Chapter Nineteen

Ian stood there in utter disbelief. His new lover had just run out on him.

What the fuck had happened?

It had been the most incredible sex of his life, and Candi had raced out like she couldn’t wait to get away from him. He stood there, too dumbfounded to react.

A sort of panic seeped into him as he was finally able to gather his wits and yank his T-shirt over his head. What if he never saw her again? Even though she’d told him to text her, that might actually have been a brush-off. What if she blocked his number? He didn’t even know her real name.

He rushed out of the room, determined to find her before she left the club.

While they’d fucked, it felt as if she were already his. A ludicrous idea, since they hardly knew each other, but the connection had been that powerful. Her unexpected but beautiful submission had intensified the sensation, ironically making him the one bound to her.

He needed to know if it was real. Had she felt it, too?

Racing up the stairs, he searched every masked face in the dim light. His senses were still flooded with her, from the feel of her warm, soft flesh to the scent of her perfume—delicately floral and vaguely familiar—to the sound of her sensuous murmurs and passionate cries. The impressions pressed on his mind as if they held some special meaning for him. He needed time to understand it all.

But more important, he needed to see her again.

Where was she?

He looked everywhere. From Drumbeat to Sadie’s to the Pit, although he couldn’t imagine her seeking out an orgy after what they’d just shared.

Had she already left? What if she never came back?

He jerked open door after door in his search until he arrived at the entrance. The Serengeti proved nearly deserted, and only the Watering Hole remained. Stepping inside, he peered around the nearly black space, so dark he could barely make out the shapes of people within.

He frowned. Sometimes the club’s lack of light was a real nuisance. As best he could tell, everyone was coupled up. He started to turn away when a female spoke—loud, excited, and familiar. For some reason the music was off in the barroom, and her words carried.

Where had he heard that voice before?

It was Candi, of course. But…somehow even more familiar.

He shook his head at the notion. Until now, she’d always been yelling over pounding music or whispering in their quiet suite, so really, he was hearing her true voice for the first time. Squinting through the dark, he tracked the sound to find her on a chaise directly behind a towering plant. He started toward her.

“It was incredible. The best sex of my entire life,” she exclaimed.

Ian startled, pleased she’d liked it, but also unsettled…by something indefinable that he couldn’t put his finger on. For a moment, it scratched at his mind.

Then it kicked him in the head.

Holy shit! He knew her!

He stumbled. Shock cascaded into disbelief and then into black dizziness. He put a hand to the wall to steady himself, sweat beading on his brow.

It just can’t be!

But he knew with gut-deep certainty that Candi was the same woman who had haunted his days and nights for months. Even earlier today standing before her in court, the erotic pull hadn’t abated. Only his excitement about Candi had distracted him enough that he could pretend the judge no longer interested him.

It can’t be her. But it was. He was certain of it.

Hopelessness enveloped him like a cold London fog at the height of winter.

I have to think. What should I do?

Shutting his eyes, he leaned back against the wall and took several deep breaths, willing his rapid pulse to slow and his mind to clear. He peered at her again through the palm fronds. Grimly, he acknowledged the truth—his eager lover, his hot cougar, the woman with whom he’d shared the most amazing sexual experience of his entire life was really The Honorable Ms. Justice Whittingstall.

Tori.

It all fell into place now. Her lavender scent, her lush mouth, her sexy voice, and those pretty eyes he’d gazed at through her mask. It all suddenly combined to reveal the truth as clearly as if it had been emblazoned on her forehead.

Candi and Victoria were the same person.

But…Candi was so different. Those glorious blond locks framing her mask-covered face and bouncing on her shoulders made her look so much younger and softer. Her usual scraped-back tight bun had disguised this golden treasure. And what about her figure? Her ugly, boxy suits had hidden generous melons and curvy hips, which tonight had been displayed to perfection in that sexy dress.

The biggest surprise was her personality. It was a side of her she’d only let loose in her Candi persona. At times sweet, seductive, almost shy—those moods had created her mysterious allure. But tonight, she’d revealed something extra that stirred his darker nature. She’d turned deliciously submissive. It blew his mind to discover the commanding and formidable Judge Whittingstall had this delicious secret hidden inside her.

He shook his head, finding it inconceivable that Candi and Tori could possibly be the same person. How had he failed to recognize the parts of her that had haunted him for weeks?

Candi and Sandy had started gathering their things to leave. As quickly and quietly as a spy, he pivoted and slid around a corner.

He stopped, his heart pounding. He couldn’t breathe as another emotion hit him—frustrating loss. His mystery woman, his sweet submissive, simply evaporated in the face of the truth that she would never accept him now. He could still taste her, still feel her warmth, and her scent of arousal surrounded him. No wonder he’d felt an instant savage attraction for her last week. His body had recognized her on a visceral level, even as his mind was unaware of her identity.

He understood why now. He’d laid claim to her long ago, in a deeply carnal way. His animal instinct had known what his intellect had failed to see. That even in disguise, she was the woman he’d craved for months, the one who would be his and no one else’s.

She’s mine!

He understood now why their lovemaking had been so incredible. Their connection had been intensely real, they just hadn’t known why. He still wanted her, now almost desperately, after their one perfect night together.

She will be mine.

Determination turned his expression into a scowl, his eyes narrowing in concentration. First, he’d transfer to another court to protect their careers. Then, he’d woo her until she accepted that no one else could make her feel the way he could. He’d show her to whom she belonged.

But she would never go near him if he revealed his identity. Not at this point. For her part, their liaison must remain as passionate but anonymous sex, until he built the bond between them. Only then could he reveal the truth.

It was dangerous, but it was the only way he could win her.

What he planned might be wrong. Certainly, it might be considered deceitful. He would need to disguise his voice, because how long could they go on not talking?

Would she ever forgive him if she found out?

The thought of losing her made his gut clench, shocking him by how much the idea hurt. And he wanted more than a few hot fucks. He wanted to get to know her and share all kinds of experiences with her. It was her intellect and her mastery of the courtroom that had first caught his attention, causing him to start the verbal sparring in the first place. He wanted to know that woman, too.

Realizing how much was at stake, he resolved to make gentle, sweet love to her. He would slowly make her comfortable with him. He would stake his territorial claim to her through her body and bind her to him through sex.

Only later, when she was already his, would he reveal his true identity.