Tonight, I needed firm.

* * *

XAVIER

After I dropped Sloane off at our villa, my mates and I stayed out on the water till sundown. We grabbed room service at Luca’s place earlier than hitting up the resort’s well-known nightclub.

Objectively, the membership had nice music, nice service, and nice drinks. I might change just a few issues—the retro lighting design didn’t match with the futuristic vibes, and the format of the VIP lounge didn’t circulation in addition to it might’ve—however general, it met my standards for a memorable night time out.

So why wasn’t I having fun with myself?

“That is enjoyable,” Luca mentioned. He and Evelyn had gotten right into a combat earlier, so their whirlwind hookup was lifeless earlier than it totally revived. “Proper?”

“Yep.” My enthusiasm rivaled that of a prisoner on his option to dying row.

What was Sloane doing on the villa? Was she eviscerating some poor rom-com once more? Her opinions had been vicious, however I discovered the fervour with which she wrote them oddly charming. She was so reserved on a regular basis that it was good to see an space in her life the place she totally let herself go.

Luca mentioned one thing else, however I barely heard him.

What the hell was in that e mail she’d gotten? She’d mentioned it wasn’t a piece factor. Was it her household? Her mates? Her unconfirmed thriller lover? If solely she had been right here so—

A flash of blond caught my eye.

I stilled, my gaze honing in on the newcomer turning heads. Platinum hair. Ice-blue eyes. Legs that went on for miles.

She regarded precisely like Sloane, but it surely couldn’t be her as a result of… holy hell.

Warmth crawled beneath my pores and skin as she strode by the room, both unaware or unimpressed by the eyes following her.

Wealthy cobalt silk poured over her body, baring her shoulders and stopping excessive sufficient on her thigh to tease the creativeness with out revealing an excessive amount of. Silver heels added 4 inches to her peak, and her pores and skin glowed like pearls kissed by moonlight.

I grimaced.Pearls kissed by moonlight?The place the hell had that come from? I wasn’t a poetic particular person within the least, however she regarded ok to encourage Shakespeare himself.

It wasn’t her garments or her physique.

It was the way in which she moved, looser and extra fluid than regular.

It was the way in which she carried herself, assured with a touch of vulnerability.

And it was the way in which shecommandedattention with out attempting, like she was a fucking goddess amongst mortals.

I’d by no means seen something prefer it.

She stopped in entrance of me and Luca, and my blood burned just a bit hotter in her presence.

“Sloane Kensington coming into a nightclub for enjoyable.” I hid my physique’s visceral response behind a lazy smile. “Somebody verify the temperature in hell. It should be freezing down there.”

“Very unique.” Now that she was nearer, I noticed a telltale flush on her cheeks. Was she alreadydrunk?

It was so out of character, I might solely stare, astonished, as she took a contemporary drink from Luca’s hand and downed it in a single easy pull.

I forged a warning glare at my pal. Now that Evelyn was out of the image once more, I didn’t need him getting any extra concepts about utilizing Sloane as a rebound. She was a mutual acquaintance. Any relationship between them can be too difficult, clearly.

So would any relationship between us, which was why I switched to water and made a pointed effort to avoid Sloane for the following hour as she circulated the room.

Sadly, the VIP lounge was a confined area. It doesn’t matter what I did or who I talked to, she was all the time there, occupying my ideas and drawing my consideration till no matter dialog I used to be holding drifted into silence.

“Dude, simply ask her to bounce.” Luca hadn’t left my facet on the banquette, although he’d out of the blue develop into fascinated with one thing on his telephone up to now twenty minutes.

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