Chapter 26
THE AGENT
CHLOE
The art of getting a billionaire to a gala was a fifty-person production that took five entire days.
It was a process I wasn’t privy to, and I hated how much being shut out bothered me.
Especially since Dante hadn’t texted or called me all weekend. The last thing he’d said was, “We’ll have to pick up where we left off with the complex tours on Monday.
There’s a ticket for you and Marie at the gala if you’d like to come, and I have a list of dress designers on standby for you.”
That’s it.
“Okay, enough.” Marie waved her hand in front of my face as the town car pulled into the parking lot. “What were you expecting that man to say to you, Chloe?”
“I don’t know what man you’re talking about.”
“The man you can’t stop talking about.” She rolled her eyes. “Oh, pleaseeee, Sweet Chloe—woman I just met weeks ago, please do the honor of being my public date to the biggest event in Manhattan?”
Yes. “I wasn’t expecting that.”
“Are you sure?” She pursed her lips. “Because I think you’re starting to think he’s yours, and that there’s something more than employee and boss going on.”
“I feel like we’re close. We have a lot in common and it feels really easy when we’re around one another.”
“No.”
“He sent us a bunch of Chanel dresses, Marie.”
“He can afford it, Chloe.” She placed her hands on my shoulders. “He’s paying you to be close and you’re attracted to each other. That’s it.”
“We’ve kissed.”
“That practically means you’re married then.”
The driver snorted. Then he rolled up the partition.
“Don’t do this,” she said. “He’s still a ruthless asshole. He’s just doing some nice things until he gets what he really wants.”
“I think he actually cares about all the changes he’s making, Marie.”
“Then I’ve got some beachfront property in Ohio to sell you.”
“Fine.” I leaned back against the seat. “Dante Hudson is a ruthless billionaire who is playing the long game until he gets The Holden.”
“There’s my best friend.” She smiled. “It’s good to have you back.”
The car came to a stop, and I swallowed the rest of my feelings.
The driver opened the back door and took his time helping us out. At the entrance, the guard smiled as we approached.
“Welcome to the Housing Authority’s Annual Gala,” he said. “Chloe Sterling and plus one—Marie, correct?”
“Yes.” I nodded. “How do you know that?”
“Mr. Hudson described you very well. You’re at table seventeen.” He winked and ushered us past the velvet rope.
“Don’t you dare,” Marie whispered under her breath. “Dare what?”
“Don’t read into what that guard mentioned about your boss,” she said, but my mind was already speeding down that road.
Did he give him a picture? Describe me that damn well?
Why the hell hasn’t he called…
Like a desperate girl I didn’t recognize, I pulled my phone from my clutch in hopes of finally getting a reply.
Hey…Can we talk for a second?
Can you just RESPOND?
Once?
Nothing.
We made our way to the sea of white-clothed tables that were standing under a canopy of trees—all dressed in fairy lights. Matching white tents and black glass domes dotted the forest, adding to the supposed “Life in the Woods” theme.
Our table was right next to the stage, but there was no waiting nameplate for Hudson. Just his executive assistant and Anthony.
I swallowed my disappointment and forced a smile as Marie insisted we walk around and mingle with the celebrities.
While we were in the middle of listening to the governor tell a story, I spotted Dante out of the corner of my eye.
With a beautiful blonde in a bright red dress at his side, he was slowly becoming the center of attention. The woman smiled up at him, blushing, and I sucked in a breath when he smiled back at her.
“See?” Marie asked. “He has an entire secret life you know nothing about.”
I nodded, feeling my heart ache in my chest. “I need to go get some air.”
“We’re outside already, Chloe.”
“You know what I mean.”
“Yeah...” She shot me a sympathetic look. “Text me if you end up leaving, okay?”
“Okay.” I took one last look at Dante smiling at the other woman in the same way he smiled at me all these weeks.
I let myself feel the humiliation of getting attached to a man like him, let my chest experience the ache of getting its hopes up, and before I could turn away, Dante’s eyes landed on me.
His gaze swept over me slowly—his lips parting as he took in every part of my sleeveless cream dress.
I could practically feel him pulling down the sparkling top, grabbing the cinched waist, and pushing up the trailing fabric to make me feel him again.
Suddenly, it was just the two of us here, and that naive feeling of him possibly being into me returned.
I refused to let it stay, though.
“Fuck. You.” I mouthed, obliterating the moment and making his eyes widen.
“I’ll be back, Marie.” I turned away and weaved through the growing crowd, looking for somewhere—anywhere—that I could be alone.
I managed to find a standalone glass dome that was set up for the silent auction and closed the flap behind me.
Dante’s name crossed my screen with a phone call a second later, but I hit ignore.
He called again and I treated him to the same response.
It’s what you deserve, asshole…
Taking several deep breaths, I debated listening to the special celebrity guest band or abandoning the event altogether so I could—
Knock! Knock! Knock!
“Someone’s in here!” I called out. “Be out in a second!”
KNOCKKKK. KNOCKKK. KNOCKKKK.
I shrugged and continued silently debating to myself.
Within seconds, the door opened, revealing a red-faced Dante. He slammed it shut, glaring at me.
“You want to talk?” He hissed. “Let’s fucking talk then.”
“Go talk to your fucking date,” I said. “She looks like she’s seconds away from slobbering all over your cock in front of everyone.”
“Are you projecting?”
“No, I’m protecting myself.” I crossed my arms. “Leave me alone and go be with your secret girlfriend.”
“She’s not a secret girlfriend.”
“I’m aware,” I said. “I’m just the last to know apparently.”
“What the fuck are you talking about, Chloe?”
“You invited someone else to be your date instead of me and I honestly thought—”
“You thought what?”
“It doesn’t matter. I should’ve gotten the hint when you just stopped talking to me these past few days.”
“Jesus Christ…” He sucked in a breath and strolled toward me. “For the record, you are the most difficult woman I’ve ever met, and I don’t appreciate you—once again—trying to make me look bad in public.”
“I didn’t do anything.”
“You made me run off out of nowhere and dodge through fucking trees and bushes so no one could see where I was going.”
“Sounds like you did that to yourself.”
“Stop fucking talking.” He slammed his hands against the glass above my head. “I’m not done yet…”
I swallowed as he caged me between his arms, as the glare in his eyes made it clear that I shouldn’t press my luck with him tonight.
“That woman is one of the other guests of honor, Chloe,” he said, speaking slowly. “There are four of us, and it’s typical for us all to arrive together.”
“Lusty ‘I want to fuck you’ eyes and all?”
“I’m not responsible for the effect I have on other women.” Heat radiated off him in waves. “And I could’ve sworn I made it crystal clear I wanted you to be here tonight with me. Did I not?”
“By sending me dresses and putting me on the guest list?”
“Yes.” He hissed. “That’s a glaringly obvious sign.”
“I…” I didn’t have a good comeback for that one.
“If I’d known you would get this jealous, I would’ve handled this differently,” he said, pressing his forehead against mine. “Trust me.”
“You hadn’t called in days…”
“A huge oversight that won’t happen again.” His gaze dared me to move. “I got busy, Chloe.”
“You could’ve just—”
“For what it’s worth,” he interrupted, “you’re the only woman I’ve spent this much time with in years.”
“But—”
“Years.” He dragged his thumb along my lower lip. “And I’m done restraining myself from showing how much I like you.”
The air between us shifted.
His gaze dropped to my mouth, and I couldn’t remember why I’d been angry in the first place.
“Do you have any idea what it did to me,” he said quietly, “watching you glare at me like you hated me tonight?”
“Good,” I whispered. “Maybe now you know how I felt.”
“You shouldn’t have felt anything, Chloe…” His hand slid beneath my hair, cupping the back of my neck. “Do you know how many people I left standing out there for you?”
My pulse stumbled. “You can still go back.”
“Too late.” His mouth crashed into mine, but it wasn’t soft or careful. It was angry, possessive, and starved.
His mouth stole the air from my lungs before I could react, before I could think about anything except the way his hands were gripping my waist hard enough to bruise.
I moaned against his lips as he backed me into the glass wall again, kissing me deeper, rougher, like he’d been restraining himself for too long and finally snapped.
“Fuck…” He dragged his mouth down my throat. “You have no idea what you do to me.”
Voices drifted past the dome outside, close enough to make my stomach tighten.
“Let them wonder why the glass is fogging up,” he murmured against my neck.
Heat rushed straight between my thighs, and I knew I should’ve pushed him away before this went further, but I spread my legs for him before he even asked.
His eyes darkened at the movement.
“Good girl…”
Something about hearing those words in his voice nearly destroyed me.
His hands slid slowly down my body until they reached the zipper of my dress.
“You won’t need this,” he murmured.
His fingers dragged the zipper down inch by inch, like he wanted to savor every second of uncovering me.
The dress slipped from my shoulders in a whisper of cream silk before pooling at my feet.
His gaze moved over me hungrily, like he couldn’t decide what part of me he wanted first.
My breath caught when he lifted me onto the auction table.
Every shadow moving outside the dome made my pulse spike, but he seemed completely unfazed.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a condom, but this time the movement felt seamless—like an extension of the heat between us instead of an interruption.
His gaze never left mine while he rolled it on.
“You’re the only woman I’ve wanted near me in years,” he said again, like he needed me to understand that. “The only one.”
I swallowed hard.
Then he pulled me closer to the edge of the table and slowly slid his cock into me inch by inch.
I moaned as he buried himself deep inside me, hoping he would give me a second to breathe.
He didn’t.
He groaned low in his throat and without warning, he started thrusting inside me at a hard and punishing pace—like he was trying to fuck every ounce of jealousy and frustration out of both of us.
“Oh my God—”
“I do want you,” he said, thrusting deeper. “I wanted you from the first fucking day.”
I clawed at his shoulders as he kept driving into me, the table trembling beneath us.
“Tell me you felt it too.”
I nodded.
“No.” He grabbed my jaw, forcing my eyes back to his. “Tell me.”
“Yes,” I gasped. “I felt it too.”
“Good fucking girl.”
The praise hit me harder than the next thrust.
My thighs tightened around his waist before I could stop them.
He bent lower, sucking one nipple into his mouth while his hand slid between my legs.
I couldn’t keep up, couldn’t think.
Couldn’t do anything except take him.
“You’re so fucking wet for me,” he groaned against my skin. “Look at you…”
The filthy approval in his voice nearly pushed me over the edge right then.
“I tried staying away from you,” he admitted, thrusting deeper. “Tried being smart about this.”
Another thrust.
“It didn’t fucking work.” His thumb pressed against my clit while his strokes turned rougher, deeper, and suddenly my entire body locked up around him.
“Oh my God—Dante—”
He muffled my cry with his palm as pleasure ripped through me hard enough to make my vision blur.
“That’s it,” he said against my ear. “Come for me.”
I shattered beneath him.
He watched every second of it, holding my hips tighter while my body shook uncontrollably in his hands.
“Fuck…” His forehead dropped against mine as he lost rhythm for the first time all night.
The sound of his control finally cracking sent another wave of pleasure through me.
Seconds later, he stiffened hard against me and came with a low groan, holding onto me like he didn’t want to let go.
Outside the dome, laughter drifted through the trees like nothing life-changing had just happened in here.
Inside, the air felt hot enough to burn.
When my breathing finally slowed, Dante carefully pulled out and adjusted his clothes before grabbing my dress from the floor.
“Here.” His voice was rougher now. Softer.
He helped slide the dress back up my body before smoothing my hair behind my shoulders.
His fingers lingered against my cheek.
“I think it’s time for us to go,” he said quietly.
“We’re going back to the party?”
A slow smile crossed his lips before he leaned down and kissed me again.
“No.” His mouth brushed mine once more. “My place so I can have you exactly how I want you.”