Her name was Sierra.
It sang in his mind like an aria—haunting and lyrical. He’d never forgotten that night. He’d never forgotten her. For weeks afterward, Kane searched for her face on crowded streets, swearing he caught her scent and blindly following it to dead ends. He dreamed of those long legs wrapped tight around his hips while he buried himself deep inside. He woke up hard and aching, remembering how her lips opened under his like a bloom flowering in the sun.
Everything had changed that night for him. Their lovemaking transcended names. Sharing their deepest thoughts in the shadows bonded them.
He’d been so wrong.
She’d run and made him feel like a fool.
Kane’s mind flashed briefly to that morning after.
When he decided to step in and save her from joke guy, he knew she was attractive. Caramel colored hair hit her shoulders in straight shiny strands. Her face was a beautiful symmetry of features that made him want to linger; heart shaped face, plump, bow-shaped lips; arched brows; thick lashes. Her body was banging—all luscious curves that would make a man pant. But it was his reaction that stunned him when he looked into those hazel eyes.
Recognition.
Like an electrical current, his body almost jerked, sensing a familiar connection he’d never experienced before. He wanted to stay and look deeper. Soak up the feminine energy curling and wrapping around him like a whisper of smoke.
Sure, he’d had some one-night stands, but this was different. It was as if this woman knew his very soul; was able to stare into his eyes and not only accept the demons but understand him. Too many saw what he presented to the world: a rich, powerful businessman who intended to rule Manhattan. A smooth, charming man who knew how to close a deal and get anyone to give him what he wanted. He rarely allowed anyone into his inner circle.
But with her, all of his defenses crumbled the moment she touched him.
She’d changed him. He craved her on a basic level he’d never experienced. Kane felt alive for the first time in too long.
He rang for coffee. Searched his room. And found she’d fled.
There was no trace she’d even spent the night other than the scent of her on his skin and the indentation on the pillow.
The despair ripping through him made no sense. His head whirled while he tried to figure out what had just happened.
She’d left without a word. Left him while he slept and dreamed of a future with a woman he’d just met. But she’d never intended for them to be anything but one night of sex.
How had he been so far off? How could he have believed what they had in those precious hours was all real?
A cocktail of shame, anger, and pain surged through him. He tried to convince himself she was a ghost. A dream. A fantasy conjured from what he’d always imagined would be his soul-mate. No one could be that perfect. He’d shared his truth and believed she’d done the same. But it all must’ve been a lie.
Dug whined, jolting him out of the reverie. He leaned down to pat his bony body, and his stubby tail wiggled.
Now, she was back. The sister of the woman Brick was in love with. A resident in the town Kane was thinking of settling in.
Sierra.
She hadn’t faked her obvious shock when they met. There had been no games there, so at least, it wasn’t like she knew who he was and had ignored him. But once he’d said her name, Kane hoped for an honest encounter. Stepping away from the group to talk. Some type of acknowledgement they shared a past intimacy. Anything that made that night real again.
But she’d denied him.
Pretended not to know him. Put on that damn fake smile and made an excuse to flee.
Again.
Kane stared at Dug and tried to make sense of the whole thing. Why was she so afraid to admit they knew each other? It wasn’t as if he was about to spill their secret, but he figured they could have pretended to meet in New York and left their story open. Instead, she’d shut the door hard a second time and left without another word. Like he was nothing.
The pain was surprising. Even after all this time, Kane had never stopped thinking about her, and what he’d do if she came back into his life. He just hadn’t anticipated this ending.
He sat with the uncomfortable feelings in silent misery. Dug kept a faithful watch. Slowly, he came to one final conclusion.
He’d been an idiot, but it didn’t give her the right to treat him like nothing. Damned if he’d allow her to dismiss him and their encounter when he hoped to make a place for himself here. She owed him a conversation. There was no way the woman he’d fucked for hours, who’d cried and begged for an orgasm, who laughed and shared and listened could be this cruel.
Sierra may have run four years ago, but now there was nowhere left to hide.
