A month had passed since that night. My mother had gone back abroad, and I did as I was told. I went to the office the very next morning and worked my ass off, even though I felt like I was suffocating inside that four-cornered room.
It was a relief that she wasn't around; if she were, I wouldn't have been able to breathe at all. I wanted so badly to run away, but disobeying her wasn't an option.
Leigh slid a glass of a light cocktail toward me as I sat at the bar counter. "So, what's your plan for tonight?"
I shrugged. "The usual, of course," I replied, scanning the room to find my next target—or rather, my next 'playmate.'
I was still up for the game, but this time I was being far more cautious. I had filled Leigh in on everything, and she knew how to keep anyone from trailing me. She ran her own private security firm—one of the top elite agencies in the country, specializing in keeping high-profile clients safe from paparazzi and persistent stalkers.
I wondered if they had managed to block the people who took those photos and sent them to my mother. It seemed like it, considering my mother hadn't called or flown back home, even though I was back at the bar every night.
Under the scattered lights of the laser ball, Leigh rolled her eyes. "The usual? You mean you're not going to change your strategy?"
I frowned, missing her point.
Seeing my confusion, she continued. "If you really want to have big-time fun, do something out of the ordinary!" Her eyes sparkled with mischief.
I gave her a fake smile and flicked her forehead with my finger.
"Ouch!" she complained.
"I know what you're implying, you idiot! How many times do I have to tell you? I'm just playing around and having a little fun. I don't want this turning into anything serious. Over my dead—"
"—virgin, sexy body!" she finished for me, bursting into laughter.
I raised my hand to swat her again, but froze as my eyes caught someone entering the bar. He paused at the door, taking in the room with a breathtaking intensity.
"Oh, shit." I ducked my head instantly.
"What?" Leigh asked, noticing my sudden panic. She followed my gaze across the room.
"What is he doing here again?" I muttered, my heart racing. Is he here for me again? I hoped not. I hoped he was just here to drink and dance, but deep down, I knew better.
"He's looking for you, I bet," Leigh said casually, a smirk spreading across her face. "Go use the emergency exit and run for your life."
I shot her a lethal glare. "Why would I do that?"
She snickered. "Then how else do you plan on escaping him if you don't leave now?"
I scoffed. Did she think I was afraid of him? I wasn't. I was just annoyed that he kept showing up every night, ruining my routine. I had already told him I wasn't interested and that he was just a one-night stand to me. But he was stubbornly persistent, insisting we do it again because he claimed he couldn't remember feeling a single thing from our first night.
Son of a grasshopper! How could he remember or feel anything when nothing actually happened? Aside from making out, nothing went down. I had never intended to sleep with him in the first place; I was just playing my usual game. My plan had been to pull a prank, leave him incapacitated, and take embarrassing photos to send him the next day—just like I did with all the other lust-driven fools.
It was just bad luck that the night I targeted him was the exact night the witch came home. Because I hadn't checked his ID before rushing out, Leigh couldn't figure out who he was. For some reason, even Leigh's private investigators hadn't turned up any info on him yet. And since we didn't know his name, Leigh couldn't ban him from the premises.
So, he showed up every single night, trying to persuade me to give him another chance. It had been a whole month, and he hadn't missed a single day.
Remembering our last conversation outside only made me more restless...
"Why are you refusing to spend another night with me?" he had asked, his dark, heavy brows furrowing.
I groaned in frustration. "I've already given you my reason a hundred times. Why can't you just forget about that night?"
We were standing outside in the dimly lit parking lot, right beside his car. The sight of his sleek, luxurious Ferrari almost made me lose my mind and hop into the passenger seat, but I forced myself to hold back. Now was not the time to give in to temptation.
He had asked me to get in, but I flatly refused. I knew the moment I stepped into that car, we'd end up in a hotel room.
"Why? Because I'm just another one-night stand to you?" he pressed, leaning closer. "Come on, we can do better than that. We could even be friends with benefits if you're as good as you act."
I nearly choked. "Friends with benefits, my foot! You're insane!"
He chuckled softly. "I don't see the issue. You go home with different men all the time, so why act like this is a big deal?"
My patience was running dangerously thin. How many times did I have to explain that those were just one-night pranks, and none of those men ever got a second chance? If I had known this guy was going to be such a headache, I never would have picked him.
My attention drifted when I spotted a stunningly handsome guy heading toward the bar entrance. My eyes lit up. Target acquired.
"Hey, are you listening to me?"
I turned to follow the new guy, but before I could take two steps, the arrogant jerk grabbed my arm, stopping me in my tracks.
"Where are you going?" he frowned.
"To follow that hot guy," I answered, gesturing toward the entrance.
His frown deepened as he looked over his shoulder. Don't worry, you're way hotter, I thought, pouting inwardly. I couldn't deny that he was breathtaking. It was just that my interest in any man completely vanished after night one. I loved the thrill of the chase and pranking perverts who let their lower halves do the thinking, but I never did repeats.
"Tsk. Liberated little pervert," he muttered.
I stared at him in disbelief, my filter completely slipping. "Look who's talking! Which one of us is the real pervert here? Who shows up every single night begging to sleep with me? If I'm a pervert, what does that make you? A sex-starved horndog?"
"I am not," he said smoothly. "I just want to figure out if you actually managed to turn me on that night, considering I don't remember a thing."
I rolled my eyes. "Of course you were turned on. Guys like you get worked up the second a woman in a short skirt looks your way. You chase us down just to satisfy your ego."
He smirked. "Women are usually the ones chasing me, sweetheart. Not the other way around."
I threw a smirk right back at him. "Is that so? Then why are you out here begging me for round two?"
That hit a nerve. His smirk faded, replaced by a serious expression. He opened his mouth to reply, but no words came out. His lips remained slightly parted.
I stood there, momentarily dazed. I remembered the first night I saw him—how effortlessly seductive he was whenever he bit his lip or gave that intense, lingering look. He had a magnetic pull that was almost impossible to resist.
Honestly, that was the main reason I kept running from him. Whenever he got too close, I felt like I was on the verge of losing control.
"What's the matter?" I taunted, stepping closer. I reached out, running my fingers slowly down the buttons of his shirt, resting my hand against his chest. "You said women chase you... so why are you the one going after me?"
I stepped into his space, sliding my hand up to clasp the back of his neck. I murmured huskily against his skin, "Just admit it. None of those other women were ever as good as me..."
He froze under my touch, his breath hitching. Smirking at his reaction, I pulled him down into a slow, deliberate kiss.
I felt his entire body go rigid against mine. The heat radiating off him was almost overwhelming, and for a split second, I nearly forgot my own rules.
Pulling back just an inch, my lips brushed his as I let out a low, breathless laugh. "See? You can't resist me either. But sorry, darling... I don't do encores."
Before he could snap out of his daze or wrap his hands around my waist, I spun on my heel and strutted back into the bar, leaving him stranded in the dim light of the parking lot.
Back in the present, sitting at the counter with Leigh watching me like a hawk, the memory sent a shiver down my spine.
"So," Leigh whispered, leaning across the bar with a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Are you going to hide behind the liquor bottles, or are you actually going to face him?"
"I'm not hiding," I muttered, keeping my head down and taking a swift gulp of my drink. "He's just an arrogant, stubborn idiot who can't handle being turned down."
"Right. A remarkably handsome, persistent idiot who hasn't missed a single night in thirty days," Leigh countered, wiping down the counter. "For someone who's supposedly in complete control, Raciella, you look pretty flustered."
"I am not flustered!" I hissed, taking a risky peek over my shoulder.
Shit.
Our eyes met across the crowded room.
The flashing laser lights swept across his face, accentuating his sharp jawline, intense eyes, and dark hair. He wasn't wearing a suit tonight—just a fitted black shirt that hugged his chest, making him look dangerously attractive. The moment he caught my eye, his subtle scowl transformed into a slow, deliberate smirk.
He didn't run. He just started walking toward the bar, moving with the quiet confidence of a predator closing in on its target.
"Well, good luck," Leigh whispered with dramatic sympathy, backing away. "I'll be over there... making sure my security guard doesn't step in unless someone starts bleeding."
"Leigh, don't you dare leave me—"
"Too late!" she called out with a wink, disappearing into the crowd.
I gripped the edge of the bar counter, my heart thumping wildly against my ribs. Get a grip, Raciella. You run this game. You always do.
I took a deep breath, sat up straight, and turned my stool around just as he stopped directly in front of me. The rich, expensive scent of his cologne washed over me, making my pulse jump.
He leaned one arm against the bar, effectively trapping me, and tilted his head.
"Running away again, Miss Herrerias?" he asked, his deep voice effortlessly cutting through the bass.
My breath hitched. My jaw dropped.
He knows my name.