CHAPTER THREE
The restaurant was perfect—too perfect. The kind of place designed for soft smiles and slow-blooming romance, where flickering candlelight and the muted hum of jazz set the stage for a night of normalcy.
Briar had picked it for that exact reason.
Safe. Romantic. Predictable.
The kind of place where she could sit across from a handsome, normal man and remind herself that she wasn’t falling for the golden-eyed predator who had been haunting her every step.
She forced a smile at Jason, her date for the evening.
He was nice. Safe. Predictable in the best way—pressed shirt, charming grin, brown eyes that didn’t glow in the dark.
Jason swirled his wine, watching her with a teasing glint. “You’re a hard woman to pin down,” he said. “I almost gave up on this date.”
Briar let out a light laugh, lifting her glass. “I’ve been busy.”
Liar.
She hadn’t been busy—just distracted. Hunted. Stalked by a man who had no right to take up this much space in her thoughts.
Jason smiled, tilting his head. “A woman like you probably has a hundred guys trying to take you out.”
She should have enjoyed the compliment. Should have felt that warm glow of flattery.
Instead, her skin prickled.
That feeling again.
The air shifted—subtle but unmistakable.
Her breath stilled.
No.
She wasn’t going to turn around. Wasn’t going to confirm the creeping sensation curling along her spine.
But the moment she lifted her glass, she caught the reflection in the window beside her.
Kade.
Leaning against the bar, arms folded, watching.
Her stomach dropped.
He was dressed in black again—because of course he was—his sleeves rolled up, revealing those strong forearms, the veins that flexed as he tapped his fingers against the glass in front of him. Not drinking. Not talking to anyone.
Just waiting.
Briar’s grip on her fork tightened.
Jason kept talking—something about work, or maybe his gym routine—but she barely heard him. Her pulse roared in her ears, drowning out everything except the unbearable weight of Kade’s stare pressing into her skin.
This was insane.
She was on a date. A real one.
With a man who was good for her.
Not a man who smelled like sin and wild earth. Not a man who looked at her like she was something he was ready to devour.
“So, what do you think?” Jason asked, flashing her another easy smile.
Briar blinked. “About what?”
Jason chuckled. “I just asked if you wanted to get out of here. Maybe grab a drink somewhere quieter.”
She opened her mouth—ready to say yes, ready to force herself to want this.
But then she felt it.
Heat.
Behind her.
Too close.
The air thickened, dark energy humming at her back.
She knew who it was before she turned.
Jason’s eyes flicked upward, his smile faltering. “Uh… can I help you, man?”
Briar turned, slow and deliberate, bracing herself.
Kade was right behind her chair.
Too close.
His golden eyes dragged over Jason like he was an afterthought, something insignificant. But when he met Briar’s gaze, amusement flickered in his expression. Dark. Knowing.
“Out on a date?” His voice was smooth as silk, laced with something dangerous.
Jason frowned. “Who the hell are you?”
Kade didn’t answer.
Didn’t even look at him.
His attention was locked onto her, his lips curling at the edges, like he already knew exactly how this night was going to end.
Briar’s heart pounded.
She should tell him to leave. Should shove him back and make a scene.
Instead, her thighs pressed together under the table.
Her body reacted before her mind could catch up, drawn to his scent—wild and warm, tinged with something primal, something unmistakably him.
Jason shifted uncomfortably. “Briar?”
Kade’s smirk deepened. “Yeah, Briar.” His voice wrapped around her name like a slow caress. “Tell him.”
Tell him what?
That she wasn’t interested? That she was?
That Kade had been showing up everywhere, slipping into her world like a shadow she couldn’t shake?
Jason sighed, rubbing a hand over his jaw. “Look, man, I don’t know what your deal is, but—”
Kade finally turned to him.
Just slightly.
His movements were slow, casual. But something in his posture made the air in the room shift.
Made Jason tense.
Made Briar’s breath hitch.
“I don’t believe we’ve met,” Kade said, voice deceptively light. “And yet, here you are. Sitting in my seat.”
Jason blinked. “The hell are you talking about?”
Briar’s pulse stuttered.
Oh, no.
No, no, no—
Kade didn’t break eye contact. “Get up.”
Jason let out a short, incredulous laugh. “Excuse me?”
Kade’s smirk sharpened. “You heard me.”
Briar shot to her feet. “Okay, that’s enough.”
Kade turned his gaze back to her, utterly unbothered. If anything, his smirk deepened, like this was exactly the reaction he’d been waiting for.
Jason scoffed. “What the hell is this? Your ex?”
Briar hesitated.
Just for a fraction of a second.
Jason muttered a curse under his breath, grabbed his wallet, and tossed a few bills onto the table. “Unbelievable.”
Then he was gone.
Silence stretched between her and Kade.
Briar inhaled through her nose, rage and something far more dangerous curling in her gut.
“You—”
“Don’t look at me like that,” Kade murmured, stepping closer, voice low and smooth. “You knew this wasn’t going anywhere.”
Her nails dug into her palms. “That wasn’t your call to make.”
He reached for her then—fingers brushing the bare skin of her wrist. A featherlight touch.
But it sparked.
Electric.
His voice dipped lower, dangerously soft.
“No?” His fingers flexed against her skin. “Then tell me, sweetheart—if I hadn’t shown up, would you have let him touch you?”
Heat curled in her stomach.
She hated how easily he unraveled her.
Hated that she couldn’t even pretend.
Liar Briar, a voice whispered in her head.
Because they both knew the truth.
Jason had never stood a chance.
Not when Kade was the one haunting her every thought.
Not when her body had already made its choice.