❦Jason❦

Jealousy ripped through me as I watched Kate talk to her douchebag of an ex-fiancé. I wanted to go down there and throat punch the bastard. My grip tightened on the balcony railing, dark rage pumping through my veins.

It made no sense. Kate wasn't even mine. It was none of my business who she talked to. But I couldn't help feeling the intense possessiveness that was making me see red. I tried to look away but I couldn't detach my eyes from her.

Suddenly Kate looked up and our gazes met. My whole body reacted, an instant sensation stirring through me. Awareness hit me like a fist to my gut. She quickly looked away and I cursed under my breath. One look from her was all it took to cause a deep hunger to open up inside me.

Threading one hand through my hair, I took a deep breath to calm myself. Just then I saw Hal and another guy walking up to Kate's table. I figured the tall and lanky guy was Hal's boyfriend. Peter got up and left and relief washed over me, knowing that she didn't come here with him.

I was at the club to a finalize a deal with the owner. He was waiting for me upstairs in his office. I was buying the place and before signing the papers I wanted to check the place out one last time. The location was great and the structure of the building was simply stunning.

However, the service in the club was terrible. The nightclub manager had offered to accompany me while I inspected the place but I had sent him away. But now he was nowhere to be seen when I needed to talk to him.

The first thing I was doing after taking over the business was to give extensive training to the staff and if anyone failed to deliver the exceptional service that was expected of them then there would be no place for them in the club.

"Jason?"

I turned around to see a blonde woman walking up to me. She was dressed in a very short black cocktail dress and looked beautiful. I raised one eyebrow at the stranger.

She looked embarrassed when she realized I didn't recognize her. "I'm Kiara. We met at your parents' charity gala in Athens, remember?"

"No." I said curtly. I wasn't in the mood to talk, especially not to a woman. Checking the time from my Rolex, I impatiently looked around the VIP lounges looking for the manager of the nightclub. Where the hell was he? I had been waiting for him for the past five minutes.

"Uh...Cheryl introduced us. I'm a friend of hers."

Irritation made me clench my jaws. "So?"

Kiara's face reddened. "I just thought..." Her voice trailed off under my gaze and she blushed even more.

Without even being aware of what I was doing, I glanced back down at the main floor where Kate was and was surprised to see her watching me. More specifically watching me talk to Kiara. She immediately looked away but not before I caught the look of jealousy on her face.

My heart fluttered. Was she really jealous? Or was it just wishful thinking on my part? I couldn't be certain. There was only one way to find out.

I turned to Kiara and flashed her a smile and was not surprised to see her eyes flare in awareness. "Let me buy you a drink."

She smiled, two dimples flashing, and nodded.

Mr. Cross, the manager of the nightclub, appeared at our side just then. "Sorry to keep you waiting, Mr. Perez. There was an incident at..." He started with an apologetic face but I held up my hand.

"What would you like to drink?" I asked Kiara.

A flirtatious smile appeared on her face. "Whatever you're willing to give me."

Ignoring the not so subtle suggestion behind her words, I turned to Mr. Cross. "Bring two glasses of Dom Perignon white, please."

When he left, Kiara leaned against the railing, her arm brushing against mine. "So do you remember meeting me?"

"Does it really matter?"

Her eyes lingered on my lips and then finally moved up. "Well, I'd like to think I made an impression on you."

Forcing a smirk on my face, I studied her silently. She was remarkably beautiful with a heart shaped face and bright green eyes. The sultry invitation in those eyes conveyed exactly what she wanted from me. But it did nothing for me. Absolutely nothing. I just wasn't interested.

Ever since I arrived at the club twenty minutes ago, I had been aware of the women watching me and sending me signals. I knew I could have any one of them with just a flick of my hand. At one time I would have taken my pick and played the game. But not now.

My heart and body belonged to Kate and I knew for certain that no other woman would ever be able to raise even a slightest sexual response in me.

Mr. Cross returned with our drinks just then. "Here you go, sir, ma'am." He smiled politely at me. "The VIP lounge on the top floor is ready for you, sir, if you would like to sit there."

"We are fine here. Thank you."

"Very well, sir. Please let me know if there is anything else."

When he walked away, Kiara raised her champagne flute to me. "Here's to hoping that this is not our last meeting."

Feeling amused, I tapped her glass with mine. "Cheers."

As I took a sip of my drink, I glanced down towards where Kate was sitting. Just as I thought, she was looking at us. And this time the look on her face couldn't be mistaken for something else. She was jealous.

She didn't look away this time and held my gaze and I felt the same pull I felt earlier deep inside me.

I felt Kiara's hand close over my arm and she said something but I was too lost in staring at Kate.

Guilt flashed through me when I saw the unmistakable pain that flashed on Kate's face. Averting her gaze, she said something to Hal and then got up from her seat. Eyes narrowed, I watched her disappear through the crowd of people. Where the hell was she going?

I scanned the area looking for Alex but I couldn't spot him. With uneasiness, I realized I hadn't even once seen him there tonight. Ignoring Kiara, who was trying to get my attention back on her, I pulled out my phone and called Alex.

"Where are you?" I asked as soon as he answered.

"I'm at the office, sir."

Trying to calm the anger that was slowly building up inside me, I exhaled. "Did Kate call you tonight?"

"No, sir." Alex must have recognized from my tone that I was angry. "Is something wrong? Did something happen to Miss. Lewis?" He suddenly sounded alert.

I told him what happened and he quickly said, "I'll be right there. Just give me a few minutes."

"No. I'll take her home. In the meantime, find out what the two security guards in her building were doing when she slipped past them."

When Kate refused to move in with me, I had bought the building and hired security guards to keep an eye on the people going in and exiting the building at all times and even had security cameras installed.

"What's going on?" Kiara asked as soon as I hung up the phone. I had forgotten she was still there.

I didn't bother answering as I moved past her. I needed to talk to Kate. I was so furious with her for being so careless with her safety yet again. This was a nightclub, for fucks sake. How could she come to a place filled with strangers without Alex?

In quick strides, I took the stairs to the main floor and headed straight to where Hal and his boyfriend were sitting.

"Where did Kate go?"

Hal's eyes widened seeing me. He recovered quickly and then pointed to the back of the club. "She went to the restroom."

I turned and pushed through the people. A door at the far end opened to a carpeted hallway leading to the rest rooms. The line to the women's restroom was long and I leaned against the opposite wall. I felt the stares from everyone but ignored them and kept my eyes glued to the door.

Almost ten minutes later, Kate walked out and I felt all my senses go alert at the sight of her. From the balcony, I hadn't exactly noticed how she was dressed.

The dress she was wearing rested at mid-thigh, revealing her long tanned legs. The plunging bodice of it exposed more of her cleavage than it hid and my pulse started pounding. Damn, was she even wearing a bra? My body reacted instantly at the thought and I cursed under my breath.

She stopped in her tracks seeing me. Her face turned pale and she blinked rapidly as if to make sure she wasn't imagining me.

Pushing myself away from the wall, I walked up to her. "We need to talk." I said struggling against the need to haul her into my arms.

She bit her lips nervously, her gaze darting around, probably looking for a way to escape. Not giving her a chance to act on it, I reached out and took her by the elbow.

"What...what are you doing?" She stammered trying to break free of my hold.

"Taking you somewhere we can talk."

Without giving her time to protest, I pulled her along with me until we were in the glass elevator which led to the top floor of the nightclub. The elevators were for the elite guests and only accessible by a security code, so I punched in the code to the keypad.

The spacious elevator car suddenly seemed so small with her in it. She was standing behind me and yet I felt the heat radiating from her body. Her floral scent teased my nostrils and with superhuman strength I refrained myself from shoving her against the glass wall and kissing her senseless.

In a few seconds the door opened and I stepped out of the elevator. Kate followed me, her eyes revealing how nervous she was.

Only a few people were on the top floor since it was reserved for only the very exclusive guests. Mr. Cross was talking to a server at the bar and as soon as he spotted me, he came rushing.

He led us to a private VIP room and held the door open.

"Thank you." I nodded, dismissing him.

Kate was frozen at the entrance to the room, her eyes wide with panic.

"Are you going to come in or do I have to carry you inside?" I asked impatiently and that seemed to snap her out of her thoughts.

She quickly walked in and I closed the door shut. The room had plush couches centered around a small swimming pool. A private bar took up one end of the room. Soft music played from hidden speakers and the lighting was dim making the atmosphere appear sultry and romantic.

Kate made no move to sit. Instead she regarded me with wary eyes. "What's so important that you had to drag me here?"

"Sit down."

Her chin went up in defiance. "No."

"Dammit, Kate." I snapped, my anger resurfacing again. "Why do you have to be so stubborn all the fucking time?"

"Stop yelling at me." Fire flashed in her eyes and for a moment I was distracted by how beautiful she looked when she was angry. "And what on earth did I do to make you so pissed off at me?"

"You have to ask?" She really was testing my patience. "Why the hell did you come here alone? Why didn't you call Alex?"

Guilt colored her cheeks. "I didn't come alone. Hal and Andy are with me."

"And you think they can protect you?" I realized I still hadn't told her that it was Michael Ryder behind everything. I would tell her everything when I was driving her home tonight.

She remained silent and that fueled my rage.

"What the hell were you thinking, Kate? I know you're strong-willed, but this is ridiculous. How many times have I told you not to go anywhere without Alex? I can't protect you if you don't do as I say. Why can't you understand that?"

She looked stricken at my tone and her lips trembled. "You're doing it again."

"What?"

"Yelling at me."

I stared at her incredulously, my anger evaporating as fast as it appeared. Few seconds ago she looked angry enough to hit me but now she looked like she was about to cry. "How much have you had to drink?"

Her eyes narrowed. "I'm not drunk, if that's what you're asking."

Okay, she wasn't drunk but she was definitely tipsy. I knew her well enough to know that alcohol always made her way too emotional. That would explain her sudden change in mood.

Sighing I checked the time from my watch. The owner of the nightclub was still waiting for me in his office and I needed to finalize the deal tonight. I didn't want to leave Kate but I told myself the meeting would take only about twenty minutes.

"Look, I have a meeting to attend to but I'll..."

"A meeting?" Kate cut me off. "Don't you mean a date to get back to?"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

She flushed, looking embarrassed. "Never mind. It's none of my business."

I suddenly realized what she meant. She thought I was here with Kiara. A fierce jealousy darkened her eyes and she looked away immediately.

Taking a step forward, I closed the gap between us. She gasped and when she looked at me, all the jealousy and pain she was trying to hide were so clearly visible on her face.

"Help me understand this, Kate," I said softly, my breath fanning her face. "You don't want to be with me, and yet, the thought of anyone else having me bothers you. Why does it matter to you so much?"