Clarity (The Seductors #3.5) by B.L Wilde Page A

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 them 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