01: Rule Number One.

ROSE.

"One more drink, please!" I shouted over the music, throwing my arms up and letting the beat move through me.

The club was packed that night.

Bodies were pressed close together under lights that kept switching from red to blue to gold, and the air smelled like perfume and sweat and spilled drinks.

I let my hair down and danced like nobody was watching, even though I knew people were.

Lydia and Sharma, my best friends, stood on the side, heads close together, glancing at me every few seconds.

I didn't need to hear them to know what they were saying.

Vance left me for his ex that morning, he went back to Maria and got her pregnant while he was still dating me.

That was enough to make anyone fall apart, and they thought that was the whole story.

They didn't know about my uncle.

They didn't know about the nights I put a chair under my door handle so he couldn't get in and force himself on me.

They didn't know why I packed one bag and never went back to that house, but I kept all of that to myself.

Sharma started walking toward me, and I already knew what was coming.

"Come on, don't be boring!" I said, grabbing her hands before she could say anything, spinning her around. "Dance with me. Men are not worth crying over!"

She didn't laugh, but held onto my arm instead. "Rose, you're really out of it right now. Can we go sit down?"

I pulled my hand away. "I don't need your pity."

Behind her, Lydia was still watching me with that same sad look, and it made me angry.

They didn't come here to have fun with me, but came to watch me like I was a kid.

"So that's what tonight was? You two babysitting me?" I said. "I'm going upstairs, and don't follow me!"

I didn't wait for them to answer as I pushed through the crowd, my heels wobbling a little until I found the bathroom.

I turned on the tap and splashed water on my face until my heart slowed down, then stood there looking at myself in the mirror, fixing my lip gloss, trying not to think.

It didn't work.

My mind went where it always went when I stopped moving.

My mother died when I was young, and after that my dad took a job as a butler in some CEO's mansion, a job I never really understood since I grew up with my aunt, and not him.

Then there was my aunt's husband, who was never supposed to matter, who cornered me one night and made sure I never felt safe in that house again.

Then Vance, who I actually let myself trust, but turned out to be nothing.

"Men are pathetic," I muttered, reaching for the door.

It swung open before I touched it.

A big man filled the doorway and my heart jumped into my throat.

I pulled the knife out of my purse without even thinking, the same one my mother gave me years ago, the one I already used once on a man who wouldn't take no for an answer.

He put both hands up. "Whoa. Put that away. I'm not here to hurt you."

I hissed. "You're standing in the women's bathroom and telling me not to worry? Talk fast, because this won't be my first time using this!"

He looked amused, which made me even angrier. "I'm here to take you to someone. Someone you'll be glad to meet."

I rolled my eyes in disgust. "Fuck off."

"Trust me on this one." he said, not willing to give up.

"If this someone isn't worth it, I'm using this on you instead," I said, walking past him anyway, because curiosity has always been my worst habit.

He led me to the VIP section, and when the door opened I turned back to him. "Where is this someone?"

He pointed to a man sitting alone in the corner, and I understood why he hadn't wanted to say it out loud.

I didn't know his name yet.

I just knew he looked like money and danger mixed into one person, grey eyes, sharp jaw, a suit that fit too well, sitting so still that it felt strange.

I rolled my eyes at him anyway, good looks never impressed me much.

He raised one hand and a guard dropped a folded paper on the table.

He took a slow drag from his cigarette before his eyes finally landed on me.

"A hundred thousand dollars," he said, his voice low and flat. "You're going to earn every bit of it tonight."

I just stared at him and then lifted my eyes to see his name written boldly on the VIP door:

DRAKE MACHORACE.

He was already turning away, telling his guard to clean me up and take me to a room, that he didn't want a mess in his bed.

"Excuse me?" I said, finding my voice fast. "Who the hell do you think you are?"

He stood and stepped closer, and being near him felt like standing too close to a fire. "I'm the kind of hell you'll spend your whole life praying to never meet again," he said, like the words cost him nothing.

I scoffed.

Then, something crossed his mouth that wasn't quite a smile. "Don't test my patience, and go be a good girl for Daddy."

I slapped his hand away before it touched my hair. "Let's get one thing straight. I'm a lot of things, but I'm not anyone's slut, and no amount of money changes that...So, save your speech for the next girl!" I said, turning to leave.

He grabbed my wrist hard enough to hurt. "You don't walk away from me!"

I laughed, and his eyes went darker.

He leaned in close and said something ugly against my ear, something I won't repeat.

It stung, but I didn't let it show.

Instead I dropped into a mocking little curtsy and looked up at him with wide eyes.

"Careful, Daddy," I said, sweet as poison, "you might actually enjoy how little that works on me."

Two of his guards traded a look, like nobody had ever talked to him that way before.

I stood back up and brushed past him. "Like I said, Keep your money. That loss is yours, not mine!"

He grabbed my hand again. "Again, you don't walk out on me!"

I laughed, but under it my knees had gone weak, and it had nothing to do with how much I'd had to drink.

He had that kind of presence, the kind that made a room feel smaller just by him standing in it.

His grip got tighter and I flinched.

"I know exactly what you are," he said quietly, close to my ear. "The kind of slut that does anything for attention but I've got no time for that! So, Do not make me repeat my words again!!"

The words hit hard enough that the whole club seemed to go quiet around us.

The music dipped and a few phones came up, I smiled wider on purpose, because I wasn't going to shrink for him.

"Funny," I said, "seems like you're the one who loves attention."

I looked down at his hand still locked around my wrist, my skin already turning red. "Are you sure crushing my arm won't stain your brand deals? They are making videos, clearly...." I pointed at the audience.

He let go so fast I stumbled back, and my leg hit the edge of a table.

My knee buckled and I cried out before I could stop it.

For a second something changed in his face, and he came back toward me, crouching down.

"Do you just like being the center of attention?" he muttered, almost to himself, then turned to the guard who brought me in. "Where did you even find this??"

I pushed myself up and straightened my dress, chin high even though my knee was throbbing. "You don't get to call me names just because you are rich!" I said. "You think being rich means you can put your hands on any woman you want?!"

He smiled, cold as ice. "Oh, yes. And I'm warning you to tune that voice down, unless..."

"Unless what?!" I shot back before I could stop myself.

He grabbed my chin, hard, tilting my face up to his, while one of his guards muttered something behind him that made his jaw tighten even more.

I pulled his hand off me before he could finish, my chin throbbing where his fingers dug in.

That was when I saw the red mark forming on my wrist, and something inside me snapped.

I grabbed the wine glass off the table and threw it straight in his face.

The whole club went quiet as wine dripped down his jaw.

His guards moved to grab me, but he raised one hand and stopped them without even looking.

He wiped his face slowly, eyes locked on mine, and now they held something worse than anger.

"Listen to me carefully," he said, low and even, each word landing like a slap. "Rule one, never cross my path again! Rule two, spend the rest of your life praying I never find you, because I promise you, I will make you pay for tonight until you beg for it to stop!"

Then he turned to his men. "Get my coat. I'm done here!"

I stood frozen, watching him walk away, my heart pounding, with no idea this was only the start of everything.