The elevator doors chimed, and Gunner's gaze snapped up from his phone. The world outside the hotel lobby ceased to exist.
Vivian stepped out, a vision in obsidian satin that draped like liquid midnight over her curves. The dress was a creation of asymmetry, slipping off one shoulder to reveal olive skin and an effortless bun that let loose a few rebellious, dark curls. Her red lips curved into a smile as she caught his eye. Gunner stood like a monument, his linen suit a sharp contrast to her dark elegance. He felt a primal urge to haul her back into that elevator and claim her then and there.
"You're making me curious, Westbrook," she chuckled, her voice like velvet. "Are you stalking me?" Her melodic voice entered his ears as she glided forward, her heels clicking on the polished floors.
Behind her, the bodyguards tensed at the word stalking, but a flick of her wrist sent them back into the shadows. Gunner stepped into her space, his height looming over her. "Ready to admit you can't run from me?"
"So that's a yes to stalking?" she countered, eyes sparkling. Vivian had strictly avoided getting entangled with any man; most of her prior relationships had been built purely on lust.
Gunner offered a non-committal shrug, guiding her toward the restaurant as his hand settled on the small of her back. If only she knew how correct her guess was, he thought to himself. His palm met bare, heated skin where the dress dipped low, revealing a hidden lining of electric blue silk. Beneath his touch, he saw the delicate constellation of freckles scattered across her back. He slowed his pace, his thumb tracing a slow, absent-minded path over her skin that made her breath hitch.
"Hello, Ms. Kane, Mr. Westbrook. Mr. Beckford's table is just this way," the maître d' said, weaving them toward the private rooms.
"Who else is invited?" Vivian asked, her voice a soft velvet thread as she looked up at him through her lashes.
"No clue. Koda said casual dinner," he replied. His hand, almost of its own volition, tightened in a slow, possessive arc over the bare skin of her back. The friction against her heated skin sent a jolt through his palm. For what felt like the hundredth time, his wayward eyes traced the expanse of her exposed shoulder and the constellation of freckles that decorated her back like a map of the stars.
Inside, the table wasn't the casual experience promised. Ji-ho sat awkwardly beside Nala, looking like a man mapping his escape. Darla was tucked next to Brennan; the second Gunner and Vivian walked in, Brennan's smile didn't just fade—it dimmed into a shadow of resentment. Koda, seated next to a gorgeous woman Vivian didn't recognize, was the only one radiating excitement.
"We're all here!" Koda laughed, his eyes shifting around the room.
Gunner pulled out Vivian's chair, his presence looming over her as if issuing a warning to the rest of the men at the table, before he sat between her and Koda's guest.
"And why are we all here?" Darla asked, glaring at Koda. It was obvious he was poking at her budding relationship with Brennan by inviting Vivian, using Gunner to keep Brennan on edge.
Vivian leaned back, a feline grace in her posture as she looked toward Brennan. "New friend?" she asked, giving him a slow, knowing smile.
"No! What—ha. Koda actually invited me," Brennan stammered, a frown slowly etching onto his face. His eyes darted between Vivian and Gunner's hand, which was now resting on the back of her chair. "How did you get my number Koda ?" He had been confused by the invitation when he received it; the last time he rubbed shoulders with Vivian's friends, it had been less than appealing.
"Light work," Koda shrugged. "Everyone already knows each other. But this is Ashley Cook, my girlfriend." Unlike the rest of the next generation of the hill kids, Koda already saw the writing on the wall. Once the first engagement was made, the rest would follow in rapid succession. Ashley was his shield. This evening would serve a dual purpose: establishing his girlfriend publicly, and giving Nala a chance to get closer to her fiancé. Because the moment their elder brother, Fuhad, found out about Nala being engaged to his best friend, he was likely to explode.
"What do you do, Ji-ho?" Ashley asked.
"I run my family's resort and hospitality business," Ji-ho replied in a bored, uncaring tone.
"Resorts? How fascinating," Ashley said. She was infinitely more intrigued with Ji-ho now. Koda was great and wealthy, but Ji-ho represented a different level of wealth and power. "I'll have to visit one of your resorts."
Nala couldn't help the glare she shot at Ashley. She didn't know her, and she surely didn't trust her. Koda always had a nasty habit of allowing bottom feeders to leech off of him, and she wasn't eager for his leech to attach herself to her fiancé.
Both Vivian and Darla gave Ashley disgusted looks, easily deciphering the truth in her words.
Darla feigned as if she were asking a genuine question to Brennan, her voice rising just enough to be heard by the table. "You must have to deal with a lot of social parasites in your line of work, right? A lot of models and influencers seem to fit the bill."
The snide remark instantly drew Ashley's attention. Nala's head dipped as she tried to hide a smile.
Koda pretended as if he didn't notice the glares shot at Ashley, or the way she seemed to salivate over Ji-ho's title. The amusement on his face never dimmed as he watched the chaos of the table.
As the first plates were laid out, the group settled into the practiced rhythm of people who had broken bread many times before. Ji-ho, despite his obvious desire to bolt, looked at his plate and saw an avocado rose he normally avoided. Without a word, he turned his plate, subtly allowing Nala to take the pieces he knew she liked. She leaned in, eating off his plate with a quiet, practiced kindness that had always existed between them.
"How is your business doing?" Nala asked quietly. She didn't know what to say or how to speak to Ji-ho now. Everything was different between them. She had hoped the first time she got to speak to him again wouldn't be at a crowded table next to her brother, but she had to take advantage of the moment.
"Busy. Nightlife—it's an all-day affair." He couldn't believe that little Nala—little La—was the woman he would need to spend the rest of his life with. It was unimaginable. Half of his memories of Nala were of her as a child. He hadn't even spoken to Fuhad yet; he couldn't imagine his best friend would be too pleased to learn that he would be the one fucking his little sister.
"I'm appreciating the view," Gunner rumbled, his voice a low vibration intended only for Vivian. Her little glare did nothing to dissuade him as his fingers freely explored her exposed back.
Vivian tilted her head toward him, her earrings catching the glow of the chandelier. "Everything looks good when you're celibate?" Vivian had looked into him a little bit. While it might have been true previously that he had acted more like a dog in heat, in the last few years, not a single woman could get within a five-meter radius of him. For whatever reason, he had sworn off women. As much as she enjoyed this flirtation between them, she believed it would amount to nothing.
"I'll have to correct your understanding," he added, his voice dropping an octave.
"I look forward to the lesson," Vivian said with a challenge, sipping her wine.
"Vivian," Brennan cut in, his voice tight with jealousy. "I didn't realize you and him were on..." He trailed off, not even daring to say the word date, especially after she had rejected him so expertly.
Vivian simply shook her head, indicating that it wasn't a date.
Brennan's eyes flicked to Gunner, a bitter edge entering his tone. "I remember you having exceptionally high standards."
Gunner reached out toward the few loose tendrils of hair around her temples, looping his finger through a tight coil before smoothing it away from her face. The act was intimate. "It's always the people on the outside that will be the last to know," Gunner said, his entire focus centered around Vivian. He didn't need to squabble over something that was already his.
Nala stared in shock at Gunner's provocative words, let alone the way his fingers seemed to be permanently glued to Vivian. She was unsure of when their relationship had moved from barely acquaintances to public seduction.
Taking a bite of his own piece of lamb, Koda smirked as he watched the scene from the head of the table. He smirked at his friend; now he understood why Gunner had practically begged him to invite Vivian to this dinner tonight.
Darla felt snubbed by Brennan's waning affection. They had DM'd a few times on PikFlip and had even managed to get coffee once, yet he was still so obsessed with Vivian. Her insecurity flared, and she decided to refocus him. Beneath the table, her hand found Brennan's thigh. Her grip tightened as she adjusted herself in her chair—an excuse for the contact.
"I really doubt—" Brennan's eyes widened, his sentence faltering as his attention was stolen by Darla.
He stiffened, but Darla didn't stop. She picked up a piece of steak, lifting it to her lips with a slow, sultry grace. As she pulled the fork away, her tongue darted out to catch a drop of juice. The second his eyes snagged on her lips, she locked onto his gaze, her thumb grazing her bottom lip. Brennan's throat hitched; he was trapped between his jealousy for Vivian and the mounting, tactical heat Darla was stoking. His lust was winning out over his feelings. He was a hot-blooded man, and he hadn't so much as touched a woman in weeks.
"Do you plan to continue living in the Greenwood casino? Seems like an unusual place to grow a family," Koda said casually to Ji-ho. He couldn't imagine his sister stuck in some bachelor pad penthouse.
Ji-ho cut Koda with a harsh glare as his lips remained sealed. If he had known that this was some sort of elaborate setup, he wouldn't have come tonight. He didn't intend to be interrogated, especially over something he hoped would never happen. Nala's eyes went wide as her head snapped toward Koda, trying to subtly shake her head at him to stop his brand of helping.
"Bravo," Vivian praised quietly as she caught the little scene between Darla and Brennan. Any man would be lucky to be on the receiving end of Darla's attention; she had definitely perfected the art of seduction.
Giving the two some semblance of privacy, Vivian looked at Gunner's lamb chops. She didn't ask, but Gunner saw the hunger in her eyes. He sliced a perfect, tender piece and lifted his fork. When she went to take the utensil from him, he shook his head.
He hadn't missed her hushed words. He would show her what true seduction looked like.
"Open your mouth," his husky voice skimmed lowly over the shell of her ear.
Vivian's eyes widened, a fierce blush covering her cheeks. She hesitated, then opened her mouth just the smallest bit. Gunner pushed the meat through her plump parted lips slowly, his gaze dark and commanding. The moment it was in her mouth, Vivian turned her head away, horrified and aroused in equal measure, cursing internally at her traitorous body.
"How did it taste?" Gunner asked, his voice gravelly. The scruff of his beard tickled the shell of her ear as he demanded her words.
Vivian fiddled with her earring, looking at the wall. "Go away," she whispered, her voice barely audible as she pushed at his ribs, trying to force some distance between them.
"Vivian." The demanding tone in his voice made her thighs squeeze together painfully. The sound of her name on his lips was sinful. So fucking sinful.
"Good," she hummed, regaining a little bit of composure. He placed his meat on her plate, swapping her chicken for his lamb.
The "lightness" Koda had promised was fraying into something far more carnal. He couldn't understand how this shift had even happened.
"Can we not do the interrogation thing? It's been less than twenty-four hours," Nala groaned in irritation, dropping her utensils on her plate. She gave her brother a pleading look.
"It's fine, Nala," Ji-ho muttered.
"You're starting to piss me off," Nala said to her brother, her eyes flashing toward Ashley on his side. "I don't need your help."
Ji-ho finally stood, his chair scraping the floor. He offered a hand to Nala. "Nala. Let's speak. Privately."
As Ji-ho and Nala walked away, Darla whispered across the table to Vivian, "What is that about?" She knew Nala had a crush on Ji-ho, but it would never amount to anything. Those two were the only couple here that didn't make any sense, yet there was clearly something going on between them.
Vivian shrugged. "I have no idea," she murmured before looking up at Gunner.
"Haven't heard anything," he told them.
Koda felt a flash of apprehension, his smirk faltering as he watched them leave. His brotherly instinct flared, but he let them go.
"What the fuck kind of dinner did I plan?" Koda said to Ashley.
"An entertaining one!" she shrugged, taking a deep sip of her wine. She had never tasted anything so sweet; wealth was the strongest of aphrodisiacs.
Author's note:
I'm late! I'm very sorry. I will be doing four chapters today. To make up for my lateness. Enjoy!