Sitting there in her cozy, sunlit office, looking at the woman in front of me, I felt something inside me snap solidly into place. The possessive instinct that had whispered in the back of my mind the moment I saw her in that lobby surged forward, undeniable and clear.
Poppy wasn’t part of whatever shady shit was happening—she was too open and honest. Every thought and emotion played openly across her expressive face. She wore her feelings like a second skin, completely incapable of hiding behind a mask ora lie. In a world that thrived on deception, she stood out like a beacon, bright and untouched by the darkness around her.
And I was willing to bet my entire portfolio that she was just as innocent when it came to her body. Every shy smile and nervous glance had me clenching my jaw. Fuck, if that didn’t just make me harder. My body pulsed with the primal need to pin her beneath me as I imagined the shocked gasp she’d let out when I finally buried myself inside her and felt her tight, virgin pussy flutter around my cock.
But I felt something else that went far deeper than her innocence. It wrapped around my chest and squeezed tight, sparking a possessive burn that consumed every logical thought I might have had about keeping my distance from her.
The realization settled over me with complete certainty: She was mine.
The primal need to protect, claim, and possess came roaring to life so fiercely it was impossible to ignore. I’d barely spent more than a few minutes with her, but my entire being recognized Poppy on a level that went beyond logic or reason.
3
POPPY
The hottest guy I’d ever seen in real life stood and circled my desk to lean in and brush his lips against my cheek like it was the most natural thing in the world. Every single nerve ending in my body lit up as though he’d done a whole lot more.
It was barely a kiss, but I’d never experienced anything like this before. I was worried my bright-red cheeks made that painfully obvious to Ace, adding to my embarrassment from spilling coffee and calling him “ridiculously attractive” during my nervous babbling.
Judging by his sexy smirk, I had good reason to be concerned. My blush intensified, and his light-brown eyes heated to a molten gold.
His fuller bottom lip looked downright sinful. Combined with his six feet and four inches of lean muscles, short blond hair, and chiseled jawline, I didn’t stand a chance. And that was without factoring in his hands. They were the last thing I would’ve thought could be sexy, but something about his long fingers inspired filthy fantasies.
I shook my head, hoping to clear my thoughts, and a laugh bubbled up. Because he had to be kidding about finding my blathering enchanting. And the kiss was just him being nice.
But he didn’t laugh with me.
Instead, his grin widened before he murmured, “I’ll pick you up at seven tonight for dinner.”
He turned to leave, and I jumped up, blurting the first coherent thing my brain could manage. “Wait. Don’t you need my phone number? Or my address?”
He glanced over his shoulder, and my gaze dropped to the colorful half sleeve of tattoos on his right arm. A rose tangled with a diamond, with a vine crawling beneath his shirtsleeve.
“Don’t worry. I’ll find you, Poppy.” He winked, and I had to grip the edge of my desk before my knees gave out. “I have my ways.”
Then he was gone, striding out of my office.
I stood there frozen, my fingertips pressed to my cheek where his lips had been. The skin still tingled, and I was pretty sure I was glowing.
Which was ridiculous, but that didn’t stop me from hurrying to my door to peek into the hallway and watch Ace walk away until I couldn’t see him anymore.
It was the only way to confirm that Ace wasn’t a tall, tattooed hallucination sent by my sleep-deprived brain to ruin me for every other man on the planet. He was real, and he’d actually kissed my cheek and told me we were going out to dinner tonight.
I finally managed to blink and noticed a prickle between my shoulder blades that made me feel like someone was staring. I turned and saw Sarah from accounting at the other end of the hallway, her mug of coffee halfway to her mouth, frozen mid-sip.
Oh no.
She’d caught me gawking at Ace. How embarrassing.
The rambling started before I could stop it. “Okay, so that was…I mean, he’s just…did you see his hands? I think I blacked out for a second. Is this what spontaneous combustion feels like? Because I’m 98 percent sure?—”
“Poppy.” Sarah cut me off mid-sentence, her voice a delighted whisper-shriek. “Who was that?”
I blinked at her and swallowed, suddenly aware of the familiar ache I experienced when someone interrupted me. It had been happening all my life. One of my earliest memories was when my second-grade teacher told me to use my inside voice. Another was the next year, when the girls I thought were my friends asked me to talk less at the lunch table because they didn’t want to have to talk over me all the time. Even my mom got irritated when I went on a tangent.
Everyone tolerated me. Except my best friend Clara, who always happily listened to whatever I had to say. And now, Ace didn’t seem put off by my talkative nature.
He’d paid attention to every word like I mattered. And then he’d kissed my cheek and told me we were going on a dinner date.
