Chapter 23
COLT
Iexcused myself from the table, telling Hallie I needed to check on something. She nodded, still talking to Sam from my investment team, looking more comfortable in this world than she probably realized.
But I had unfinished business. I did not appreciate anyone threatening me or mine.
I found John at the bar, which wasn’t a big surprise. His face was flushed with alcohol consumption. He was harassing the bartender about watered-down drinks. When he saw me approaching, his expression turned wary.
Good. He should be afraid. He should be real fucking concerned.
“Mr. Jesson.”
“Walk with me,” I said. Not a request.
He hesitated, then followed as I led him down a service hallway away from the main event. Empty. Private. Perfect.
I turned on him the moment we were alone.
“Let’s make something very clear,” I said. “You’re never going to come near Hallie again. You’re not going to speak to her. You’re not going to look at her. You’re not even going to think about her. Understood?”
“You can’t tell me what to do.”
“I can, and I am.” I stepped closer, using every inch of height advantage I had.
“If you so much as glance in her direction for the rest of tonight, you’ll be hearing from my lawyers.
And I’ll be pursuing charges for slander, harassment, and anything else my legal team can dream up.
And trust me, they’re good. They can make a mountain out of a molehill over a cup of coffee. ”
“I didn’t do anything.”
“You threatened to expose a private business arrangement. You insulted my fiancée in public. You implied we were engaged in some kind of fraud.” I leaned in closer. “Do you have any idea who the fuck I am?”
“I know exactly who you are.”
“Then you know I’m a Jesson. My family has more money than you’ll see in ten lifetimes.
More power than you can imagine. More connections than you could cultivate in a hundred years.
” I smiled, cold and sharp. “And you? You’re gum on the bottom of my shoe.
An insignificant, bitter little man who’s jealous that Hallie wouldn’t give you the time of day. ”
His jaw worked, but no sound came out.
“She only tolerated you because she was bound by contract,” I continued. “Every second she spent with you was torture. And the fact that you couldn’t see that, that you actually thought you had a chance with her? That’s pathetic.”
“She’s a whore who—”
My hand was around his throat before he could finish the sentence.
“Finish that thought,” I said quietly. “Please. Give me a reason.”
John’s eyes went wide, his hands coming up to grab my wrist. I held him there for a moment longer, not squeezing, just reminding him how easy it would be. Then released him.
He stumbled back, gasping.
“Get out,” I said. “Leave this event. Leave this city if you’re smart.
And if I ever hear that you’ve said one word about Hallie, about me, about any of this?
I’ll destroy you. Financially. Professionally.
Personally. I’ll make sure you never work again, never show your face in decent society again. Do you understand?”
He nodded frantically, still rubbing his throat.
“Good.” I straightened my bow tie. “Now get the fuck out of my sight.”
He practically ran for the exit.
I took a moment to compose myself, straightening my jacket, checking my reflection in a decorative mirror. The rage that had flooded through me when John had started to insult Hallie was still simmering beneath the surface, but I pushed it down.
Control. I always had control. Except when it came to Hallie.
I returned to the ballroom, scanning for her in the crowd. She was still at our table, but now she was alone, the investors having moved on to network with other guests. She looked small in the sea of wealth and privilege, and something protective surged through me again.
Mine.
The word echoed in my head, primal and possessive.
When had that happened? When had Hallie stopped being a convenient solution to my reputation problem and started being mine?
I made my way back to her. She looked up with a smile that had my cock jerking in my pants.
“Everything okay?” she asked.
“Perfect.” I held out my hand. “Dance with me.”
She blinked. “Really?”
“Right now.”
The orchestra was playing something slow and romantic. Couples swayed on the dance floor, holding each other close. Hallie placed her hand in mine and allowed me to lead her into the crowd.
When I pulled her against me, her sharp intake of breath was gratifying. I kept one hand in her lower back, the other holding hers, and started moving us through the crowd.
“I didn’t know you could dance,” she murmured.
“There’s a lot you don’t know about me.” I spun her out and back in, earning a surprised laugh. “My mother insisted. Years of cotillion and ballroom lessons.”
“Poor little rich boy.”
“Something like that.” I pulled her closer, until there was barely any space between us. “But it’s coming in handy now, isn’t it?”
“I bet this is how you woo all the ladies.”
I chuckled. “Ballroom dancer is one of my least impressive qualities.”
Her nostrils flared. Oh, she was definitely thinking about my other qualities. I liked flirting with her. I liked her reaction. It was so natural. So organic. She was turned on by me. Not Colt Jesson the playboy.
Just me.
I pulled her close, putting my face close to her head and inhaling the fruity scent of her shampoo.
It blended perfectly with the citrus notes in the perfume she wore.
I was somewhat familiar with perfumes. Last year we had done a collaboration with a popular fragrance house.
I learned how to pick up the notes. Hers was giving citrus, maybe a little vanilla, and a faint musk.
It wasn’t expensive, but it was good.
I inhaled again.
“Are you sniffing me?” she asked.
I grinned. “I am. You smell good.”
I leaned back to look at her, and it felt like I had been struck by lightning. There was an actual zinging sensation tearing through my body.
The way her lips parted slightly as she looked up at me. The rapid pulse in her throat.
She was beautiful.
We moved together like we’d been doing this for years instead of minutes. She followed my lead perfectly, her body responding to the slightest pressure from my hands. We fit together in a way that felt inevitable.
Right.
“Colt,” she whispered.
“Hallie.”
Around us, the crowd had started to thin, people moving to the edges of the dance floor. Watching us. Probably taking pictures. Tomorrow, we’d be all over the society pages. Colt Jesson and his fiancée, lost in each other on the dance floor.
But for once, I didn’t care about the optics. Didn’t care about the performance or the image or what any of it meant for my reputation.
I just wanted to keep holding her.
This was dangerous. I knew that. Knew I should pull back, put some distance between us, remember that this was all fake.
But I couldn’t make myself care.
She was looking at me with those dark eyes, her lips slightly parted, and I’d never wanted to kiss someone more in my entire life.
One kiss. What would it hurt?
It would be natural for a man to kiss his fiancée during a romantic dance. In fact, it would be weird if I didn’t.
But it would mean crossing a line we’d carefully maintained. It would mean admitting this was more than business. It would mean opening myself up to feelings I’d spent too long running from.
Fuck what it means.
I took what I wanted. That’s who I was. That’s what I did.
And right now, more than anything, I wanted her.
“Hallie,” I said again, my voice rough.
“Yeah?” Her breath hitched.
“I’m going to kiss you now.”
“We’re in public.”
“I don’t care.”
“Colt.”
But I was already lowering my head, already closing the distance between us. And the way she was looking at me told me she wanted this just as much as I did.
Our lips met, and the world went silent.
She tasted like champagne and something uniquely her. Her mouth was soft against mine, yielding at first, then responding with a hunger that matched my own. Her free hand came up to grip my shoulder, fingers digging in as she pressed closer.
I deepened the kiss, one hand sliding into her hair, the other pulling her flush against me. She made a small sound in the back of her throat that nearly drove me insane.
This wasn’t for show. Wasn’t for the cameras or the gossip sites or the reputation rehabilitation.
This was real.
Raw.
Everything I’d been telling myself I couldn’t have.
When we finally broke apart, we were both breathing hard. Hallie’s lips were swollen, her carefully applied lipstick smudged. Her eyes were wide and dazed.
Around us, applause broke out. I’d forgotten we had an audience.
Right. Public event. Dozens of witnesses. Probably multiple cameras.
But as I looked down at Hallie, still held close in my arms, I couldn’t bring myself to regret it.
“That was—” she started.
“Not fake,” I finished.
Her tongue darted out and licked her lower lip. I groaned and had to force my dick not to rise to the occasion.
The music transitioned into a new song.
“Thirsty?” I asked her.
She smiled. “Hell yes.”
I took her hand and led her through the crowd of people that were definitely watching us. I caught sight of John at the coat check. His expression was one of confusion.
He was probably wondering if what he saw was real or fake. Let him wonder. My threats were very real. I would destroy him if he dared to breathe a word about what she did on the side.