A Stranger's Baby

BRAD

Brad Damon stood in a group of men, sipping on the finest champagne that money could buy, pretending to be interested in the conversations happening around him.

Even surrounded by people, he stood out from the crowd.

He was tall and dark-haired, with a toned and muscular body that was obvious even under the expensive tux he wore.

His intense green eyes had sent shivers up the spine of more than one beautiful woman in the room that night.

Bored, Brad looked at his Rolex and scowled. He wished he were anywhere but there.

God, he hated these fundraisers. They were his grandmother’s thing, not his, but unfortunately, she was home nursing the flu and had convinced him to go to New York in her place.

He sighed. How could he have said no to the woman who had raised him, the one who had put up with his wild ways for so many years?

The woman who had waited till he grew up enough and then given him his grandfather’s company to run, making him a very wealthy man?

He had worked hard and soon became the most sought-after investment broker in the area, making his clients very rich.

Now, at only thirty years old, his own investments had grown enough that he could sit back and enjoy life.

He had bought a ranch in Texas and built an amazing house on the land, hiring servants to meet his every need.

He had moved his grandmother in and even hired a live-in nurse to take care of her, though most times she seemed fitter than anyone else.

I would give anything to be back at the ranch right now, he thought as he loosened his tie a bit.

Glancing at his Rolex once more, he decided he’d had enough for one night. He would head back home the next day, but until then, maybe he could have a little fun…

He looked around the room, sizing all the women up. He had felt their eyes on him all evening, knowing they were all hoping to catch his attention, to be the lucky girl he would take back to his hotel.

He had a reputation as a playboy, an arrogant son of a bitch, but the rumors of how he treated women didn’t seem to hurt his chances with them.

They flocked to him, wanting whatever he was willing to give them, wanting to sleep with him, even if they knew it would only ever be one night.

His gaze moved over the crowd, and that was when he spotted her.

Cassie Green.

His heart began racing, and his palms turned sweaty as he watched her walking around with a tray, serving drinks.

His mind drifted back to the night they had spent together in his hotel room. Had it really been four years ago?

He had met her in New York when she was working at a law firm he was doing business with.

She had been wearing dark-rimmed glasses that had emphasized her huge hazel eyes and had had her hair done up in a bun on top of her head.

Her clothes were conservative, but he knew under those clothes and glasses was a sexy and sensual woman.

Though he had turned on the charm, she was quiet and shy and wouldn’t have anything to do with him when he flirted with her.

Undeterred, he had made it his mission to break her down and had set himself a goal to get the straitlaced Cassie into bed.

It had taken a couple of days, but he had managed to talk her into going to dinner with him.

He booked a table at the restaurant in his hotel. When she had shown up wearing a little black dress, her hair falling down her back and over her shoulders, his heart had just about stopped.

She was drop-dead gorgeous, and she set his body on fire. He knew he had to have her.

He had ordered champagne, and they drank and ate. He noticed the more Cassie drank, the looser she became, so he ordered a second bottle.

They had ended up in his hotel room. He could tell she was a little scared, so he had taken it slow, but she had proved to be anything but frigid.

The next few hours were spent making love in different positions. She was a willing student, and she gave herself to him over and over again.

He had loved how wet and tight she was and the way she arched her back, moaning. It was the best sex he had ever had.

But then, coming down from her highest peak of the night, she had told him she loved him.

He freaked out. Brad Damon didn’t do love. So, in the morning, while she slept, he grabbed his suitcase, tossed some money on the nightstand, and slipped quietly out the door.

He flew back to Texas, thinking he had dodged a bullet. But he couldn’t stop thinking about her. Cassie had gotten into his head.

A year later, he had gone back to New York to the office where they had met. They told him she didn’t work there anymore and hadn’t left a forwarding address.

He had tried to find her for weeks with no success. Finally, he’d had to give up the search. She had vanished.

And now here she was, four years later, her long blonde hair flowing down her back, wearing a black skirt and a white buttoned-up blouse, serving drinks to a bunch of stuffed shirt billionaires.

He stood frozen to the spot as he watched Cassie turn her head in his direction. Seeing her face turn a ghostly shade of white, he knew she had recognized him.

She turned and dashed out of the room, and he went to follow, but a busty redhead stepped in front of him, preventing him from leaving.

His head turned in every direction, desperately trying to spot where Cassie had gone. The redhead would not stop talking, and he finally lightly shoved her aside and fought his way through the crowd to a swinging door.

Bursting his way into the kitchen, he asked everyone if they knew where she had gone. No one seemed to have noticed anything, so he asked to see the manager.

“I need Cassie Green’s address,” Brad demanded.

“Sorry, sir, I can’t give out that information,” the little man said, shuffling his feet. It was obvious he wasn’t happy about being asked.

Sighing, Brad took out his wallet and handed the man a wad of bills. “I bet this will help,” he said dryly, watching the man’s face light up.

It never surprised him that people would say or do anything if you waved a fistful of cash under their noses.