Page 46 of To Catch A Rook

“Hillary!”

Jediah’s simpering tenor snapped me out of the conversation before I could even acknowledge the reparation. His ingratiating voice injected steel into my spine and I drew in a breath so that I too could spew the same bullshit.

“Jediah!” I plastered on my most seasoned smile and stood to give the five-foot-six man a stilted hug. “What a wonderful turnout this evening.”

A conceited sneer rivaling the Cheshire Cat smiled back at me, and I stifled the urge to smack it off his face.

“So lovely to see you again, darling.” He turned to face Aaron, who had moved to stand beside me in silent partnership. “So good to see you, son. I look forward to sharing your family’s announcement later this evening. The power players—they are shifting! And ah!”

The giddy host spotted someone behind us and waved them over. “There is someone I’d like you to meet.”

I didn’t shift my stance to see who it was. Anyone I needed or wanted to know at these particular gatherings, I had already met. Aaron and I exchanged a look of mutual distaste for another introduction, but I prepared my most saccharine smile to get the encounter over with.

“Oy’, Jed!”

The resonance of the Irish lilt was unmistakable. Lauchlan O’Donnell, in the very flesh, had received an invite to an elite, private gathering of the wealthy from Jediah Waldorf himself.

Tasty thoughts of the debauchery in my living room the other night rose to the surface, and I could feel my core heating from the memories. Nothing got me off more than the ability to incapacitate a man through his own pleasure. By his submission or my servitude was irrelevant; through either mechanism, I was the one in full control. I relished it.

The way he had taken ownership of my control, how deeply he’d leaned into it … I tamped the feelings down as quickly as they had come. Lauchlan was a new sort of control for me now.

He appeared a second later, and I assessed him under a new lens with my latest information. His unruly auburn hair was combed away from his face and the stubble across his cheeks and chin had been finely trimmed into a roguish shadow. His muscular body fit his light blue suit nicely, bringing out the deeper greens and flecks of gold in his eyes.

Even at a quick glance, he had the natural ability to stand out from the crowd, but also blended in seamlessly, as if you’d only noticed him because he wanted you to. He held himself casually, non-threateningly, with a detached confidence that appeared safe.

All masterful traits for swindling the masses.

Pouty lips broke out into a cheeky grin as he likely assumed I was checking him out instead of eyeing up an opponent.

Just you wait, my little rook.

“Have you met Lauchlan? He’s new in town, but comes from a very established Galway family. I’m sure he’ll be making a name for himself here in no time.”

Lauchlan took my hand with a flourish and discreetly stroked the underside of my palm with his thumb. The subtle gesture sprouted more tingling in my belly. Another tamp down.

I dropped his hand and smiled surreptitiously. “We’ve met, yes.”

The Irish swindler’s sea-glass eyes flared with heat before a swift blink wiped all desire away. A quick wink and flash of perfect teeth followed, veiling his interest as mostly professional.

I’d never pegged a business associate to seal a deal, but we could certainly keep up appearances.

Aaron draped a casual arm around my back and I stifled a bark of laughter at the obvious territorial move. All the money and intellect in the world, and the man was, at his core, still a Neanderthal.

I gently pulled away from his grasp and beckoned for Lauchlan to sit across the table from us.

“Take a seat.” I echoed the words from our previous night in a dramatically different context. The charming con artist didn’t miss the reference and grinned impishly, batting the name card of an ‘Ira Robinson’ off of his chosen place setting before he unbuttoned his suit jacket to settle in at our table.

Aaron shot me a begrudging look, the muscle of his sharp, stubbled jaw pulsing in irritation as he pulled out my seat again, taking his place beside me with a huff.

Jediah clapped his hands together, gold bracelets on both wrists rattling in time to his movements. “Wonderful! I’ll leave you to it.”

Thegarish man trotted away, spying another unwitting victim among the masses.

My gaze trailed after him, curious what he was up to. Our opportunistic host wasn’t ‘introducing’ Lauchlan to us as a point of practiced pleasantries. Why was he placing an apparently skilled career criminal in our sights? Successful criminals built their reputations through a well-honed network—was Jediah one of his contacts?

If he was, Lauchlan had more roots on American soil than I originally thought.

I turned my attention back to the men at my table. The silent pissing contest between a set of dancing green eyes and glowering brown ones filled the air with the thick fog of testosterone and stupidity.

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