Chapter 1

It began on a pleasant cold January night. A chromium Cadillac deftly swung into an available space at the Miami Beach EDITION hotel. The doorman, a black man dressed in impeccable white and gold, quickly moved towards the car and opened the side door, lifting his peaked cap.

A tall, athletic man slid out of the car.

He was possibly in his early thirties and was very attractive. He had a square-shaped face accentuated with high cheekbones, an aggressive jaw, a Grecian nose, a chin with a deep cleft, and stormy dark eyes. He was immaculately dressed in a lightweight dinner jacket. His tie was handmade by Drake's, he was wearing a diamond-studded wristwatch, and on his finger he wore a gold signet ring.

"Evening, sir!" The doorman said, his voice loaded with definable respect.

"Evening! Take care of my wheels, will you?" The man replied, flashing the doorman a smile before moving away from the car. He entered the hotel, moved through the lobby, and strode into a vast ballroom, and his blue eyes narrowed as he scrutinized the whole place.

The room was filled with guests who glided across the dance floor in their ties and long shimmering evening gowns. Where's Lauren? he thought. His handsome face lit up when finally, his eyes settled on the hostess, a sexy-looking woman in a red evening dress who was engrossed in an in-depth discussion with some of the guests.

Cautiously, he glided his way towards the woman, and as if prompted by an unknown force, she looked up to see the man making his way towards her. She politely excused herself from the guests and walked towards him.

"Hello! Darius," The woman said, offering him her hand. The man smiled and took the outstretched hand.

"Hello, Lauren, and happy birthday!" Darius said, smiling at Lauren as he held her tender hand. His voice was deep and husky. He let go of her hand and stared hard at her.

She was one of the most sensually attractive women; few men could resist, and the mere look of her made you think of a hot wild night of lovemaking. Interestingly, her beauty and sensuality had no effect on Darius. The relationship between them was like that of a brother and sister. He dragged Lauren to a corner of the room and looked intently at her.

"You look edible, Lauren!"

"Yeah, I know! So where's my present?" She asked, flashing him her best seductive smile.

"You'll get it in due time! Is she here?" Darius asked, almost impatiently. 

"Yes and no!" Lauren answered.

"Yes and no? What's that supposed to mean?" Darius retorted. The warmness in his eyes was now replaced with something hard and cold.

"Pipe down, cowboy!" Lauren said, noting the quick flash of anger in his eyes. "She's here. I saw her tonight. I'm sure I did! But with this crowd, she could have hidden herself away somewhere."

"You know that the main reason I'm here is because of her. Our agreement was for you to help me keep an eye on her till I got here! You promised me you would hook us up tonight. Just a simple assignment and you could not even see it through. I thought you had my back."

"You can say whatever you like, but I am certain she's here." Lauren retorted. "She's just hiding somewhere. Perhaps, from the men, if I may add. Almost every man in Miami wants to get into the pants of Eva Montreal."

"I'm different from every other man in Miami. I care about her," Darius replied with indignation.

"Don't flatter yourself!" she replied. "Think of her husband too. The man might be lurking around somewhere here. You don't want to mess with him."

"Have you seen him tonight?" Darius asked nonchalantly.

"No! But Vince Montreal is a creep who follows his wife everywhere! He never lets her out of his sight."

"That's his business." he replied, "please answer me; do you know where I can find her?"

Lauren turned her full attention to the guests. Where is Eva? she thought, where could she had gotten to? Darius was a perfect old friend of hers and a businessman who had kept himself away from women for entirely too long. She had been so amazed when he had called her and told her he was desperately in need of a woman. That had shocked her to the bones, and what made it worse was when he had told her that he had found the right woman, and her name was Eva Montreal. Why Eva of all the women in Miami? She had asked him. Eva Montreal! A married woman who had the hot sun of Miami in her loins. Every flesh-and-blood man in Miami was into her. She was notorious for her wild sexual exploits with men. That was the woman Darius, of all people, was interested in. Every attempt to turn his mind away from Eva had fallen on deaf ears. Only heaven knows what he had seen in her. He had begged her to help him find a way to hook them up, and she had done just that. Luckily for Darius, he had called her when she was planning to celebrate her birthday, and to satisfy him, she had made sure Eva Montreal's name was included in the guest list. Now, the stupid woman was nowhere to be found.

"I think I will have to look for her myself!" Darius said, noting the uncertainty on Lauren's face.

"I am so sorry, Darius, but I am sure she's here! Just linger a little while, please?" She said, noting the look of pain in his eyes. She gave him a small smile and moved on to attend to the other guests.

Darius grimaced and drew in a long slow breath. He went over to where the barman was serving the guests, got up on a stool, and asked for scotch over crushed ice. He sipped the drink, his keen eyes on the guests, searching, his mind busy with thoughts. He knew he would be lovesick if he did not see her that night. He had waited too long, and he could wait no more. He had to see her! He just had to.

After a long stretch of patient waiting accompanied by a desperate need to smoke, he stood up and went out onto the patio to cool off.

The night was cold and chilly.

He shivered slightly as he dipped his hand into his pocket and brought out a pack of Marlboro cigarettes. He lit one, dragged down the smoke, and he felt the tightness inside of him loosen up. He had not stayed there for a full minute when he heard movement behind him.

The faint smell of a perfume told him it was a woman.

Startled, he swung around and saw a feminine figure moved past him to the other side of the patio. She was dressed in a white evening gown. Nobody needed to tell him this was the woman he had been looking for. 

Eva! her name was like a heavy blow to his heart. She was of average height, but she looked taller because of her slim but well-built body. She was full-breasted and had long, tapering legs and sturdy hips. Her hair, black as a raven's wing, reached to her shoulders and was parted in the middle, forming a frame for her face that had a wild, sensual beauty. It sent a hundred-watt current through Darius' body. She rested her hands on the railing; her head tilted back as she stared up at the moonlight.

Unhurriedly, he wandered over to her and paused by her side.

"Why are you out here all alone, beautiful? To enjoy the cool breeze of the night?" He said, letting the words slid easily from his mouth.

"And you are?" she asked, still looking at the moonlight.

"I'm Darius. Darius Martin Kane," He answered.

"I think I have heard of you." she said, "You are that real estate millionaire who recently bought that house in downtown Miami. Am I correct?"

"Yep! I never knew news could travel so fast." Darius replied drily.

"What do you want with me?" She asked.

She didn't even turn to look at him, which gave him a chance to study her better. She was not only beautiful; this woman exuded a kind of magnetic sensuality that moved him.

"Let's say I've been searching for you for a while now," Darius said, staring at the firm lines of her throat, her lips—which were glistening red—and her smoky violet eyes. He could see the puckered hardness of her full breasts, and he felt blood rush into his face.

She turned her head and looked at him coldly. Then she smiled—a cunning little smile.

"Mr. Kane, why have you been searching for me?" She asked.

"Please call me Darius, and if I may say, you are even more beautiful up close," he commented, watching her face closely.

Although she was beautiful, he had to admit that there were lines on each side of her mouth, which gave her a bitter, cynical expression.

"Why don't you answer my question first?" she continued.

"Alright! I am here because of you!"

This time Eva narrowed her icy violet eyes at him and studied his face for a moment. 

"What's that supposed to mean?" She finally said.

"I have wanted to meet you for a very long time now."

"Really?" Eva asked incredulously, wondering what the man was driving at. She paused and went on. "Are you not here for the birthday girl?"

"Nope! I wanted to meet you in person; that's why I'm here," Darius replied. If she wants him to be so direct, then so be it.

"I don't understand; how did you know I would be here?"

"Because, Eva, when I want something, I will do anything to get it. I arranged for you to be here!"

A sudden realization hit her.

"Wow! Story of my life. Are you saying you were the one who included my name on the guest's list?

"You can say that again, Eva, but it does not make any difference. You are here, that's all that matters to me."

"Wow! How romantic!" Eva exclaimed sarcastically.

"Eva, this is for real! I have wanted to see you for a very long time now. To possess you and make you mine."

"Are you drunk?" Eva asked, watching his face closely.

"I'm not drunk, Eva. I just want you, is it too much to ask?"

His words puzzled her, and yet she could feel her body warming to them. There was something about his handsome face. Something so masculine, so possessive and compassionate, and to her dismay, she felt a trickle of moistness between her thighs.

"Well, if you must know, I'm a married woman," Eva said, watching his face closely.

"I know!"

Eva stiffened and looked at him suspiciously.

"You know? "

"Yes!" Darius answered firmly.

"But we've never met before."

"That I know, but it does not change anything."

"Of course it does change things! You know I am legally married, and yet you still want me?" She asked, looking at him as if he was crazy or something.

"Yes!"

"What kind of man does that?"

"The type that goes by Darius Martin Kane!"

"You've got balls of steel, you know that? What if my husband comes charging in here?" she asked.

"I don't care about him!" Darius snarled.

"Vince can be pretty rough sometimes, and you know he would be fighting for what rightfully belongs to him!" She said, a note of warning in her voice.

"As I said earlier, I don't care. In this city, we've all heard what kind of man Vince Montreal is. Such a man does not deserve a woman like you."

"How do you know the kind of man I deserve? You talk as if you already know everything about me," Eva said, studying his face.

Darius didn't say anything.

"Alright! If you want me, then prove it!" she said.

"What?" Darius replied, totally caught off guard by her response.

"Prove it that you want me. Here and now!"

"Tell me how!" he replied huskily.

"Kiss me!" she said softly, moistening her glistening red lips with her tongue. "Reduce me to jelly, handsome."

Darius felt as if he had stepped on the teeth of a rake and had the rake handle slam him in the face.

"Kiss you?" he asked, his eyes almost bulging out of their sockets.

"Yeah! Kiss me, hot man!" she said. "Crush me up in your arms. My body is starving!"

"But….we've just met?" Darius bundled the words out of his mouth.

"Do it!" Eva said coldly. "I won't repeat myself."

Something about her should have warned Darius, but he was beyond caring. This was something unique, something that made him short of breath and a little crazy in the head.

He moved towards Eva, grabbed her to his chest, and touched his lips to hers.

The kiss made something explode inside of him. His lips were pressed hard against hers, and he felt her tongue exploring his mouth.

"Oh, my God!" Eva said against his mouth, "hold me tighter."

He has undone her gown's zipper with an experienced hand and slipped the strap off her shoulder. She was not even wearing a bra. Free from its constraint, her full breasts spilled out. He dipped his head and took the rosebud nipple into his mouth. He felt her body stiffen with desire, and she clutched his head closer for him to take more. After a while, he brought his head up and began to kiss her again. They stood there, their breath mingling, their eyes closed, swept away by the intenseness of the passion, and neither of them became aware that a third party had joined them. The tall, powerfully built man grinned wickedly as he watched them kiss. Then he laced his fingers together, lifted his hand, and slammed it hard on Darius's neck.

Darius went down on his hands and knees. He thought the ceiling had fallen on him. Dazed, he turned around, but he was a shade too late to avoid the blow that crashed against the side of his face.

A vivid streak of light blinded him, and then he seemed to be falling into thick, suffocating darkness. He grunted and went down like a pole-axed bull.

Vince—for the man, was Vince Montreal—regarded the still body lying on the hardwood of the patio, a flick of recognition on his face. Then he dragged his eyes to Eva, who was looking at him, her fists clenched, her eyes dark explosions.

"Hello, Eva," he said, a bite in his voice. "I can see you've upgraded your tastes to the likes of Darius Kane. Now that's what I call real smart!"

"You creep!" Eva seethed out. For modesty's sake, she used her hands to cover her naked breasts.

"You seemed hard to find tonight, and yet I still found you."

"Quit the talk, Vince. We both know you are a crazy stalker. It's a shame you can't just keep following me around. You're always behaving like a lizard after a fly!"

His face went white with anger.

"Are you comparing me to a lizard?" he asked in a weak tone.

"Yeah! A very sick one. I think you've got wax in your ears. I keep telling you to stop following me, but you wouldn't listen!"

"But you are my wife, woman! I can do whatever I want with you."

"Real men don't follow their wives around."

"Damn you! I'm a real man," he said hotly. "Have you got no shame? How can you let another man touch you when you've still got a husband?"

Eva scoffed.

"Husband? I've got no husband! What I've got is a gutless insect!"

Vince's face twisted with raw rage.

"Am gonna break your jaw if you don't stop talking." he snarled.

"Go on, break it!" She retorted. "You'd prefer to break the jaw of a woman than talk trash to a man! No wonder you're such a goddamn coward."

"Don't worry!" He said quietly. "I'll fix your behavior when we get home," and he reached out and patted her cheeks with soft, moist fingers.

"Don't do that!" She said violently. "Don't ever touch me like that, damn you!"

"I'll fix you!" he said, smiling wickedly. "You will like it when I fix you. Now move," he pointed a thick finger towards the doorway.

The wild look in his eyes told Eva he meant every word, and a cold chill ran through her. She knew she had stepped on the cobra's tail. Before she could look for a means of escape, Vince had moved towards her, caught hold of her arm, spun her around, and slapped her buttocks with a viciousness that made her squeal.

"Move," He yelled at her. "Move! Whore!"

"She wanted to vent her anger back at him, but the shame of people seeing her in the state that she was in weakened her, and she allowed him to roughly propel her out of the patio into their limousine, which was patiently waiting for them outside.