the most seductive of ways.
Fuck!
My cock jerks while I inhale deeply to try and control myself.
This woman is fucking turbulent, and it’s going to take every ounce of self-control I have to keep myself in line tonight, especially when she looks this good.
Keep focused, Texas. You have a job to do.
TEXAS
Finley is gradually letting herself unwind as the night continues, while I sit here at the table completely pent up. My eyes keep searching every inch of this huge fucking place, just waiting, preempting something to happen.
Finley lets out a loud laugh. I look over at her, she’s completely carefree, so I can’t help but smile.
She looks beautiful like this.
Then it hits me—she looks beautiful because she’s in her element.
This is her world.
This is the kind of environment she belongs in.
There’s no way I can compete with this kind of shit.
The music starts, and people make their way to the dance floor. I call for the waitress, and she brings me another whiskey. It’s my fourth tonight. I know I need to slow the fuck down, but I am wound up so tight I need something to help ease the heaviness in my chest.
Finley finally sits back down beside me as her companions take off for the dance floor, and she lets out a contented sigh. “I’m having the best time.” The smile on her face tells me she’s having fun.
“I’m glad.”
“Are you enjoying yourself?” she asks, grabbing her champagne and taking a sip.
“I’m working.”
She snorts. “Pfft, working. What do you mean?”
“I have to keep my guard up. Keep my eyes open for anything suspicious. Hence, working.”
