Nope. Absolutely not.
I scraped my palms along my jaw and forced myself to focus on fixing my bowtie instead. Tonight was too important to bedistracted by the constant threat of an erection. I needed to get it together.
This was Hinds’ retirement party and everyone who was anyone in this town would be here. Hell, half the world had probably flown in. There would be investors, clients, and media present, all of whom would be watching us, after the way the news had been carrying on about our engagement this week.
A lot of people would be looking at us and evaluating our performance, but God help me, if anyone looked at her the wayIwas looking at her, there was going to be a problem—and men were definitely going to be looking at her. Some women too.
My teeth ground as I thought about how many people I was going to have to beat away from my fiancée with a stick. Shit, maybe I could even use my ownstick. Unless I could find a way to get my body under control, it was absolutely going to be hard enough to beat people with.
Between her in that dress and the memory of her small, warm hand wrapped around my dick, it was a pretty lost cause, though. At this point, the best I could hope for was that my jacket would provide something of a shield.
Kate was waiting for me at the door when I came out of my bedroom. Her rich red hair was accentuated by the color of the dress, and having her eyes on me did absolutely nothing to help my unfortunate situation.
Damn it. I should’ve left time for a shower to take care of this before we had to leave. As it was, however, we were already running behind.
“You clean up nice,” she murmured when I opened the door and gestured for her to precede me. I wish I’d missed the slight flush of her cheeks, but I didn’t and I almost groaned at the sight.
Instead, I cleared my throat. Again. “Thanks. You don’t look half-bad yourself.”
Half-bad? Fuck. I really am an idiot.
Kate’s lips twitched like she knew I was full of it, but she must’ve decided not to call me out on it because she just walked out into the hallway, that scent of vanilla and citrus trailing behind her.
By the time we arrived at the venue, a sprawling, ridiculous event space smack bang in the center of Manhattan, I was mostly under control. At least enough to pretend I had an actual brain in my head, but it only lasted all of about thirty seconds. As soon as we walked into the place, I realized tonight was going to be all about an entirely different form of control.
This isnotwhat I expected.
It wasn’t even seven o’clock yet and the entire party was already drunk. Not tipsy or pleasantly buzzed, butdrunk. Booming, unruly laughter filled the massive room. People clutched specialty cocktails in manicured hands as bodies swayed and feet stumbled.
Colored lights pulsed faintly across the ceiling. A live band blasted music loud enough to make conversation nearly impossible. I stared for a moment, thrown completely off balance. Kate stilled by my side, her fingers tightening on the crook of my elbow.
I’d expected a quiet, subdued retirement party. Billionaires and their wives or mistresses sipping expensive whiskey and making polite conversation. That was the usual formula, but apparently, Hinds was going out with a bang.
“Damn, what the hell,” I muttered under my breath.
Kate stepped closer to me, tucking herself neatly against my side, and instinct kicked in immediately. I wrapped my arm around her hips and fitted her to me, everything in me needing to keep her close and safe as people pressed in from all sides.
The motion was protective.Possessive.I knew it even as I flexed my fingers on her, tightening my grip, but I didn’t let go.
She glanced up at me. “This is crazy!”
Nodding, I navigated us through the crowd toward Hinds. I didn’t even try to respond. There wasn’t much point. She definitely wouldn’t be able to hear me.
Abram stood near the center of the room, holding court like this was his personal kingdom. He spotted us when the group around him parted to let us through, his face breaking into a wide, flushed grin.
“There they are!” he boomed.
Kate stiffened against me again, but when I looked down, she was smiling politely. He clapped me on the shoulder hard enough to jolt me forward when we reached him.
“Congratulations to you both,” he said, beaming like this was a big, happy surprise and not the result of his very specific demands. “A wonderful match. Wonderful!”
My jaw tightened, but I forced a smile. Kate handled it better than me, nodding and grinning as he went on for another minute, rambling cheerfully about all the beautiful things the future apparently had in store for us. I could barely hear a thing he was saying, but it didn’t matter much. All I wanted now that he’d seen us was to get away.
Thankfully, it wasn’t long before someone else claimed his attention and dragged him to a different group. The band launched into another song, even louder than the last, and my ears started ringing.
Kate leaned closer. “I didn’t expect this!”
“I know!” I shouted back.
