Billionaire Bryde

Chapter Five

Bryant

The first time I'd ever been around one of the Watkins family, I'd been treated like dirt. Reasons why I'd sought out their assistance hadn't mattered. To them, I'd been nothing but a nuisance.

That thought should have ended today. I should be the one they ought to fear.

Then she came strutting in. I didn't see her coming.

Bryde Watkins.

Did her father send his oldest daughter to do his dirty work? Coward. But what else should I have expected from him?

She held her head up high, and even in the darkest corner of the club, her beauty shone through. If I wasn't careful, I'd get burned by her regal stature. She carried herself as New York City royalty should. Her dark hair framed a face that belonged to an angel. Eyes intensified with every ounce of hatred she might feel for me. Her lips parted a slight, voicing out a concern, a fight. Something I couldn't quite catch under the heavy bass of the club's sound system.

The photographs I'd seen of her earlier didn't do her any sort of justice.

I stood, prompting her to raise her chin more. She took me all in. Whether she was impressed or abhorred me more, I couldn't tell. I hoped for the former. Then I caught myself. This was the enemy.

She took a tentative step. The stubbornness, which was most probably taught to her since infancy, apparent in the way she pressed her lips into a thin line.

"Do you have anything to say for yourself?" she spat, hands flying to her hips. The quirk of her eyebrow told me she'd faced more challenging opponent than me.

I aimed to prove her wrong. In more ways than one.

She stepped forward again and I caught a whiff of her alluring scent. It wasn't from a bottled perfume. It was her natural aroma. I could bask in it all night.

I pinched the bridge of my eyes and closed my eyes. Remember why you're here, I reminded myself. Don't get taken in by lust.

I breathed out through my mouth.

"Well?"

"Well what?" I snapped, taking her by surprise. Opening my eyes, I trained a sneer at her as I fought the lust surging through me. "I didn't hear a thing you said. If you wanted to talk business with me, call my assistant."

She twisted her lips into a grimace. "Fuck you."

"What did you just say?"

"You heard me. I didn't come here for business. Don't pretend what you're doing has anything to do with business at all. You think you can strong arm my family with false information? I have news for you, buddy, this isn't the first time anyone has threatened my family. You're not the first person who thinks he's god and can get us to kneel at your feet."

Not all of them. Just her.

Shit.

I gripped her arm and electricity shot through my fingers down to my toes. I retracted my hand and wondered. What cursed woman stood before me? Shaking out the sensation, I grabbed her arm again, and she tried to jerk it back.

I leaned down, my lips a breath away from the sultry line of her neck. For a moment, I warred with myself. I hear a sweet, familiar voice calling out to me and I was reminded of my purpose here. "You want proof of how dangerous I could be to you and your family?" She tilted her chin. "Come with me, and I promise you, by the end of the night, you will kneel before me."