Chapter 1

"Grayson, which server crashed in the middle of the night this time?"

I leaned against the headboard, watching him button his shirt with one hand while searching for his car keys with the other. He paused for half a second at my words, then turned around and slipped into the well-practiced expression of a devoted, apologetic husband.

"Client data went haywire, and the tech team can't handle it. I need to go back to the office and oversee it myself."

He walked over and leaned down to kiss my forehead. I turned my face away and pointed at the keys on the nightstand. "Then hurry up. Don't let the company go bankrupt because you showed up a minute late."

Grayson didn't catch the sarcasm. He assumed I was just sleepy. He smiled and ruffled my hair. "Tomorrow's the weekend. I'll take you to that lakeside restaurant. You've been running yourself ragged with the IPO prep. You deserve a break."

The moment the bedroom door closed, the smile dropped from my face.

I picked up my phone. A few minutes ago, the synced account I'd set up on the family tablet had captured the message in full. The sender was none other than Leah Bennett, the new intern in Aurora Clean Tech's marketing department and a student at a nearby private dance academy.

The co-founder of a clean energy company, driving across town in the middle of the night to rub a young woman's feet. If those image-conscious old investors on the board ever found out, they'd probably be more thrilled than if they'd seen a quarterly loss report.

My phone buzzed again.

Nolan had sent a photo of himself fresh out of the shower. Wet hair fell across his brow, water droplets tracing down a sculpted chest and abs before disappearing beneath the edge of a towel. He hadn't tried to pose, but the raw power and edge of a twenty-two-year-old man were impossible to hide.

[Selena, want to come inspect today's training results in person?]

In public, he called me by name. Only when he wanted to get a rise out of me would he drag my name out in a voice message, deliberately teasing.

I stared at the photo for two seconds, then sent him a room number at a downtown hotel.

[Twenty-five minutes. Every minute you're late, that's an extra endurance set tomorrow.]

His reply came almost instantly: [Fifteen minutes.]

I changed, drove away from that picture-perfect lakeside villa, and swiped into the hotel room. A hand reached out from inside and yanked me in.

The door shut behind me. Nolan pressed me against it and bit down on my lip. He still smelled clean from his shower, his chest radiating heat, his arms locked tight around my waist.

"Two minutes late," he murmured, his tone a complaint, but his eyes blazing. "How should I punish you?"

I pushed him back slightly and gripped his chin. "There was a last-minute road closure downtown. If you have a problem with that, take it up with the mayor."

He nuzzled into my palm, then narrowed his eyes. "So the old man went out again?"

"Mm-hm. Said there was a system failure at the company. He was in such a rush he put his socks on inside out."

Nolan snorted and followed me to the minibar. "His company has a midnight meltdown three times a week and they're still prepping for an IPO. Maybe I should hook him up with some racing team mechanics. At least they know how to actually fix a machine when it breaks, instead of running off to rub some student's feet."

I poured myself a drink and swirled it gently. "Don't rush it. Grayson is digging his own grave. All I have to do is wait for him to shovel on the last load of dirt."

Nolan wrapped his arms around me from behind, his chin settling on my shoulder. "When are you going to leave him? I don't want to keep watching you go back to that house, and I sure as hell don't want to hear him call you his wife."

I turned around and pressed the cold glass against his cheek. "Why do you insist on getting tangled up in this? Grayson has never played clean in business. You just earned a tryout with a professional racing team. Aren't you afraid he'll destroy your career?"

The playfulness faded from Nolan's face. He took the glass from my hand and set it aside, bracing both palms on the counter behind me, his eyes fixed on mine.

"Three years ago, I couldn't even afford my training fees. I was this close to dropping out and fighting in underground rings for cash. You sponsored me through the youth sports foundation. You never asked for anything in return, and you never treated me like a charity case."

He paused, his voice dropping lower. "From that day on, I knew. If anyone ever tried to drag you through the mud, I'd make sure they were gone. You gave me my future, but I'm not staying by your side to settle a debt."

"Then why?"

"Because I love you." He answered without a shred of hesitation. "And I haven't been able to stand Grayson for a long time."

My phone lit up again. Grayson had sent a photo of the tech department, telling me the data had just stabilized, that he probably wouldn't make it home tonight, and to get some sleep.

Nolan glanced at it and laughed. "He used this exact photo last month. That cold coffee in the bottom left corner, even the crack on the lid is the same. Does he think you never look at the details, or did he forget you're the one who designed every system and workflow in that company?"

I turned off the screen.

Nolan bent down and lifted me into his arms, carrying me toward the bedroom. "Don't let someone like that waste tonight. If you want revenge, I'll handle every obstacle. If you want to leave him, I'll hold the door open."