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    Weston’s eyes lingered on Laura with a heat that promised permanence; nothing about that look suggested he would step aside when the calendar turned.

    Worse, he was willing to voice that im in front of everyone–words that sounded part vow, part velvet–gloved threat.

    “Ms. Bridger, long time no see.” An unfamiliar male voice cut through the ballroom din, snapping Quinn out of her reverie.

    She turned and found Harbs Wagner striding toward her, tailored suit catching chandelier light like a scalpel.

    “Mr. Wagner, it has been a while,” Quinn greeted, recognizing the director of an international conglomerate she had once courted while at Grafton Technologies.

    “I heard you left Grafton Technologies,” Harbs said with an easy smile. “I’ve been hoping to bring you aboard my team—interested?”

    “Sorry, I’ve already joined Azure Technologies,” Quinn replied, gentle yet firm.

    “Quinn heads our R&D division,” Laura added, seizing the chance towork. “We’d be thrilled to coborate with you down the line, Mr. Wagner.”

    Harbs nced at Quinn, unwilling to surrender. “Are you truly against the idea? The opportunities with us would be even broader.”

    Quinn shook her head. “I love Azure Technologies. My friends and I n to build it into something formidable.”

    Harbs sighed, but his courtesy never faltered. He shook Laura’s hand, then faced Quinn again. “At least let’s talk tech,” he said. “I’m still fascinated by the drone project you once pitched.”

    “Of course,” Quinn said, happy to discuss the sky–bound machines that still set her pulse racing.

    While the two spoke in low, measured tones, a woman stood some distance away. Her round eyes–bright, sharp, almost predatory–caught every nuance of the scene and stored it away like film in a silent camera.

    Gavin tipped his ss toward Julius, a sly smile creeping across his face. “So tell me, you care more than you let on, so why the act? Why pretend she’s a stranger?”

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    Julius kept his posture carved from ice–shoulders squared, chin slightly lifted–yet his betrayed him, wandering again and again toward Quinn.

    gaze

    His lips thinned to a pale, unyielding line, and he refused to give Gavin so much as a flicker of acknowledgement.

    Gavin shrugged, unfazed. “That fellow chatting with Quinn is Harbs Wagner. From what I know, the man is usually frost and marble. And yet look at him now–soft voice, easy smile. Do you think he is falling for her, too?”

    A shadow crossed Julius‘ eyes, dark as storm water.

    Women like Quinn wore restraint the way others wore silk. The closer one came, the clearer her radiance became, until it eclipsed every sensible thought.

    Of course other men would drift toward that light–Han had, and now, it seemed, so had Harbs.

    Julius had sworn not to step near her again. If she chose another man, it was only the consequence of his own retreat.

    Yet the jealousy inside him sprouted like untended weeds, fierce and multiplying, strangling every resolve he thought he possessed.

    Julius clenched his jaw so hard his mrs threatened to crack. He watched Quinn and Harbs tradeughter, watched their sses meet with a bright, traitorous chime, watched the man lean down, closer, ever closer, toward the faint pulse at the base of her neck.

    iCrack/ii! /i

    His right hand closed, shattering the fragile stem of his winess. Shards bit into his palm, and blood threaded between his fingers before slipping down to the polished floor.

    Gavin gasped. “Julius!”

    But Julius did not hear him. His gaze stayed welded to the couple across the room, pupils zing.

    The jealousy was not merely hot; it was deranged, a firestorm tearing through whatever sanity he had left.

    Harbs tilted his head, studying the ne resting against the hollow of Quinn’s throat. “Your ne feels oddly familiar, Quinn, as though I’ve seen it somewhere before.”

    Quinn’s fingers brushed the pendant with a tenderness that belonged to another time. “It was

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    my mother’s. It once turned up at an auction, so perhaps that’s where you ran across it.”

    Harbs offered a nomittal smile. “Perhaps,” he said.

    A waiter threaded through the crowd carrying a silver tray of drinks. When he walked past Quinn, he stumbled, and a crimson arc of wine sttered across the front of her champagne- colored gown.

    The waiter bowed repeatedly. “I’m so sorry, miss, I’m so sorry!”

    Quinn steadied him with a calm hand. “It’s all right,” she said. The wine blossomed across the pale fabric like a cruel, red flower everyone could not help but notice.

    Laura arrived at Quinn’s side, concern sharpening her features. “Come to the lounge. I keep a spare dress in my car–I’ll fetch it for you, and we’ll have you changed in no time.”

    “All right,” Quinn answered with a nod, fingers gathering a handful of satin so the hem would not drag. Head bowed, spine straight, she glided across the velvet–carpeted corridor toward the private lounge, the murmurs of the ballroom fading behind her.

    Laura pivoted, about to fetch the spare gown they had discussed, when a looming silhouette stopped her short. Julius stood a few paces away.

    For a heartbeat, Laura wondered what had captured the man’s attention. Then, she followed the line of his stare and realized he was tracking the sway of Quinn’s retreating figure, eyes dark, expression unreadable.

    Inside the deserted lounge, Quinn pulled a stack of pre–moistened wipes from a crystal dispenser and began blotting the sticky wine from her gown.

    The burgundy droplets had sshed farther than she thought, dappling her forearms and the delicate curve of her neck.

    She had just tossed thest wipe into the bin when a soft rap echoed against the door.

    iIt /iimust /iibe /iiLaura /iisending /iime /iithe /iigown/i.

    Quinn utched the door. The threshold was abruptly filled not by Laura but by Julius–tall, raven–haired, carrying a storm behind his eyes.

    “What are you…” Quinn whispered, her voice splintering.

    Before she could finish, Julius surged forward, mmed the door with his free hand, and pinned her against the wall, breath hot against her temple.

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    “Why do you keep showing up in my life?” he growled. “I warned you–stay as far away from me as possible.”

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