Chapter 3: Hunting for Men

The next day.

Claire took the day off work. In the morning, she met Nathaniel at the marriage registry office and signed the divorce papers, then went home and slept the entire day away.

She slept like the dead and woke up feeling better than she had in months.

That evening, she dressed to kill sleek, sexy, dripping with confidence.

A black button-front V-neck bodycon mini dress hugged every curve. Her legs, long and bare beneath the short hem, were nothing short of devastating.

She moved with a cool, untouchable elegance, the kind of beauty that looked expensive and unbothered. Paired with her striking, mature features, she was simply breathtaking.

Claire arrived at the bar, ordered a drink, and claimed a corner booth, crossing those long, pale legs where anyone with eyes could see them.

She sat back and let herself browse.

For years, there had only ever been Nathaniel. Just one man, one mistake.

Now she wanted to know what it felt like to want someone else on her own terms, for once.

The dance floor churned with bodies moving to a bassline built for exactly this kind of decision-making, the whole club humming with restless energy.

Claire's gaze drifted to a group of men lounging in a booth across the room, and a slow, knowing smile curved her lips.

They were young, good-looking, carrying themselves with the kind of effortless polish that came from money and indifference in equal measure.

Judging by their tailoring and their posture, none of them would be easy.

Good. Easy was boring.

Her eyes eventually landed on one man in particular.

He looked like he'd been built from a checklist of everything devastating cool, distant, dangerously attractive.

Him. She'd found her target.

He sat with his long legs crossed at the ankle, black trousers doing nothing to hide the clean lines of an obviously powerful frame.

Standing, she guessed, he'd clear six foot three, easy.

Even seated, fully dressed, the strength in his build was impossible to miss.

A face like that paired with a body like that. Claire felt something close to satisfaction settle in her chest.

If she was going fishing, she might as well aim for the best catch in the water.

She'd given the best years of her life to a man who didn't deserve them. She wasn't about to shortchange herself now.

She needed someone gorgeous. Someone worth the trouble.

Even under the flashing lights, his face held its shape sharp, symmetrical, edged with something wild beneath the polish.

A cold, composed, impossibly good-looking man.

As if he'd felt the weight of her stare, he turned and met her eyes directly.

The chill in his gaze hit her like ice water down her spine.

There was something commanding in that stare, something that dared people to come closer while promising nothing but distance if they did.

Claire liked him even more for it.

She swirled the wine in her glass, leaned forward just enough, and let herself be looked at from the most flattering angle available.

Then she smiled not too much, not too little. Just enough to be unmistakable without looking desperate for it.

The smile did its job. His brow tightened, his gaze sharpening as it locked onto her.

Lucas Kane had already clocked the woman alone in the corner booth, watching him for the better part of ten minutes.

Was she seriously trying this?

A flash of cold amusement crossed his narrow, sharp eyes as he studied her back.

She was beautiful, he'd give her that pale skin, a striking face, legs for days, the kind of look most men would trip over themselves for.

Another one who thinks she's special.

Thinks a little beauty is enough to reel him in.

Lucas had every intention of ignoring her completely. But she kept smiling at him, and something about her refused to let him look away.