My number

Ismiled warmly at Kate as she pulled out a chair and sat at the table next to mine. “Good morning, blue eyes.”

She blushed, like she always did when I called her by that nickname. “You realize that the fact that we bump into each other here so regularly probably means we have a caffeine problem, right?” she teased.

Oh, I was there due to an addiction, but it wasn’t caffeine I craved. And I only had a month left before I would finally satisfy that craving. Or at least take the edge off. I would always hunger for Kate. I had no doubt of that.

“Some obsessions are worth any price or repercussion,” I responded without a hint of amusement.

She opened her mouth, then shut it, then sputtered, “I’m, um, meeting my sister, Grace, but thought I’d say a quick hello.”

“I’m glad you did,” I responded happily.

“How is the house coming along?”

“Your suggestions have been invaluable. I think you’ll be very pleased with the way it’s shaping up.”

Biting her lip, she glanced away for a second, and when her gaze returned to mine, there was hope in them. “I’d love to see it someday.”

Before I could reply, we were interrupted.

“Hey, Kate!”

A boy, who looked to be a year or two younger than Kate, walked up to the table grinning. His eyes drank in the sight of my girl with appreciation. Rage bubbled to the surface, and I clenched my jaw while curling my fingers into a fist so tight it drew blood.

“Hey, Sailor,” Kate greeted with a smile. He bent over to give her a hug, and she raised her arms to return the embrace.

“Hands to yourself,” I growled, unable to sit back and do nothing. Both of them looked at me with surprise, the kid—Sailor?

Seriously?—started to dismiss me, but something in my expression made him reconsider, and he looked a little nervous. That’s right, punk. Get the fuck away from my girl.

Kate, however, didn’t look very happy with me. I mentally shrugged. She’d get used to my possessiveness and jealousy—I fully admitted I was envious of anything that touched her besides me —because it was unlikely to ever dim.

“Well, um, it was nice to see you, Kate. I’ll be at the party next month. Maybe we can talk more then.” He tossed me an irritated glare but took two steps away. I smiled smugly. Keep moving, asshole.

“Sure,” Kate answered with a nod.

Kate’s sister, Grace, and her husband, Hudson—it had been their wedding where I’d first seen my girl—were hosting Kate’s eighteenth birthday party at their house. Since the chateau wasn’t far, I’d be spending that weekend there to be near her.

“Cool. I’ll see you there.”

I gritted my teeth as he walked away, irritated that he would be attending the event that signaled the most important day of my life when I couldn’t. Who the fuck was this kid invited to family functions, like my woman’s birthday? I was seriously tempted to threaten him with all sorts of pain if he went anywhere near my girl again.

“That was rude,” Kate snapped, glaring at me.

I considered apologizing, but it wouldn’t be sincere. “I didn’t like the way he was looking at you, blue eyes,” I admitted. “And a boy like that has no idea how to treat someone like you.” Or the ability to satisfy her. Even if I were closer to his age, I’d always been above average in size when it came to my cock. But I didn’t say all that out loud.

“What do you mean, like me?” she asked, her nose wrinkling adorably.

“You're special, Kate. Beautiful inside and out. But mostly, you’re already a woman, and he’s still a hormonal kid who would only be interested in getting his dick wet with you.”

“Um…thank you…I think?” She ran a hand through her dark-red hair and pushed it back over her shoulder. From the way she was studying me, she seemed to be contemplating something. “I suppose you know how to treat a woman?” she inquired, her tone hesitant like she wasn’t sure she wanted to know the answer.

“My mother raised me to be polite and respect all women.” Judging by her reaction, that obviously hadn’t been the answer

she’d been looking for. I was aware of what she wanted, but I didn’t think I should open that particular can of desire just yet.

“But if I met someone like you”—apparently, my mouth had a mind of its own—“I’d claim her and make her mine in every way. I’d worship the ground she walked on and do anything I could to make her happy.”

Kate’s lips curved, and she practically melted back into her chair.

I should have left it at that…but my mouth went running again. “And I’d make damn fucking sure that she knew exactly who she belonged to by marking her, inside and out.” My jaw hardened before I finished with, “I’d also make sure that every other motherfucker who looked at her knew she was mine. Because I don’t share.”

She raised an eyebrow, but her blue pools were bright with heat and curiosity. I almost grinned when she shifted in her seat, uncrossing and recrossing her legs. Hmm, it seemed my possessiveness turned my girl on. That certainly boded well for us.

“Well, um…”

“Kate!” I almost banged a fist on the table in frustration when we were interrupted yet again.

But my anger receded when I spotted Kate’s sister, Grace, waving to her as she made her way to our table. “Hudson practically kicked me out,” she said, rolling her eyes, but her smile gave away her true happiness. “He said I needed girl time. Sorry, I’m late.”

“No problem,” Kate murmured as she stood to hug her sister. “I was just passing the time by visiting with—”“You’re the fireman!” Grace interrupted with a giant smile. “I didn’t really get a chance to thank you for your help at the wedding.”

I waved off her gratitude. “It was my job. But I’m glad there wasn’t an actual fire.” More than she knew because it would have put Kate in danger.

“I’m Grace, Kate’s sister,” she said, sticking her hand out. “Jackson,” I replied, shaking her hand. “The fireman.”

Kate giggled, and my lips immediately curled up into a smile. Grace’s gaze bounced back and forth between Kate and me a

few times, then she grinned mischievously. “You know, Kate here is turning eighteen next month. On the fifth.”

I gave her the appropriate raise of my brow as if to say, “Oh? I didn’t know.”

Her eyes narrowed for a moment, and I had a feeling she was aware that I’d already known the date of Kate’s birthday. But she didn’t dig into it, and I had to wonder. Did I have an ally in my girl’s sister?

Grace’s expression transformed into bright excitement. “You should come. You know, as a thank you.”

Kate sucked in a breath too fast and choked on it, coughing and wheezing. “I’m s-sure Jackson has…better…things t-to d-do.”

“I can’t think of anywhere I’d rather be that day,” I corrected. “Fantastic!” Grace chirped. “Give me your number, and I’ll text

you the information.” Her tone was sly and confirmed what I suspected. Grace was giving me the opportunity I needed to claim Kate. And it seemed she assumed I already knew everything about the event, which was correct. When I thought about it, though, I wasn’t all that shocked. I’d heard about her husband and how possessive he was of her. And she was Jeall Weller’s daughter. Grace was familiar with my kind because she’d grown up around them. Not just her father but her uncles and even some of her cousins.

Having her in my corner would be extremely helpful. I rattled off my number, and she plugged it into her phone. My text alert went off, but then Kate’s cell dinged, and I smirked, knowing Grace had sent my information to Kate as well.

“Thanks,” I said, thrilled with how this visit had turned out.

“You bet! Well, we’ll see you later.”

Kate waved, and I lifted my chin in farewell. As they turned, Grace leaned back and whispered, “You better not hurt my sister because there is nowhere you can hide that my dad won’t find you. And you can be sure that no one will ever find your body.” She didn’t wait for my reaction before trotting off to catch up with Kate.

It would have been comical if it weren’t the truth.

I was a few feet down the sidewalk from the coffee house when my phone rang. A small part of me hoped that Kate was calling, but it wasn’t a realistic scenario, mostly because she was currently busy with her sister.

However, the caller ID announced that it was Cano, the CEO of one of my foundations, Worlds Together. The charity’s vision was to boost economies by building up communities and providing jobs in the process, as well as continued training.

“Please tell me you’re calling to say that Baros has finally backed off,” I grunted when I put in my ear phones and answered the call. Dekel Baros owned a big chunk of land that split right down the middle of an area we were developing in Greece. We’d been fighting the asshole for months to get him to sell. But he was a greedy son of a bitch and wanted us to pay at least four times what the land was worth. And the motherfucker was threatening to make people pay a fee to cross his land. These people were living in poverty. No one could afford to work on one side and live on the other, or to be forced to cross the land to grocery shop, etc. So we either had to build pretty much double what we were planning or get Baros to go away.

“I wanted to call you and hopefully give you an update before you saw it on the news,” Cano responded, ignoring my question.

“Have things with Baros escalated?” “Baros is dead.”

I froze, right there in the middle of the sidewalk, forcing people to go around me, but I didn’t even notice.

“Please tell me you had nothing to do with that,” I growled in a low voice.

“Of course not. Though I can’t say it never crossed my mind.”

I certainly had no cause to reprimand him for that since I’d had the same thought many times.

“What happened?”

“There was an earthquake about four miles from here.” Cano sighed, sounding exhausted.

“Son of a bitch,” I breathed. “How bad?”

“It was a 6.9. We have some minimal issues here, but it severely damaged the city. Our biggest problem is that it busted water pipes and cracked the foundation of the headquarters. A dead tree on Baros’s property broke off its roots and fell on his roof. They dug his body out of his bedroom about twenty minutes ago. Three of his staff are dead as well, one broken leg and some broken ribs among the others. One of our construction crew fell when the concrete cracked, but he just sprained his ankle. As far as I’ve been able to tell, we haven’t had any other injuries or fatalities.”

“Shit. I’ll be on my way as soon as the jet is ready.” “You don’t have to—”

“Fuck that, Cano,” I growled. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

I’d spent six months in that area when we began construction on the headquarters. There were many villagers I still kept in touch with, and I needed to see for myself that everyone was all right and help deal with the aftermath.

Spinning on my heel, I dialed the number for my chauffeur and walked back toward the coffee shop. Then I sent a text to my pilot and told her to get the jet ready.

As I strolled up to the glass door, it opened, and Kate and Grace exited the shop.

“Kate.” Their heads swiveled in my direction, but I only had eyes for my girl. “I need to speak with you for a moment.”

“Um…” She looked bewildered, so I just grabbed her wrist and led her a few feet away. We moved up against the building so we didn‘t block the pedestrian traffic.

“I have to leave town unexpectedly.” “Why—um, okay.”