Besides my sister, Belle French was the only other “deb” I actually liked. She was smart and funny but my favorite thing about Belle was she owned her own business which she started without any help from her parents.
She said she’d be here but I didn’t see her anywhere.
I decided to ask around if anyone had.
“Hey, have you seen Belle tonight?” I asked a GIGANTIC guy with a broody face.
“I have.”
What an ass. “Well, do you know where I can find her?”
“No,” he said and walked away from me.
“Rude brute,” I said under my breath and headed to the champagne bar. I couldn’t drink, not technically, but it was late and I was hoping the waitstaff might be tired enough to actually serve me.
As much as I disliked the attitudes of the other party-goers, I was still a sucker for a romantic, storybook setting. The ballroom was just perfect, twinkly lights strung across the ceiling, gauzy drapes on all the verandas swaying in the night breeze, and the votive candles grouped at each table made the stuffy ballroom look absolutely enchanting. The people sucked, but the atmosphere was amazing. And the only thing that could make a perfect night of romance, ball gowns, and fairy lights better was a teeny champagne buzz. I snagged a glass of rose colored bubbly off the table, marveling at my luck since the server didn’t seem to care in the least. But just as a brought it to my lips a gloved hand appeared in front of my face and took the glass from me.
“Hey!” I said as the hand held the champagne out of reach. I spun around to see who’d be so rude and stopped dead in my tracks, angry, accusatory words catching in my throat. “Hey,” I sputtered again, and stumbled backward, tripping on the trailing layers of my gown as I looked into the most beautiful pair of deep blue eyes I’d ever seen.
I fell in slow motion, completely entranced by this stranger’s face, his presence, the small smile tugging at the corners of his lips. He caught me, a strong firm palm in the small of my back, and set me upright.
“Would you care to dance?” he asked with a silky smooth voice that sent ripples of heat down to my thighs.
“No, I’d like my drink bac
k,” I lied, bringing an even bigger smile to the stranger’s lips.
He set the drink on the table and crossed his arms. “And what would your father say if he knew you’d been drinking tonight?”
I crossed my own arms. “Who are you?”
He bent down, his spicy masculine scent pulling at things low in my body. “Dance with me, Alicia.” His whispered words were velvet in my ear. Then, without waiting for an answer he took my hand and led me to the middle of the ballroom.
Who was this man? He definitely wasn’t the brute-ish or obnoxious bragging type I was used to dealing with. Why did he make me want to do terrible, naughty things right here in the middle of the ball?
And why didn’t that bother me?
Chapter Two
Liam
I couldn’t resist any longer.
I’d seen Alicia Snow around her father’s finance company, making copies and getting coffee like any other intern. No one in the company knew she was actually the CEO, Richard Snow’s daughter or the most talked about socialite on the Upper East Side and I was sure that’s how they both liked it. No one treated her any differently, and no one accused him of nepotism. I respected that.
As his right hand, I was the only one with the information. I was the CEO’s confidant.
So I wasn’t surprised when, after a few too many scotches, Richard Snow asked me to keep my eye on his daughter at her debut. He didn’t want any “handsy brutes pawing at his little girl”. I didn’t blame him. The Viennese Opera Ball was the height of social debauchery, masquerading as a debutante ball and charity event. I’d heard there was a threesome in one of the smaller ballrooms last year.
So I didn’t blame him, and I’d keep her safe from any one who tried to mistreat her.
But only so I could have a chance with her.
She was forbidden and pure which of course sweetened the temptation but what really made me notice her was how different she was from anyone I’d met in our social circle. I couldn’t resist her any longer. Seeing her at the office was bad enough, but here, long black hair, and creamy pale skin wrapped in a pale pink ball gown... she’d sealed her fate. I would have her, I’d make her mine and she’d love every minute of it.
I snatched the champagne glass from her tiny hand. She spun around, got caught in the layers of her own dress and started falling backward.
But not before I saw it on her face, clear as day. Her pupils dilated and the slightest flush spread across her cheeks.