Chapter 8

Present day

After Kate—no, Ms. Wright, I had to remember that—left, I sat staring at my cold tea in utter consternation.

She’d got one over me. I had to admit that one. I’d thrown down the gauntlet. She’d taken it up and had promptly shoved it up my arse. So much for getting control of the situation.

I rubbed my temples, feeling a headache forming. Despite my irritation, I couldn’t help but be impressed. I’d seen flashes of this Kate when we’d hooked up in Ireland, but apparently when she got her back up she was ruthless.

And fuck me if that wasn’t sexy.

My cock hardened—all right, it was already hard from our conversation. Memories flooded my mind. I’d tried so hard to tell myself that our fling had been nothing. It had been fun, but it hadn’t affected me—or so I’d told myself.

Except this girl had haunted my dreams for months now. It was as if she’d infected me with a virus. She was the emotional equivalent of herpes. You could deal with symptoms, but it’d never go away.

One t