Melting Steel: An Alpha Billionaire Romance Read Free Page B

true.
    “You’re done.” He points a stubby finger at me. “Get your things and leave.”
    I don’t even try arguing. What’s the point?
    Instead, I turn all my pent up emotions on the dark-eyed devil in front of me, and with all the animosity I can muster, I bite out one single word, “Thanks.”
     
     
     

Chapter 2
     
    Henry
     
    A firm hand smacks my shoulder as the raven-haired little minx turns on her heels and stalks off.
    “Nice left hook you got there.” Asher Harrison, my business colleague and soon to be brother-in-law, gives a few air punches in my direction. He’s been drinking steadily for the past four hours and he’s starting to get sloppy. “I used to box in college. We should jump in the ring sometime.”
    I’ve never liked the man, but for Becca I’ve been trying to put my distaste behind me. That’s why I’m here tonight, at his so-called Bachelor party. Trying to be civil. It isn’t easy. The more time I spend with the guy, the more I get a gut-wrenching feeling that the bastard is nothing but trouble.
    Speaking of trouble, I scan the club, searching for Keeley, but she’s disappeared.
    Damn it.
    Lush lips. Blue eyes rimmed with thick dark lashes. A sexy mass of black hair begging for a man’s fingers to tangle in.
    Keeley. Even her name makes my cock hard.
    The woman is gorgeous. But it’s more than that. Something I can’t put my finger on. The moment those irresistible eyes locked on me, I had the overwhelming urge to hunt, possess, and ultimately to make her mine .
    She made it clear she isn’t interested. But I felt the way she trembled under my touch, saw her eyes widen in anticipation. She wants me, she just doesn’t know it yet.
    I chuckle under my breath.
    Challenge accepted.
    There’s still a chance I can catch her before she leaves.
    I feel like shit that she lost her job, but there was no way in hell I was letting that prick hurt her.
    I’ve seen firsthand what low-level scum like that bastard are capable of.
    The room suddenly feels smaller as unwanted memories and regrets tighten my chest.
    Abby.
    It hits me suddenly. Like a fucking sledgehammer across the head. That’s who Keeley reminds me of. Shit . I pinch the bridge of my nose and close my eyes, seeing the two women in my head. Abby was blonde, with a slighter, more fragile build. But the similarities are there, in the delicate bone structure, the large, almost haunting blue eyes. 
    No wonder I reacted so possessively.
    “I have to be in the office early tomorrow.” I grab my jacket from the barstool, needing to clear my head.
    “Don’t go.” Asher’s arm flings over my shoulder, causing the amber liquid to slosh over the rim of his glass. “We’re heading to The Doll House. Come with us.”
    If I weren’t repulsed by his suggestion, I’d probably laugh. It’s the same strip club Keeley mentioned earlier. It’s not that I don’t appreciate the female form. Hell, I fucking worship it. But I’m not into paying someone to take their clothes off.
    I peel Asher’s arm off my shoulder. “I’ll pass.”
    “Your loss, man.”
    Leaving Asher with the group of clowns he came with, I stop the pretty, redheaded waitress that told me Keeley’s name.
    “She’s gone. Left a few minutes ago.” The woman gives me a wicked smile. “But I get off in twenty minutes if you want to wait.”
    Any other night I’d probably take her up on her offer, but not tonight. Not when both Abby and Keeley’s faces keep flashing across my vision like a fucking kaleidoscope.
    I exit the club and wait for the valet to return my car, grateful for the cool sting of air as it hits my lungs. I can’t help but shake the feeling that I know her, and it’s more than just the similarities between her and Abby.
    “Call me back as soon as you get this.” A woman’s panicked voice carries from the shadows about twenty feet away.
    I blink, letting my eyes adjust.
    Huddled in the corner, nearly hidden behind the large trash