It was Friday night and I was ready to drown myself in a sea of single women attending a speed-dating event. Finding my mark, I would make her mine for long enough to get what I wanted. She wouldn’t be able to resist, no one ever had.

Except she did and now I needed her even more. She managed to play me; threw me a curve ball, and I was left with egg on my face.

I didn’t know her name, had no way of finding her. I didn’t even have a glass slipper to go on... the only thing I had were her curves seared into my mind. Torturing me.

Even if I did manage to track her down, there was no way I could let her get close to me. There was a good reason why I kept my distance from everyone.

I had secrets to keep and people to protect.

That didn’t mean I wasn’t going to try… Consequences be damned.