CHAPTER 6

VICTOR

Adrian's panic in the adjoining room was the sweetest music I'd heard all night. He was pounding on the suite door as if his life depended on getting inside. How ironic. Just three weeks ago, this same man had placed a photograph of his wife on my desk in exchange for an investment deal. And now, he was squirming like a worm on a hot skillet simply because he suspected another man might be enjoying his wife.

From the corner of my eye, I glanced at Evelyn. Her breathing was still ragged against my chest, her warm breath brushing against my skin. She thought we were merely putting on a show. Unfortunately, my body knew all too well that this was no longer just an act.

“Victor... you know this isn't part of our agreement,” Evelyn whispered. Yet the glimmer in her eyes told me she wasn't entirely opposed to the idea.

I didn't retreat an inch. Instead, my fingers tightened around her waist, and a faint smile tugged at my lips, carrying a cold, unmistakable air of dominance.

“That's true, Evelyn,” I murmured, my lips hovering just inches from hers. “But I wouldn't mind if you agreed to this and changed the terms of our arrangement.”

Evelyn nearly slipped, but my leg kept her steady. Now, the skin of my thigh was pressed directly against hers. The damp sensation sent a shiver through both of us.

“I can let you go right now if you say no,” I continued, my low whisper leaving her barely able to think straight. “But if you say yes... don't expect me to stop.”

Evelyn stared at me, her breath catching. A flicker of hesitation lingered in her eyes, as though she were desperately searching for a reason to judge me.

Watching her struggle to maintain that fragile defense, I gave her a cold smile and leaned closer, bringing my lips to her ear.

“Three years, Evelyn,” I whispered, my voice soft and almost pleading. “It's been three years since I last touched a woman. Carleste and I only slept together once, on our wedding night. Nothing happened after that.”

I felt Evelyn's body tense ever so slightly in my arms.

“So don't blame me,” I continued hoarsely, holding her gaze without mercy, “if tonight my body and mind demand more than just pretending in front of your husband.”

Evelyn was utterly stunned. My words had effectively silenced whatever defense she had left. Before she could regain her composure, I let the silence settle over the suite as my mind drifted back to what had happened three weeks earlier.

It had been the hottest day of the summer in America. But I swear to God, I couldn't have been less interested in looking at Carleste. Wearing nothing but a low-cut dress, she had been trying to climb on top of me, intent on having her way.

“Get down, Carleste. I'm busy.”

“Victor, please. Just this once!”

“I told you I can't touch you. Didn't I also give you the freedom to have an open marriage?” I replied coldly, never once taking my eyes off my laptop screen.

Carleste sighed in disappointment. “Victor, just look at yourself. We've been married for three years, and I haven't seen you sleep with another woman even once.”

“And I don't need your pity,” I replied firmly.

“Don't you ever miss being with a woman? I'm your wife!”

I fell silent. Before I could tell her to leave, Carleste hurried toward me. The woman boldly settled herself on my lap, making me snap my gaze toward her, my eyes narrowing in barely restrained surprise.

“Then please agree to my idea for the party. I'm begging you,” Carleste whispered near my ear, her fingers gripping the collar of my shirt. “If you agree, I'll do what your mother wants and adopt a little boy from an orphanage.”

“You know I'm not interested in having children. My mother's words were merely a suggestion, not an order.”

Before I could push her away, the ringing of a phone inside Carleste's handbag shattered the silence. She let out an irritated huff, climbed off my lap, and answered the call.

“Hello, darling Adrian... Yes, I'm discussing it with my husband right now...”

Her voice softened as she mentioned Adrian's name, the foolish man who had no idea he was digging his own grave.

A second later, Carleste suddenly sprang to her feet.

“What? You're already in the lobby?”

I raised an eyebrow, while Carleste smiled at me without looking away, as though she had the upper hand.

“Then come on up. Just tell the receptionist you have an appointment with Victor.”

After ending the call, Carleste pulled a lipstick from her pocket and reapplied it while looking into the mirror. From her behavior, I could tell she was falling in love. Yet, once again, I felt no jealousy whatsoever. If anything, my desire to end this marriage had only grown stronger.

“What exactly do you mean?”

“As promised, I'm going to introduce Adrian to you.”

Not long after, someone knocked on the door, and Carleste hurried to answer it. Adrian stepped inside with an eager smile, carrying a proposal that he immediately placed on my desk.

“Mr. Devereaux, I'm Adrian Blackwell,” he said with an overly familiar air, extending his hand.

I didn't even bother to acknowledge it.

“If you've come here just to get my approval for that cheap little party, I suggest you leave. I've already told Carleste that I'm not interested.”

Adrian's face stiffened, while Carleste let out a restrained hiss beside him. As a predator in the commercial technology and satellite industry, I considered men like Adrian nothing more than insects I could crush within minutes.

“Leave. I'm busy.”

“Victor, can't you at least hear Adrian out first?” Carleste stepped forward.

But what I hadn't expected was for Adrian to suddenly drop to his knees in front of us.

“Mr. Devereaux... please reconsider. I'm sorry if this sounds presumptuous, but if you're willing to invest in my business through that partner-swapping party... I promise you can have my wife within ten days,” Adrian whispered desperately.

He reached into his suit pocket and placed his phone screen directly in front of me.

“She's my wife. Her name is Evelyn Clearwater,” he added.

My eyes fell on the screen. A photograph of a woman with naturally curly hair and piercing eyes stared back at me.

I scoffed inwardly in disgust. Adrian was truly the most despicable man I had ever encountered. To save his crumbling property business, he was willing to pawn off his own wife's body as though she were a prostitute.

Yet as I studied the woman's photograph, an unusual spark flickered through my mind. There was a quiet strength hidden behind her gaze, a stark contrast to the way Adrian was degrading her. She didn't look like the kind of woman who could be toyed with so easily.

And that was when a grand plan began to take shape in my mind.

The insane party Carleste had planned could turn out to be the deadliest weapon I could ask for. By allowing Adrian to drag his own wife onto that island, I would have an undeniable legal basis for divorcing Carleste.

More than that, my curiosity about the woman in the photograph had suddenly been piqued. I wanted to see just how far Evelyn would go to hold herself together when she discovered that her own husband had sold her straight into a lion's den.

“Fine,” I replied coldly.

Adrian's face immediately broke into a wide grin, his eyes narrowing with delight. He had no idea he had just agreed to walk into a pit from which he would never escape.

“But I won't release the investment funds until three months after the partner-swapping party. How does that sound?”

Back in the present, I found myself standing with Evelyn once more, facing the reality of our situation in this secluded island suite.

A knowing smile crept across my lips. Who would have thought I'd find myself drawn to the charms of Evelyn Clearwater Rothwell?

What surprised me even more was the surname Rothwell, which she had just revealed to me. How could a woman as remarkable as Evelyn be so utterly wasted on a powerless man like Adrian Blackwell?

She shifted slightly when I playfully brushed my knee against her inner thigh. Before our lips could meet again, a sudden, violent pounding on the door made us both flinch.

“EVELYN! OPEN UP!”

“Victor...” Evelyn whispered, almost letting out a breathless moan as my hands pulled her hips firmly against me. “Adrian is losing his mind.”

I leaned closer, bringing my lips to her ear. My warm breath brushed against her skin, making her shiver. The pounding on the door grew increasingly brutal, but my attention remained fixed on her half-lidded eyes.

“He's calling for you,” I whispered sharply. “But does that fool on the other side of the door have any idea that his wife is trembling in my arms right now?”

Evelyn swallowed hard, her breathing growing more frantic. Instead of pushing me away, her slender fingers tightened around my shirt, as though she needed something to hold on to.

“Victor... I... I'm starting to lose control,” she confessed in a barely audible voice.

At her admission, the corners of my lips curled upward.

“Good,” I rasped before claiming her lips in a demanding kiss, crushing what little resistance she had left. Evelyn let out a soft moan, melting into my embrace.

“I promise you won't regret any of this, Evelyn.”