Chapter 4: He Took My Virginity

Harlow's POV

I woke up alone.

The spot beside me on the bed was cold. No dent in the pillow. No lingering warmth. Kael had left sometime in the night, and I did not even remember him going.

My throat was sore. My wrists ached where the rope had bitten into my skin. Between my legs, there was a dull throb that reminded me of everything. The club. His cock. The phone call.

Dad had no idea.

I sat up slowly and pressed my hand to my chest. The collar was not there. Of course it was not. He had not given me one. He said I had to earn it.

But last night, when he held me, when he called me enough, I had believed him.

Sunlight streamed through my thin curtains. Somewhere in the apartment, Sage was making coffee. I could smell it. I pulled on a hoodie and sweatpants, then padded out of the bedroom.

Sage stood at the counter, two mugs in her hands. She looked at me with raised eyebrows.

“You look like hell.”

“Thanks.”

“Kael Hawthorne?” She handed me a mug. “My boyfriend’s brother? The one who owns that club?”

“Yes.”

“Harlow.” She set her mug down and crossed her arms. “He is old enough to be your father.”

“He is my father’s best friend. I know.”

“And you slept with him?”

“He took my virginity.” I wrapped my hands around the warm mug. “And then he came here and tied me up while Dad called him on the phone.”

Sage’s mouth dropped open. “What?”

I told her everything. The club. The blood. The way he followed me home. The rope. The phone call where I had to keep quiet while my father talked about Q4 finances.

By the time I finished, Sage was sitting at the kitchen table with her head in her hands.

“You need to end this,” she said.

“I cannot.”

“Why not?”

Because when he held me, I felt like I mattered. Like I was not just Julian Vance’s disappointing daughter. Like I was someone worth wanting.

“I just cannot,” I said.

My phone buzzed on the counter. I picked it up.

Kael: Do not think last night changes anything. You are still mine.

I stared at the screen. My pulse raced.

Sage looked over my shoulder. “What does that mean?”

“I do not know.”

But I did. It meant he was not letting me go. It meant the contract he had drafted was still on the table. It meant I had signed away my freedom without even reading the fine print.

I typed back: I am going to The Grindstone with my friends. Do not follow me.

His response came immediately.

Kael: Do not tell me what to do, brat.

I shoved the phone into my pocket and grabbed my bag.

“I am leaving,” I said.

“Harlow.” Sage caught my arm. “Be careful. He is not just some guy. He is Kael Hawthorne. He eats girls like you for breakfast.”

“Girls like me?”

“Girls who do not know what they want.”

I pulled my arm free. “I know exactly what I want.”

I just had no idea if I could handle it.

---

Kael

I sat at my desk, staring at the Pittsburgh skyline through the floor to ceiling windows. The sun was too bright. My head ached. I had not slept.

Every time I closed my eyes, I saw her. On her knees. Tears on her cheeks. Her throat working around my cock while her father talked about spreadsheets.

I should have felt guilty.

I did not.

Julian walked into my office without knocking. “You look like shit.”

“Good morning to you too.”

“Late night?” He sat across from me, coffee in hand.

“Something like that.”

Julian studied me. We had been friends for twenty years. Business partners for ten. He knew when I was lying.

“Is everything okay?” he asked.

“Fine.” I leaned back in my chair. “What do you need?”

“The Q4 reports. Evelyn put them together. I want you to look them over.”

Evelyn. The assistant Julian was sleeping with. The woman Harlow was jealous of.

“Leave them on my desk,” I said.

Julian set down a folder. Then he hesitated. “Have you talked to Harlow lately?”

My body went still. “Why?”

“She seems distant. I thought maybe she mentioned something to you.”

“She is an adult, Julian. She does not tell me everything.”

“No, but she used to tell me things. Now she barely looks at me.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I know I am hard on her. Her mother told me. But I just want her to succeed.”

“Maybe she has a different definition of success.”

Julian looked at me like I had grown a second head. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing.” I picked up the folder. “I will look at these today.”

He stood slowly. “Kael, if you know something I do not…”

“I do not.”

He left. I waited until the door clicked shut, then pulled out my phone.

Harlow had texted me. The Grindstone. Do not follow her.

I smiled.

She had no idea how much I enjoyed being told no.

I typed back: Do not tell me what to do, brat.

Then I called Silas.

“Meet me at The Grindstone in twenty minutes,” I said.

“Why?”

“Because Harlow is there, and I want to watch her without her knowing.”

Silas sighed. “You are obsessed.”

“I am aware.”

I left the office before Julian could ask more questions. The coffee shop was ten minutes away. I parked across the street and watched through the window.

Harlow sat in the corner with her friends. Sage. Iris. Soleil. They were laughing about something. Harlow’s face was still puffy from crying last night, but she was smiling.

She looked beautiful.

Silas slid into the passenger seat. “You are being creepy.”

“I am being careful.”

“Same thing.”

I watched Harlow pull out her phone. Watched her type something. My phone buzzed.

Harlow: I see your car, Kael. You are not as sneaky as you think.

I looked up. She was staring directly at me through the window.

Harlow: If you want to watch, at least buy me a coffee.

Silas laughed. “She is going to be the death of you.”

“Probably.”

I got out of the car and walked into the coffee shop. Harlow’s friends went silent. Sage glared at me. Harlow just smiled.

“You came,” she said.

“You asked.”

“I did not think you would actually do it.”

I leaned down so my mouth was near her ear. “I will do anything you ask, brat. As long as you remember who you belong to.”

Her breath caught.

I pulled back, smiled at her friends, and walked to the counter to order her coffee.

This woman was going to destroy me.

And I was going to love every second of it.