King's Passion by Adrianne Byrd

return to her dreams about a certain club owner with the most incredible hands and lips.
    â€œWe’re only going to be here for one night,” Iris insisted. “Pleeeease? I don’t like it when you mope.”
    â€œI’m not moping,” she lied. “I’m strategizing my next move.”
    Iris huffed out a frustrated breath. “You’re just not going to let any of this go, are you?”
    Victoria grinded her teeth. “What do you mean, let it go? You’re acting like I’ve been on some type of rampage for the last year. This just happened to me a week ago! Can’t you just let me be mad? Is that too much to ask? Am I not allowed to be pissed off about this? Why do I have to be magnanimous about becoming the laughingstock of New York? Would you be trying to take the high road if it was you? And before you answer that let me remind you that I was there when you keyed your last boyfriend’s Bentley because you couldn’t believe that it was his grandmother who’d called him the middle of night instead another woman. It wasn’t until you learned that she really had broken her hip that night and needed a replacement that you even grudgingly apologized!”
    Silence.
    â€œRight. So now that I truly do get screwed over, your advice to me is to just get over it?”
    â€œThat’s not what I meant.”
    â€œOh? What did you mean?”
    Silence.
    â€œUh-huh. Just like I thought. The truth is that you have no idea how I feel and you could care less. So please don’t let me in get in the way of you and Grace going out and having a good time!” Victoria sucked in a deep breath. She was getting too heated and taking her frustrations out on the wrong people again. She sucked in a second breath and then forced herself to soften her tone. “Look. I just need an evening to myself. Is that too much to ask?”
    â€œNo.”
    â€œThank you.” Another deep breath. “And I’m sorry. I don’t mean to take this out on you. Truly. My emotions are just all over the place.”
    â€œI understand,” Iris said, easing up on all that whining. “I really was just trying to help.”
    â€œI know that. Really. Just…you and Grace go outand have a good time. I want to be by myself tonight. We can just meet up for breakfast before we head out tomorrow.”
    â€œYou got it. Night.”
    â€œG’night.” Victoria finally hung up the phone and pulled the bedding all the way up under her chin. She waited for sleep to come or even wide-awake fantasies of her chocolate King, but instead she was just left to stare up at the ceiling and wonder what she had really accomplished by flying all the way out to Vegas. She couldn’t find Marcus and serving those papers at The Dollhouse hardly gave her the sort of satisfaction she was hoping for.
    Maybe she succeeded in making an even bigger fool of herself, seeing as how neither owners had any real reaction to her mega-million-dollar lawsuit. She might as well have told them what day of the week it was. Maybe women sued them all the time. Who knows how many potential marriages their wild bachelor parties had destroyed?
    And given how easily King had handled her in his office, who is to say that’s how he handled all angry jilted fiancées? That was what it was, wasn’t it? He handled her.
    Hours ago, she thought that she was the one that was in control in that office. Now, she wasn’t so sure. After all, it had only taken one kiss and she had transformed into a dog in heat.
    What was it that woman said outside his office? Hadn’t she just laughed at the notion that they were going in there to discuss business? Did everybody know what was about to happen in there once he closed the door?
    Victoria groaned and then rolled over onto her side. Beyond the sheer curtain, she easily made out the glowing Las Vegas lights. The city was like an adult playground.Even