James felt his phone vibrate against his chest pocket and reached for it instinctively, his conversation with Katherine momentarily forgotten. The soft glow of the screen illuminated Victoria's name, and something molten shot through his system, a jolt of raw anticipation so immediate and intense it made his breath catch.
His entire body came alive at the sight of her name. Heat pooled low in his stomach, spreading through his veins like liquid fire as he read her message. Victoria wanted to see him. Privately. Now. His chest tightened with tension.
"Everything alright?" Katherine asked, her voice seeming to come from a great distance as she leaned closer to him at the bar.
James quickly scanned the message again, his pulse accelerating with each word. Every nerve ending in his body was suddenly hyperaware, electric with the promise of being alone with Victoria again.
"I'm sorry, Katherine," he said, already shifting away from her touch as he pocketed his phone. "I need to step away for a moment. Business call."
"Of course the corporate world never sleeps, does it?"
"Unfortunately not," James replied, offering her an apologetic smile. "I'll find you when I get back?"
Katherine's expression flickered with disappointment, but James was already moving, his mind entirely consumed by the woman who had just summoned him with a single text.
The walk through the crowded hallroom felt surreal, as if he were moving through water. His body thrummed with anticipation, every step bringing him closer to Victoria igniting something primal and desperate in his chest.
By the time he reached the familiar door, anticipation was coursing through him like electricity, making his hands slightly unsteady as he raised one to knock.
"Come in."
Victoria's voice sent electricity straight to his core. James turned the handle and stepped inside, immediately struck by how the soft lighting seemed to transform the elegant space into something intimate and charged with possibility.
Victoria stood near the window, her black gown a study in elegant seduction against the backdrop of the city lights. When she turned to face him, James felt the air leave his lungs in a rush.
She was magnificent. But there was something in her expression; intense, urgent, almost desperate that made concern flicker through his anticipation.
Something was different. The perfect composure she always maintained showed hairline cracks around the edges, her breathing slightly elevated, her jaw held with the kind of tension that spoke of barely controlled emotion.
"Victoria," he said, his voice rougher than intended as he closed the door behind him.
"You wanted to see me? Is everything alright?"
No! Everything is wrong!
Victoria mulled on how to respond to him. Where to begin.
How are you? You look ravishing tonight?
Better yet, should she asks how his time at the event is? Clearly, he is having fun with another woman. Her breath hitch. Almost driven to insanity.
Is there something going on with you and Days? The question lingered like an annoying sore.
Instead of responding, she moved toward him with predatory grace, her heels clicking against the hardwood floor in a rhythm that seemed to match his accelerated heartbeat. There was something in her expression that made every drop of blood in his body rush crazily, but the urgency in her movements was confusing.
"Come with me," she said simply, reaching for his hand.
The moment her skin touched his, James felt like he'd been electrocuted. Heat shot up his arm, and he had to bite back a groan at the contact. He allowed himself to be led, though genuine concern clouded his thoughts as Victoria guided him toward the room's private bathroom.
The space was elegant, all marble surfaces and gold fixtures, but hardly the setting he'd expected for whatever conversation she had in mind.
"Uhm, what are we…what's wrong?" he asked, worry creeping into his voice as she turned on the faucet with quick, precise movements.
"Give me your hands," she interrupted, her voice tight with barely controlled emotion.
James stared at her, confusion warring with growing concern. "What? Victoria, are you okay? What's happening?"
"Your hands, James. Give them to me." The command in her voice was edged with something that sounded almost like desperation.
The urgency in her tone compelled compliance even as worry clouded his thoughts. He extended his hands toward her, his breath catching as Victoria guided them under the warm water. She reached for the expensive soap dispenser, working the liquid between her palms before taking his hands in hers.
James's entire body went rigid as Victoria began washing his hands with methodical thoroughness, her fingers sliding between his with an intimacy that was both innocent and absolutely erotic. The sensation of her soft skin against his sent bolts of electricity shooting through his nervous system, but his concern overrode the heated state.
"Victoria, I don't understand, what's wrong? Are you hurt? Did something happen?"
"I'm washing her away," Victoria, said her voice barely above a whisper as she continued her ministrations. "Katherine. I'm washing Katherine Days away from you."
The words hit James like a physical blow, sudden understanding flooding through him along with something that felt dangerously close to hope. He stared down at Victoria's dark head bent over their joined hands, processing the implications of her actions and words. A surge of realization so intense it nearly brought him to his knees.
She was jealous. Victoria Sharp was jealous enough to literally wash another woman's touch from his skin.
Yeah, she did see us.
"You saw us," he said, not quite a question, his voice filled with dawning comprehension.
"I saw everything," Victoria replied, her voice tight with emotions that made his pulse hammer against his throat. "The way she touched you. The way she looked at you. The way everyone looked at you together."
James felt understanding crash over him as Victoria reached for a towel, drying his hands with the same careful attention she had given to washing them. When she finished, she did not immediately release him, and…