Ruth thought the lights in Monaco couldn’t outshine the way Jason looked at her. Even in a sea of tuxedos, diamonds, and ruthless smiles, his attention never strayed. He was a man used to command, and she realized now, painfully, sweetly that he didn’t just want to possess her body. He wanted all of her. The gala buzzed behind them with symphonies and champagne. Ruth held his arm tighter as whispers followed their every step. “Everyone’s staring,” she murmured. Jason’s lips curved into a wicked grin. “Good.” “You like being watched?” “Only when I’m the one who gets to undress you afterward.” Her cheeks flushed. The words shouldn't have made her wetnbut they did. They didn’t stay long. Jason nodded to someone across the room, murmured something to a senator, and then led her out as if he owned the entire damn city. Back at the hotel, silence fell between them in the elevator. Ruth leaned into the cool glass wall. Jason stood in front of her, gaze intense. Not playful. Not poli
Ruth wasn’t used to waking up feeling safe.But in Jason’s bed, wrapped in his scent, cedar and skin and something undeniably male, she felt like the world couldn’t reach her for a few precious hours. His arm was thrown lazily over her waist, anchoring her in place. She didn’t move.Because outside this bed, the lines between fantasy and reality would reappear. She’d be the girl with overdue rent, a sick mother, and a résumé no one wanted to read. And he’d be the billionaire with an empire, the kind of man who could buy time and erase consequences.And yet… here they were. Naked. Tangled. Real.“You’re awake,” Jason’s voice rasped behind her, his lips brushing her shoulder. He was always rougher in the mornings, his voice deeper, his touch heavier. She liked that version of him.“I was trying not to move,” Ruth murmured, eyes still closed. “Didn’t want to break the spell.”Jason chuckled, his hand sliding down her waist, fingers teasing the curve of her hip. “If this is a spell, I d
The morning light spilled through the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting pale gold streaks across the silk sheets and the sleeping figure curled beside her. Ruth lay still, breath shallow, tracing the outline of Jason’s arm draped possessively over her waist. He looked… different in the daylight. Less like the cold, unyielding billionaire she’d feared last night, more like a man who could be anything—if only he let himself.She swallowed the lump forming in her throat and forced herself to move, careful not to disturb him. But Jason stirred, eyelids fluttering open, the storm in his eyes replaced by something softer, more uncertain.“Morning,” he muttered, voice rough like gravel but warm.“Morning,” Ruth answered, voice barely above a whisper.He shifted closer, fingers ghosting over her bare shoulder. “You still here?”The question felt loaded. Like maybe he didn’t expect her to stay.“Yeah,” she said. “Why would I leave?”He studied her for a moment, eyes like ice and fire then let
Trigger Warnings: Power imbalance, explicit tension, sensual themes....Ruth Powa hadn’t planned to sell her body that night—just her time.She wasn’t naïve. When you signed up to work events like these private fundraisers for the ultra-rich on rooftop hotels with champagne waterfalls and jazz that sounded like silk sheets being tugged, you knew you weren’t being paid just for your serving skills.Still, she told herself she wasn’t like the others.Until he walked in.Jason Gifford. The billionaire. The one with a reputation for being as ruthless in boardrooms as he was silent in bed.Tall, clean-shaven with a perpetual shadow of stubble that looked too deliberate to be accidental. He wore a three-piece black suit, matte black tie, and shoes that probably cost more than her entire tuition. His eyes swept the room like he owned every inch of oxygen and maybe he did.She tried not to look. She failed. He saw her. Of course he did.Ruth kept her back straight, tray balanced in her hands
Kiara's POV The house was too quiet. Even the floors seemed to hold their breath under my bare feet.I padded up the stairs, one hand trailing along the railing, my pulse drumming like a war march. Declan’s door was halfway open. Light steamed from beneath it. Shower running.I knew what I was doing, and I knew what it would mean if he let me.But I wasn’t seventeen anymore. I wasn’t just some pretty distraction to pat on the head and tuck into bed before the grown-ups talked. I was twenty-four. A woman. And more than that—his weakness, even if he wouldn’t admit it.I pushed the door open slowly.Steam rolled out like breath from a dragon’s mouth. I stepped inside, closing the door behind me. Declan’s bathroom was minimal, sharp. A towel hung loose from the rack. His boots were near the bed. His t-shirt was on the floor.So was my restraint.The shower glass was fogged, but I saw the silhouette of him...broad back, strong shoulders, water rolling over every inch of muscle carved by y
Declan Larsen: 42, brooding ex-military, now owns a private security firm. He’s rugged, quiet, but deeply protective. Has been best friends with Kiara’s father since their 20s.Kiara Sky: 24, confident, artistic, recently returned from studying abroad. She’s matured into her own woman and notices the way Declan looks at her differently now.Kiara's POVThe screen door creaked open behind me, and I didn’t need to look to know it was him.Declan Larsen had a way of moving through space like he belonged there—quiet but unmistakable. Even as a little girl, I could feel his presence enter a room before he ever said a word. And now…Now, he looked at me like I wasn’t a little girl anymore.“You’re up early,” he said behind me, voice rough like it had just been dragged through gravel.I turned from the porch railing, my mug of coffee still warm in my hand. His hair was damp, he must’ve just come in from his morning run. The gray t-shirt clung to his chest, soaked with sweat in a way that high