Chapter 2 #2
“I may take you up on that. Selling at some point down the road seems like the most suitable answer. It would just have to be to the right person.”
I can tell my friend is worried about what the future holds. I give him a pat on the shoulder and hold on tight for a moment.
“Let’s stop this nonsense for tonight. It’s a party,” Luke says.
“Down the hatch then, old man .”
He smirks as we both finish our drinks and flag down the bartender for another round.
“I’ll take one of those too, please,” a sultry voice says.
Cara’s nails graze lightly against the back of my jacket.
“Dad,” she says while removing her hand.
The feeling of her touch lingers—an unavoidable buzz of electricity every time she touches me in some way. It happens so rarely that I soak it in every time.
Cara gives Luke a hug and, as she pulls away, gestures to the bartender for that drink.
“Grant.”
“Cara.”
We lean in toward one another, and I let my hand graze her lower back as I pull her closer to my side. Placing a gentle kiss on her cheek, I hear the faint sound of her breath hitching.
She peers up at me, and I see a flicker of desire in her deep-brown eyes.
“How are you, darling?” I whisper into her ear.
As I pull away, I see the same hint of annoyance that I’ve come to crave during our challenges. Cara hates to lose, and I love to capture the criminal before she does just to earn this look.
“Just as charming as always, Sinclair.”
“I should be the one to say that, Collins.”
We’re having a stare-down, and Luke’s eyes dart between the two of us.
“What’s this about?”
Cara breaks eye contact first and smiles at her father.
“Nothing at all.”
Luke will accept it, but I can admit we both let the moment get the best of us when we referred to each other by our government names.
“I’m happy you were able to come,” he says to Cara.
“Me too, Dad. I’m not sure if I’ll be around for a bit.”
“Oh? Why is that?”
“A new work project. I think it’ll take me away for a few months.”
I wonder what case she’s on. I’ll be sure to have someone at my firm find out tomorrow. It must be big if it’ll be a few months. Typically, contracts don’t take you away for that long. Cara is both daring and cautious, so I know she’ll have thought this through.
It’ll just irk me until I’m able to figure out what the case is exactly and how safe she’ll be.
“Just don’t tell your mother tonight,” Luke says.
“I won’t, but I’ll have to this week.”
“Okay, try to come by the house before you go.”
“Luke!” Catherine calls out from nearby.
We all look to see Catherine standing with some of their gala’s top donors. It’s a good cause that they host this to support every year, so the top donors tend to be the same people year after year.
“Duty calls. Play nice, you two,” he says.
“Always,” Cara answers.
Luke gives us a warm smile before heading to Catherine. As he walks away, the bartender slides Cara’s and my fresh bourbons over. She picks hers up and gives me a mocking look.
I can’t help but drink her in.
She is a vision. The way this dress hugs her curves perfectly is dangerous, and her natural chestnut-brown hair hanging against her breasts has my cock twitching in my pants.
I hope she doesn’t see it.
She smirks as I meet her eyes.
“Can you make it any more obvious?” she taunts before taking a sip of the drink.
“You’re a gorgeous woman. I won’t deny that.”
She cocks an eyebrow as she lets the rim of her glass linger against her dark-red painted lips.
“But?” she finally asks.
“It’s a shame the package comes with all this damn sass.”
A wide grin spreads across her face, and I can’t help but let my teasing smirk grow too.
“Don’t worry, sweetheart. I have no issues finding real men who can handle it all.”
Cara downs the rest of her bourbon and slams it on the bar.
“See you out there,” she says, flipping her long hair over her shoulder as she walks away.
This woman always has to have the last word. Why did I freeze when she responded? It can’t be the feeling of jealousy working its way through my system.
Cara can be with other men; it’s not like I’m a saint. And it’s not like I can have the woman—there would be too many obstacles in our way.
For one, I’m getting old. I may not be Luke’s age, but the wear and tear I’ve put on my body with decades of field experience makes me feel like I am.
When I was first starting out, the adventure, the travel, and hell, even the women all played into why I loved this constant game I still find myself in. There was too much appeal for a young hotshot to say no.
Nowadays, the lure to retire is constantly on my mind.
I’m not sure what it’ll take to make me finally lay my superhero complex to rest, but it’ll happen one day soon.
Until then, I’ve been setting myself up nicely in the background.
Having connections from around the world has put me in a good financial position.
If I do ever manage to say goodbye to this life, I’ll be able to work my other businesses with ease.
I sip my bourbon and swirl the remainder around in the glass. Cara’s laughing at some young man across the room. The sound of her laughter ringing in the distance is almost intoxicating. Almost .
I don’t even have to know what they’re talking about to understand he serves a purpose to her; otherwise, she wouldn’t be wasting her time. It’s all a facade she’s putting on with him to get under my skin.
I track the way Cara’s hand rests on the man’s forearm, making him relax despite the fact that she’s leading the conversation between the two of them.
He leans close to her ear, and she pulls back playfully before putting her hand in his. She pauses before he can pull her out onto the dance floor, and I see a slight shiver race up her spine.
Cara slowly glances in my direction. She can sense my presence. It’s this vulnerable version of her that makes me forget about all the complications that make Cara Collins.
She knew I was watching. More importantly, she liked it .
Cara grins before focusing back on her dance partner. He whisks her out of my line of sight, probably for the best.
I have two options here.
The first is to simply get another drink, find Luke and Catherine, and maybe find a woman of my own for the night. The problem is that this irking feeling won’t go away. This leads me to option two: go out there and steal the girl.
I think I like that challenge much better.
Making my way through the sea of people, I try to stay hidden in the background of the dance floor. I find Cara easily. She moves with such precision and grace, just as well as she moves out in the field.
This woman.
I wonder why she’s playing with her conquest like this. He’s practically drooling all over himself as she saunters around the dance floor with him.
She likes the game.
I wonder what she’ll think of my next move.
Cara’s back tenses, just a slight flex, almost as if she knows I’m nearby. It’s an easy tell I’ve learned about her over the years.
She kicks up her leg and starts to overplay her hand.
I carefully circle the dance floor, making a full lap around without her spotting me, despite her trying to see where I am with every turn.
I finally make my move, walking confidently down an aisle right to where she’s been twirled. The other man loses his grip on her waist as she spins out, giving me the perfect opportunity to cut in.
As she stops, I grab her waist, making her steps almost falter.
Cara’s eyes widen as she clings onto my shoulders.
“Grant,” she says breathily.
I lean down to her ear and pause. She tries to remain still, but I feel a slight shudder with her in my arms. It’s almost as satisfying as making her whimper would be.
“May I cut in?” I ask.
Her breath hitches as I pull back and stare into her eyes. They’re slightly hooded, almost as if she feels the same way I do in this moment.
“My dance partner may have an issue with it.”
I look up to the frustrated man pacing nearby and trying not to look our way.
“He can manage.”
I guide Cara out onto the dance floor, and she gives the man a slight shrug and mouths a fake apology. The music changes to a slower song as we start to sway together.
“What are you doing, Sinclair?” she asks as I tighten my hold on her waist.
“I believe the term is called dancing.”
She gives me a sharp look right before I whisk her along to the beat of the music.
“You know what I mean.”
“I like it when you call me Sinclair.”
She rolls her eyes as I twirl her out and back into my arms.
“Last names are common in our field.”
“That they are.”
We move slowly and in sync with one another. She lets out a frustrated sigh as she grips my arm.
“You know I don’t want to be near you tonight,” she lies while looking away.
“Why is that?”
“There’s no point in pretending like you aren’t always stealing my contracts,” Cara finishes.
Stealing her contracts?
I frown, trying to think about what contract I would have stolen. There hasn’t been anything up for grabs that we’ve been competing against one another for in a while.
“Don’t play me for the fool. It’s rude,” she continues.
“I’m sorry, but you’ll have to tell me what I stole.”
Cara’s mouth tightens into a thin line as she stops the dance.
“Really, darling. I’m at a loss.”
“Don’t darling me,” she snarls and tries to get out of my hold.
“Cara. Don’t. Really, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I plead.
I like to mess with her more than anyone, but I’d never intentionally steal a contract.
“Don’t do that to me,” she whispers.
“Cara. What contract?”
“The Holden Company. I was meant to handle their new security setup, but lo and behold, I find out that Grant Sinclair is starting on it.”
I let go of her waist and take a step back.
“They came to me. It was a normal transaction. I had one of my guys press for competitors, and they said there were none. You know that was just business.”
“Business,” she says slowly.
“Yes, it happens. You can’t hold me personally accountable.”
She smiles as she straightens her back.
“You’re right. I can’t hold you accountable. You wouldn’t know the first thing about someone getting close enough to you and wanting to do right by them.”
Cara spins on her heels and walks away.
This time, I let her. If I know anything at all, it’s that I’ll be seeing her sooner than she wants. That’s how it’s always been between the two of us.