Clarity (The Seductors #3.5)

by B. L. Wilde

  The Seductors Series #3.5

  Clarity

  By B.L.Wilde

  This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, locations and events are fictional, and any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © B.L. Wilde 2015

  The right of this individual to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, nor stored in a database or retrieval system, without prior written permission from the authors.

  Edited by Jo Matthews

  Cover Design © Jo Matthews, Written Elegance 2015

  Cover image © kasezo shutterstock.com

  Interior Formatting by Jo Matthews, Written Elegance 2015

  Table of Contents

  Acknowledgements

  Dedication

  Preface

  ~Oliver~

  About B.L. Wilde

  Other Books by B.L. Wilde

  Coming Soon...

  Acknowledgements

  My thanks go firstly to Jo. You are, and always will be, my rock in this crazy world. I love you.

  Andrea and Jeanne, my proofreading ladies—your support and love means so much to me. Thank you!

  The Seductors Series has brought so many amazing people into my life, but I have to give a special shout out to Jenn, Lynsey, Rachel, Tina, Tonya, Vicci, Tracie, Renee, Heather, and Katie. You are my pimping queens. I LOVE YOU ALL.

  Lastly, thank you to my readers. Your love for Oliver made this novella happen.

  Enjoy.

  Love,

  B.L. Wilde

  For all the Oliver Kirkham lovers, this novella was written because of you.

  Preface

  "Love is the voice under all silences, the hope which has no opposite in fear; the strength so strong mere force is feebleness: the truth more first than sun, more last than star." — E.E. Cummings

  My father used to read Cummings to me as a child. I’d never really understood the power of love until now, though. It was all consuming. It did make you think irrationally. It made you want to move heaven and earth, and that was exactly what I did for love. I wasn’t prepared to give her up—ever!

  ~OLIVER~

  Pain. I thought I knew how it felt. Over the years, I watched my father slip away and forget me. That hurt more than I ever imagined, but the pain I felt then was nothing compared to the thought of losing Jade for good.

  Falling in love was never something I had bargained for. I’d always been extremely dedicated to my job. My father taught me to never lose focus on what was important, and until Jade, all that mattered to me had been my company. By making Kirkham Industries succeed, in a small way I felt that I was making my father proud. I’d become the man he wanted me to be, even if he couldn't witness that for himself. Deep down, he was still with me, though.

  I laughed to myself, imagining what he’d say about this entire situation if he had been well—giving my heart fully to a woman that had originally been sent to steal from me. Jade could have ruined me, and caused the next world war, but the moment I laid eyes on her in the bar at the Savoy, I knew she was different. Whether it had been an instant attraction or a bunch of neurons in my brain reacting in a certain way, I couldn’t mistake the charge between us. I saw behind those cool blue eyes, and something inside them called to me in a deep, unchanging way. It was more than biology. I could feel it deep in the pit of my stomach—this was the woman for me. She crippled my defenses before we’d even left the bar.

  I followed Jade into the lobby where we waited for the elevator. The charge flowing between us throughout dinner was impossible to ignore. No woman had ever gotten me worked up that quickly. Being a gentleman was going to be difficult around her, that was for sure. My cock became semi hard the moment she pulled on my tie, asking for some company. How would I be able to control this lust seeping into every pore of my body?

  The moment her lips met mine I had my answer. I had no control when it came to this woman. Her taste exploded around my senses, causing something deep and primal inside me to rise to the surface. I gripped Jade by her sexy little ass, and my lips refused to let go of hers until the elevator doors pinged open. Beautiful, innocent Jade was in trouble now. My body was erupting with passion.

  “I want you to know I don’t usually do this sort of thing,” she whispered, playing with her little purse once we’d arrived outside my bedroom door. Neither did I, but there was something about her that was calling to me. I couldn’t stop myself.

  “Wow, your room is so much bigger than mine,” she gasped once we were inside. I wasn’t really paying much attention. I’d only had one thing on my mind since the moment I first saw her in the bar, and that was to bury my cock deep inside her.

  Taking her, and myself by surprise, I pinned her against the wall with my body. “I don’t want to make small talk anymore. I just want to fuck you, Jade!” When her body surrendered to me, I knew she wanted it as much as I did.

  Fucking Jade against that wall in my suite at the Savoy Hotel was unlike any other sexual experience I’d ever had. I hadn’t known at the time, but I’d already started to fall for her.

  Of course, after our amazing weekend in London together, I had to see her again. By our second meeting, I was completely lost. Seeing her in her own surroundings and learning that we had so much in common…it was the most relaxing few days I’d ever had up to that point. I was a man in love and there was no going back. Jade felt the same way, even if she wouldn’t admit it to herself. The way her body reacted to my touch gave her away every time.

  Taking her back to Macon to meet my father felt like the next step after months of dating. I wanted her by my side and wasn’t afraid to tell her how I felt about us. What I hadn’t predicted was Jade’s reaction to me admitting my love for her. I don’t like to dwell on those dark months without her. Knowing the entire story now, in a strange way, I take comfort in Jade leaving me that night because she was doing it to protect me. Back then, however, I blamed myself. I believed that I’d pushed her away by moving too fast.

  I tried everything in my power to find her, but every lead I chased dried up. That was the crushing moment for me: sitting there at my desk, six months after she ran, having to accept that Jade didn’t want to be found. I had to let her go.

  Fate, however, had a different plan for us.

  I’ll never forget seeing her with that asshole Brian Brentford at that opening night in New York. Out of all the places I’d hoped to see her again, that was the most obscure. Not to mention she was with Brian. He’d been renowned for his womanizing ways since college. I didn’t want Jade anywhere near him and was going to tell her so when I learned she was working for him!

  She was even more beautiful than I had remembered though, gazing at me with those ocean blue eyes, her chest heaving up and down in panic as our eyes met. Then the hurt and betrayal struck me and I lost it with her. I loved her and she’d left me!

  Did I regret hurting her the way I did once I learned the truth? Yes. Everything Jade had done was to protect me, but back then, all I knew was that she’d broken my heart. I needed answers. I’d always been so focused before her. She literally turned my world upside down, then walked out on me. Even with her standing there in front of me six months later, none of it made any sense.

  “You seem really worked up tonight, Oliver. Who was that woman you were arguing with?” Alicia had asked in the back of the limo after I’d just witnessed Brian taking Jade home. Images of the two of the
m together were clouding my mind and driving me crazy.

  “I don’t want to talk about it,” I snapped, not even looking at her.

  “Let me take your mind off things then,” she purred, running her hand up my leg. I stopped her before she reached my thigh by clasping my hand over hers.

  “We’ve been through this. You need to stop making these advances toward me. I’m not interested.” My heart still belonged to Jade, even if she had shattered it when she left.

  “Does this have anything to do with that blonde tonight?” Alicia sulked, slumping back into her seat.

  “Yes,” I sighed deeply, gazing out the window. This was all about Jade. Could I let her back into my life? Could I learn to trust her again?

  I tossed and turned all night, and by the morning, I knew what I had to do. I needed to see Jade and apologize for my outburst. I loved her—that was never going to change. We had to get past this somehow. Jade needed to open up to me, though, if this was ever going to work again.

  Brian’s secretary had always had a thing for me, so it wasn’t difficult to find out where Brian was taking Jade for lunch.

  I’ll never forget the look on Jade’s face when she spotted me inside the restaurant, or how she sunk down in her seat, hoping I wouldn’t notice her. She’d tried so hard not to look at me while she had lunch with Brian, but I caught her eyes wandering toward me countless times.

  After finally stealing her away from him, we began to talk about rebuilding our relationship. We both knew it would take time to gain that trust back, but it was Jade’s eyes that helped me make up my mind. The love I’d seen in them was still there, and it was clear she was willing to do anything to make it work. She’d missed me just as much as I had her.

  I was certain of one thing, though. There was more to Jade than she was letting on. For that reason, I decided to allow her to control the pace of our relationship. I couldn’t risk her running again, so everything had to be on her terms this time.

  A month later, she flew to Moscow while I was there for work. That was the pinnacle moment for me, and I couldn’t hold back anymore. I claimed her body once more, letting my desire completely take over. That’s when I realized I could never let her leave, even if she wanted to go.

  I can still visualize the way her body bowed to me while I made love to her that night. It was like the universe aligned for us. No sexual experience had ever felt like that. It wasn’t just physical; it was spiritual, too.

  Months later, I was the happiest I’d ever been. I was even thinking about marriage, not that I’d admit that to anyone. The thought was there, though, in the back of my mind.

  That last trip to Macon, I finally discovered who Jade really was. Alicia’s revelation sliced me in two, but what hurt more was watching Jade switch character. I suddenly realized that my Jade didn’t exist, and that crippled me. I was in love with a lie. My beautiful, shy Jade wasn’t real.

  “Jade, you can’t leave like this,” I pleaded. I didn’t care that my wrists were burning from being tied too tightly. All I cared about was making her stay with me. I didn’t believe what she was trying to tell me. She loved me; I was sure of it even back then.

  “Thank you for making me feel like a good person for the first time in my life,” she whispered. I was drifting in and out of consciousness, but felt her lips press gently against mine. They were soft and wet with tears. Jade was crying? None of this made any sense. If she’d been hired to steal my power core, why would she cry? I struggled to stay awake— I knew the moment I closed my eyes she’d be gone—but I lost the fight and slipped under.

  I did as Jade had asked and found Macy as soon as I woke up.

  “Oliver, what happened?” She was by my side the moment I stumbled into her laboratory.

  “J…Jade, has…t…taken…the…p…power core,” I gasped, trying to catch my breath. My head was still groggy from the sedative I’d been given.

  “No she hasn’t. Take a deep breath, Oliver. Everything is fine. I switched the core with a decoy last night.” My eyes widened. Jade had been telling the truth! “It’s okay. I know this is a lot to take in.”

  “I…I have to…find…her.”

  “You can’t do that! Just be thankful you still have this core, Oliver. You almost got yourself killed for a piece of skirt! I told you from the beginning that Jade was trouble!” I nodded, too tired to argue with her. “We need to destroy the core once you’ve got your strength back. Here, sit down. I’ll get you a cup of coffee.” Macy was right, but all I could think about was Jade. Why would she risk her life for me like that? Maybe parts of my Jade did exist. I had to work out a way to find her and get some answers, but where did I even start?

  I’m a smart guy, but even I was shocked when I finally found Jade. Trying to find one agent in a mass of different organizations was a tough task, even for someone like me. With a lot of hard work and pure luck, though, I did.

  Seeing her in that sexy black lace underwear, completely at my mercy once I’d tied her to that bed… Christ, it makes me hard right now just thinking about it.

  Maybe it was wrong of me to have taken advantage of her like that, but Jade didn’t seem to mind when she climaxed around my fingers. Fuck, her taste. It was like the finest liquor to me, and she knew that taste of herself on my lips the moment we kissed.

  I’d never fucked her as hard as that night—perhaps some was punishment—but Jade could take everything I gave her, and dammit if that didn’t make me want her even more. She was holding back that night, though, and I knew why. She was still protecting me. I would never get her to admit her true feelings this way. It was becoming clear that if I wanted Jade, I’d need to set her free from the organization she was working for first.

  Setting up a trap door on The Seductors computer system was easy enough once I’d discovered their hack into the military system. I’d done a lot of the work myself, but had given General Johnson some information. Jade needed to be safe before I gave too much away.

  Watching her with another target was gut wrenching. I’d believed she’d been sleeping with him at the time.

  “Jade, stop denying it! I know everything!” I’d told her when she came to meet me at my hotel in San Francisco. She’d looked less than impressed to see me at the bar she’d been working at. I knew she’d been offered the Jade Gibbs identity before the mission went horribly wrong. It was clear she loved me. Why else would she have asked for that? She could deny it all she wanted, but as I gazed at her, the truth was written all over her beautiful face.

  “Stop fighting this,” I begged, taking a step toward her. This cat and mouse game ended right now. Jade wasn’t slipping away from me this time, not now that I had a plan to release her from The Seductors.

  “I had to,” she whimpered, tears beginning to stain her eyes.

  “Why?”

  “To keep you safe.”

  I knew it! I was right—Jade loved me. They weren’t delusional thoughts. Everything we felt had been real.

  “I’m not going anywhere. I love you, Jade. We’ll work it out.”

  “I love you, too. So much it hurts to be away from you.” At her declaration, I took her breath away with a passionate kiss. Jade was mine, and I would stop at nothing to set her free.

  Never once did I suspect that Jade was a Seductor. She may have been extremely good at her job, but I firmly believe that she was hiding her true self from me because she was ashamed of it. She needn’t have worried. She was the purest of the pure. No one had ever made the sacrifices she had for me.

  I’d always gathered that she held secrets, but I’ll be the first to admit that once I learned what those secrets were, I was shocked. Secret agents were something I'd always been wary of. I knew organizations like The Seductors existed, but never believed that I would allow one of their agents to get so close to me—close enough to make me fall in love with her. Jade fell in love with me too, though, and I took comfort in that. Her mission hadn't been like the others she’d been on. I'
d changed her, just like she had me. We were made for each other. I’d known that from the moment we met.

  “That’s all you want?” General Johnson frowned at me over his desk. “Oliver, you’ve just uncovered an organization that could have started a global war. You can have anything you want!”

  “I just want her.”

  “Is there some romantic involvement?”

  “General, if it weren’t for Miss Phillips, you'd be engaging in World War III right now, I can promise you that!”

  “She was your source?”

  “No, she was the woman that had been hired to steal the core from me, but we fell in love instead.”

  He gasped, putting his face in his hands before finally looking up at me. “You’ve been extremely lucky, Oliver. It could have ended so badly.”

  “I know.”

  “You promised me that you’d stop the testing on that damn power core!”

  “I know. I was foolish. If it hadn’t been for Jade…” I couldn’t finish my sentence. I owed her my whole life. I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself if the power core had ended up in the wrong hands.

  “How can we extract her from the company without making a scene, though? I thought you wanted to be kept out of this until it was necessary.”

  “You’ll need someone from The Seductors who understands their system. The codes aren’t easy to decipher. Jade is trustworthy and smart. She is your best option.”

  “You mean use her as liaison between her company and the government?”

  “Yes, for a few months. I want Jade free to make her own decisions. She may stay after that time, but it will be her choice.”

  “That should work. Where will her place of residence be?”

  “With me, of course, but you can tell The Seductors that she’ll be based with Intelligence. It won’t make any difference, seeing as how they won’t know the whereabouts of intelligence anyway.” I pulled a note from my pocket. “Can you leave this note in her getaway car for me please? And if you can, some red roses?”