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CHAPTER TWO
ETHAN’SVOICEHADbeen droning on for a very, very long time. India nodded and smiled—it was pretty obvious he didn’t require much more than that. The few times she’d attempted to interject her own thoughts, he’d given her a condescending look, as if to imply, ‘what would you know about it?’ and then waffled on some more. His companions didn’t seem to mind, which led India to believe that Ethan Graves was either seriously rich or seriously important. There was no other reason for so many people to be intent on sucking up to him. Oh, he was handsome, in that movie star way, but he was clearly so full of himself that India was beyond bored.
Unfortunately, that left her brain with way, way too much run time, and it was occupied on a singular task: overthinking the experience she’d had with Khalil—she didn’t even know his last name! And yet he’d almost kissed her as though she were his dying breath, and he had—for that moment—been all she was aware of. She tried to think of other matters. Her conversation with Jackson this morning, for example, and how happy he’d sounded, his placement at college coming at a time when he’d been besieged by grief—they both had been—after the sudden, tragic loss of their parents. Her life’s purpose had become, in the last twelve months, about maintaining the status quo for him.
She owed that to her mother and stepfather. She’d loved them so much, and they’d worked so hard to give their children a great life. She’d do anything she could to honour them, and working out a way to cover Jackson’s expensive tuition so he could take up his place at the prestigious institution seemed like a good place to start. They’d been so proud when he’d got his acceptance letter. Jackson’s degree had meant the world to them. She had to make sure he was able to complete his studies.
But was it tenable? Could she keep this up for another three years? Panic rose in her chest, as it always did when she contemplated the future, the financial obligations around her neck tightening until she felt as though she were going to black out. Unfortunately, there were only so many ways an unqualified twenty-four-year-old could make money in this economy, and the amount of money India required meant she’d had no option but to turn to a job like this. Escorting wealthy men to fancy functions wasn’t exactly her dream career, but it paid well. And Jackson was worth it.
She would have done anything she could to be with him today. It was her first birthday without her parents. They’d died three days after she turned twenty-three. She hadn’t stopped to think about that, but this morning, she’d faced this milestone without them, and it had brought all the grief and loneliness and missing them back so she’d wished the day away, simply so she could get this ‘first’ day over with. Christmas had been the same. Jackson had come home though, so at least they’d been together, but it had been hollow and haunting, their parents’ absence making the holiday heavy with sadness.
Ethan’s companions laughed at something he’d said, dragging her back to the conversation. She faked a laugh, before lifting the mineral water to her lips and taking a sip. It wasn’t intentional, but her eyes shifted sideways and it was like being electric-shocked.
Khalil stood across the room, in a conversation he clearly wasn’t listening to. His eyes bored into her in a way that sent her pulse into overdrive. She didn’t—couldn’t—look away, and a moment later his lip lifted in a knowing smile, before his eyes dipped lower, undertaking a slower, more thorough inspection. Her body’s response was immediate. Her stomach squeezed and her breasts tingled, her nipples taut. She knew he realised, and heat bloomed in her cheeks. India sipped her drink again then forced herself to listen to Ethan, dragging her gaze back to her client.
He knew nothing about economics. He clearly thought he did, but India had finished two years of her degree and, beyond that, economics had long been a passion of hers. She knew that he was fudging numbers and his understanding of trade relationships was deeply warped. Did the others in the group realise?
On he went, for at least another twenty minutes, before turning to India. ‘Darling, would you mind fetching me another from the bar?’
Heat flushed her cheeks for a different reason now, and a quick glance confirmed that Khalil was watching, a look in his eyes that knocked the breath from her lungs.
‘Of course not,’ she said, embarrassed, but all too aware she was being paid to be the perfect date.
‘Anyone else for a drink?’ he offered the group.
‘A beer,’ one of the men said with a grin of appreciation.
‘Same,’ another agreed.
India smiled through gritted teeth as she turned and walked towards the bar.
‘You know, there are waiters here who would happily take care of his needs for you.’ Khalil was behind her, his voice caressing. ‘Why does he send you like a little servant?’
The moment he spoke, she realised she’d been hoping he would pursue her. ‘I’m his date and I’m happy to make him happy.’
‘Is this what you think a date should be like?’ Khalil murmured, making a tsking sound of disapproval. ‘What fools you must have been wasting your time on.’
‘You don’t know the half of it,’ she muttered, before she could stop herself.
‘Then let tonight be the night your poor taste in men stops,’ he said with a lift of his brow.
‘We’ve already discussed that. I’m not going home with you.’
‘Because you’d rather go home with him? Or because I was honest about what would happen the morning after?’
Her heart felt as though she had a stitch. ‘A little of both.’
‘I don’t believe you. Not on the first count. I have been watching you all night and there is no spark between the two of you. Not like when I touch you.’
India swallowed quickly. She’d never felt anything like she had when Khalil had touched her, let alone when he’d moved in to kiss her, as though her lips had been designed to dance with his.
‘I wish you’d stop watching me,’ she murmured quietly, except it was a lie. Even his eyes, from across the room, had the power to turn her blood to lava.
‘I can’t. For as long as you are in this room, I will watch you, and I will want you.’
It was so direct! India’s eyes leaped to his, all the breath whooshing out of her. ‘Khalil,’ she moaned. ‘You have to stop this.’
‘When it is so obvious that we both want the same thing?’
