Scarred by C. M. Steele Page B

of his past.
    I knew it was stupid to fantasize about a man who hated my family—a family that destroyed his, but the need overcame my sense. Breaking free from those fantasies was going to be hard considering, I could see his condo from mine. Even though the move near to him was accidental, I felt like a crazy stalker chick. I bought the condo after receiving a trust fund that someone had set up after the accident. After my eighteenth birthday, I received payments that would total twenty-two million dollars by the time I was twenty-one.  Growing up in a modest home crowded with a large foster family, I wanted something just for me. The little condo at the Everett Towers was perfect, so I snatched it up and saved the rest of the money.
    The only reason I learned that I lived near him was that I saw him going into the building. It made sense that he would live near his company, but I wasn’t thinking about it when I picked my place.
    Since that day I spotted him, I had made sure to avoid him. Surprisingly, it was pretty easy. Seattle was a very busy city with people moving about all day.  Avoiding a run-in during the weekday was simple since he was at work.
    What possessed me to go on a run, I didn’t know, but I was fucking nuts for doing it. I wasn’t a runner. I just wanted to fit in with the community, and it seemed like everyone around here was out doing something on nice days. Jogging was already taxing on my body when that jerk knocked me down. It hurt like a motherfucker, but I was too old to cry.
    I was taking a breather when, of all people, Dexter Price helped me up. My eyes met his and I gasped. He was sexier than I had ever imagined. I was so wet that I blushed thinking maybe he could tell. What if I smelled? I couldn’t check myself. By the look he gave me, I knew he thought my gasp was about how scary the scars were, but I didn’t even notice them. I was mesmerized by his eyes. They were looking at me like he wanted to know everything about me. I had to get away. A relationship with him would be an epic failure.
    ~~~~~~
    It was two in the afternoon and I was sitting in my office, but my mind was still in the park. Elena, I said her name over and over in my head, enjoying the exotic beauty of it while I envisioned her stunning face. She had been a pretty little thing, and I meant little. When I helped her up, she barely reached my chest. I could have carried her where she needed to go. I should have. There was no doubt in my mind that she’d feel wonderful in my arms.
    Shit, there it was again. I looked down at my slacks and I was sporting another stiff one. It took all my willpower to stop the need to stroke my cock. Not even the hottest, kinkiest fucking porno made my dick this rigid and thick.
    I wanted to see her again, but I didn’t think I’d run into her again. She’d been injured, so she probably wouldn’t be running, but maybe I could find out more about her. I leaned back in my leather chair tapping a pencil against my desk, trying to come up with a solution to my dilemma.
    It took a few minutes for me to find a way because all my blood still hadn’t returned to my brain yet. She said her name was Elena Collins. I could look her up and find out something about her. With my wealth, I had everything and anything at my disposal. Making one call should get me what I needed—access to my Elena.
    “Hey, Duke, I need some information on a woman; her name is Elena Collins. Can you get it to me?” I knew he could. There wasn’t anything that man couldn’t do. He had his own firm in Boston but was working in Seattle at the moment for one of his clients.
    “I’ll see what I can do. Let me get back to you in a couple days.” Two days seemed like forever. What if everything changed by tomorrow? She could meet the man of her dreams before I could buy her heart. I wanted to win that shit, but hey, I wasn’t attractive with all the marks. I looked like Two-Face. Alright, it wasn’t that bad, but