AT 6PM, THE CAR pull up in front of La Fresca where a uniformed valet was waiting outside.

Silas climbed out of the car and walk over to my side and opened the door. I stepped out, accepting his hand and I look over the glitzy restaurant in awe.

"Have a pleasant evening, Miss."

"Thank you, Silas." I smile at him as he climbed back inside the car.

I was greeted by a tall woman with her brown hair styled in a sleek short bob and is wearing a tight black dress and high heels.

"Good Evening, Miss Ayla. I'm Camilla. It's a pleasure to have you here. Let me bring you to Mr. Sinclair."

I follow her from the street and into the dimly lit restaurant that instantly transports you to a place far away from the chaos of the city.

Faint elevator music wafted through the doors, along with the smell of mouth-watering food and pale, sandy light. One side of the restaurant is made of floor to ceiling glass window that has spectacular view of the city. My eyes marvel at the indoor waterfall and the intricate chandeliers hanging from the alcove ceilings. Silas had filled me in earlier that Kade owned several upscale restaurants in the city and this, being one of them.

We walked further into the room and my heart stops at the sight of him.

He's standing at one of the tables, dressed in a black fitted suit with a white-collared, cuff-linked shirt underneath. The top two buttons are undone, making him look more roguishly handsome. His dark blonde hair is brushed back from his face and his green eyes is focused on the old man as they chat away.

My heart starts to beat erratically and spark a nagging ache between my thighs. His gaze captures mine and my pulse flutters at the intensity I see in them. His emerald gaze roams over my body appreciatively and it makes me feel as though the entire room lacks oxygen.

I'm wearing a stunning black knee-length cowl neck open back dress that he had Gemma brought to me earlier. It looks elegant and dangerous. I spent hours contemplating on whether I can pull off a dress like this but when Kade texted me that he couldn't wait to see me wearing it tonight it literally calm my nerves. I paired it with a strappy Louboutin nude high heels and pulled my hair in an elegant low ponytail.

He says something to the man and walks over to me. Wrapping his hand possessively around my waist, he leaned down until his lips is ridiculously close to mine. The chatter around us stopped. I felt everyone's eyes on us.

"You look absolutely ravishing in that dress, Butterfly." Kade murmured against my lips, sending a scorching heat down my body.

This public display of affection from him filled my chest with warmth and I swallow against the tingling feeling rising up my throat. He can do it a thousand times, and I still wouldn't get used to being this close to him.

His fresh scent.

His tousled dark blonde hair.

The glint in his eye. I find myself staring at that longer than I like to admit.

A few patrons are scattered about, but Kade doesn't take any of the available tables. He places an arm around my waist and guides me up hidden stairs with gold and white steps.

I wasn't surprised that Kade took the table in the most secluded part of the restaurant. Not only did we have privacy, our view was stunning, and right behind the indoor waterfall. We were one of only three parties in this level, in one table is an older couple and the other are group of people in business suits.

As I sat on the cushion chair that he pulled out for me, I was delighted when he drag his and placed it beside mine.

"A pleasure Mr. Sinclair and Miss Van Horen. Might I recommend a glass of champagne to start off the evening?" asked the maître d' as he displayed the open, leather-bound wine list.

"A bottle of Dalmore and Krug, Samuel." Kade answered as he continues feasting on my lips with his gaze.

The man gave a curt bow. "I will return with your drinks and to discuss the specials."

As soon as we were alone, Kade leaned down, "You look like a sin in this dress. It should've been for my eyes only, don't you think, Butterfly?" he murmured with his mouth to my ear. He had one hand on the table and the other around my waist, keeping me pulled up tight against his side.

"Yes." I breathed him in, absorbing the delicious scent of his skin. The urge to press my face into the crook of his neck was nearly overwhelming.

"I have a gift for you." He shifted, cupping the back of my neck gently and pressing his lips to my forehead. Reaching down, he pulled out a small box from his pocket and I let out a gasp when he opened the lid to reveal a gorgeous dainty necklace with glistening round cut diamonds and a marquise-cut emerald at the center.

"Turn around," he said gently.

I shifted on my seat and gave my back to him. My heart felt as if it had swelled in my chest. Everything I felt for him, all the torment and love, overwhelmed me.

"The color reminds me of your eyes." Like yours...

"It's beautiful. Thank you." My voice trembled as I traced the jewelry against my fingers.

I leaned back so I could search his face. My breath caught when our eyes met and he stared back at me unflinchingly. There was a calm, solid serenity about him that I haven't seen before. Seeing that settled the doubts and anxiety that crept inside me this morning.

The food we were served was otherworldly good and the wine too expensive to think about or I wouldn't have been able to swallow it. Then we started a long conversation when I asked him about his sister. I was fully expecting that he will change the topic but he surprised me again when he opens up about her. I listened to him, my heart aching and laughing at the same time at his stories.

I'm not sure if he knew, but several times over the past few weeks, I would find him slipping out of the bed in the middle of the night to go to the glass house outside and stayed there for an hour or two. I found out later on that it is where his family was buried. I want his memories of her and his parents to be only about the good ones more than anything in the world.

"Declan said that he's your best friend. How long have you known each other?" I asked as I take a scoop of my crème brûlée.

His lips tug at the corners. "I've known him since we were fourteen. He practically lived with us for years and just as much part of Sinclairs as I am."

I frown. "Why? How about his family?"

Kade shrugged. "I guess business comes first for his parents. You might've heard of them, Rhodes Group."

I pause, the spoon halfway to my mouth. "As in the airline company?"

He nodded, his lips curve playfully.

Whoa. That's the largest airline company in the country. But then again I was sitting beside the only successor of Sinclair Enterprises, so I guess it shouldn't be a surprise that they're both in the same circle.

"What about Valerie?" I looked up at him from beneath my lashes, hoping I sound nonchalant. I've never seen her since she went to her room on the other side of the estate and I thank God for that. There's something about her that stirs some darkness inside me I never knew existed.

His gaze narrowed as he studied me, assessing and reevaluating my question as if it held a trap.

"She's a daughter of a family friend." he answered finally.

I nodded slowly, as if everything makes sense to me. "So she grew up with you and Declan too?"

He leaned into his chair, and tilted his head. "She did."

He lifts his hand, strokes my hair back and swipes his thumb along my lower lip. I cease breathing at the feel of his skin on mine.

His nearness has always been my undoing.

"I know you're possessive of me." He leans over to kiss along my jaw then whispers in dark words. "Not as much as I'm possessive of you, but it's close."

I flushed, wishing he couldn't read me so well.

"My only regret is not meeting you sooner," he continues, cradle my face and making my heart flutters with sparks. "It would've been you from the very beginning."

Instead of Arabella.

I can almost hear his unspoken words hanging in the air between us.

I know that the formalities of a normal relationship have already been thrown out the window for us from the very beginning. Yet, the normality of this evening tells me something about what's happening between us. While he may not say it in words, his touch and his actions says a lot about how he feels about me.

**

Two glasses later, there was a slight warmth growing in my belly and my head a little lighter from the alcohol. I took a sip of my champagne and sets it back on the table before looking over at the view.

It's the last day of August and the temperature have already gone up. I can't wait for September to bring in the slightly cooler temperature. I feel a cloud descend at the thought of September. School starts then.

"What are you thinking?" Kade places a finger under my chin and lifts so I'm facing him. His other hand drapes over the back of my chair and caressed my shoulder with his fingertips, drawing circles on my nape.

I hesitated a moment, then went for it. "I would like to attend school next month."

The stroking of his fingers paused. He stared at me, long and hard. I held my breath.

"Okay," He finally said and my happiness just skyrocketed.

I cupped the back of his neck and kissed him with everything I had. Kade was stunned for a moment but I don't stop. I sucked on his tongue, having learned how much he liked it, having learned how much I liked it.

He opens with a grunt. His kiss is rough, rougher than any other time I remember.

Beneath the table, his hand squeezed my thigh and they fell open shamelessly, my body so aroused I was flushed and almost feverish.

He finally pulls back and growls against my mouth, "I was barely controlling myself. You shouldn't have done that," He pressed a kissed on my temple and nuzzled beneath my ear, touching my sensitive skin.

My skin heats and prickles with the tension crackling in the air. "Kade,"

"Hmm, Butterfly?" His intense eyes never leave my face as his fingers flex on the edge of my dress, teasing, and threatening to go up.

"We're in public."

"And Iʼm supposed to care about that?"

His other hand lifted a glass of his whiskey to his mouth and when he licked his lips, I knew he was thinking about tasting me instead. Sweat breaks on my forehead and my skin pulses as if begging to be touched by him.

His hand slipped inside and disappeared underneath my dress, moving slower...higher. There's an uncontrollable throb between my legs now.

"Should I touch you?"

I whimpered, shaking my head frantically.

A part of me wants to let go.

A part of me wants that pleasure he always wrenches out of my body.

But that part forgot that we were in a restaurant with other people just a few steps away.

"No?" He tilts his head to the side, watching me intently as his fingers draw circles on my inner thigh. "But I want to, Butterfly."

Blood rushes in my veins at the possibility of being caught while Kade is touching me. He leans in so his hot breaths brush against my throat. Goosebumps break over my skin as he murmurs in a low, husky voice, "Say yes."

"Kade..." I trail off not knowing what I want to tell him. Is it to stop? To keep going?

"Say the word," His fingers splay on the hem of my panties, his fingers slowly slipping underneath and a full-body shudder goes through me, making me feel delirious.

I'm burning and Kade is my hell.

He stole the decision from me as he cups me through my underwear. I sink my teeth on his shoulder to suppress the needy sounds clawing its way out.

"You're fucking soaked," Kade growls against the side of my neck.

I couldn't hold back a moan of delight when he slid one finger carefully into me. My back bowed as I clenched eagerly around him.

He pulled out and pushed back into me with two fingers. I hide my head in his shoulder to suppress the sound. I was panting for him, my hips circling shamelessly onto his thrusting fingers. I felt like I'd spontaneously combust if he didn't get me off soon.

He reached down and lift my chin so I was looking up at him. Through the hazy fog of lust, I see his smile that was both wicked and delighted, and it made my chest tight. "Ah, Ayla. My beautiful Butterfly. I look forward to seeing this expression on you tonight as I pound inside you again and again."

My sex rippled around his stroking fingers, the rawness of his words pushing me to the brink of orgasm.

"Please, Kade." I couldn't hide the plea in my voice, biting my lower lip, staring up at him with frantic, lust-filled eyes as I grind against his hand.

"Ssh. I've got you." His thumb rubs up and down my clit in slow circular movements as he thrusts his fingers inside me furiously.

Everything spirals out of control.

He lifted his head and watched with dark eyes as he made me come for him. I bite down on my lip hard when the tremors rippled through me and I squeezed my legs shut to stop the onslaught.

When he finally pulled his hand away, I sagged, boneless and breathing heavily. I curled into him, my face pressed into his throat, my arms wrapping around his neck.

He placed a tender kiss to the crown of my head. "We aren't done yet."