LOGINClara thought marrying billionaire Victor Draven would save her family and give her peace. But peace doesn't exist inside the Draven mansion— In fact, it has never existed. Only secrets, temptations, and danger wrapped in luxury. And when his son returned home, things took a dark turn. His gaze burned, his words without filters, and his touch felt like sin wrapped in a handsome face. She shouldn't want him. But in a house built on lies, desire might be the deadliest secret of all.
View MoreI'd never taken a day off in my life. A leave of convenience? That's not for me. Well, except for tonight.
Tonight, I seem to have broken a lot of my rules, no alcohol, no reckless decisions, no dressing and/or dancing like slut, and, no flirting. Is this normally how one reacts after recently learning that their mother is dying from cancer? Nope, but if I continue like this for tonight at least, I can forget my problems for a while. I swung my hips to the blasting music, no one was dancing hard enough, fuckers. I traced my accentuated curves as I spun. It was a shame my ex never got to see this dress, I had bought it for our graduation celebratory dinner, but the asshole decided to fuck my best friend the night before. Now, I get to wear it for a bunch of strangers, ones who look eager to take it off tonight. One person looked more determined than the rest, he was seated quite far from where I was, but his gaze was so sharp. He's beautiful, I thought to myself. If he's lucky enough, I might let him take this dress off of me tonight. Mission: make the unreal-looking, sexy guy come to me. How? By seducing him with my amateur moves, I've no experience but it seems to be working on the men here, I'd succeeded in snubbing a few guys earlier, but another was headed my way. "Hey, hun. You need another drink?" The middle-aged man slurred over my ear. He reeked of beer. I ignored him, my attention was stolen by Mr. Greek god approaching us. The expression on his face seemed rather stoic now rather than intrigued and aroused, as it had been earlier. I couldn't help the smirk creeping up my face. "I'm talking to you sexy." The man slurred again, this time snaking his hand around my bottom. Before I could protest, his hand was yanked off. "Go home to your wife and kids, stronzo." Mr. Greek god told the asshole off before I could. He's here, I smiled to myself, how did he get even sexier in less than five minutes? Without any protection, the jerk scrambled off. I didn't expect him to leave that easily. "Are you okay?" He bent to whisper in my ear. Fuck, even his voice was hot. "You don't need to worry about me handsome. Just dance with me." I don't know where that courage came from, probably from the few shots I had earlier, maybe not a few, but you get the point. He tilted his head and grabbed my waist, his fingers digging into my bare back filled me with the utmost desire. His eyes said the same as well. We swayed our hips to the music, front to front, back to front, dancing has never felt this good. I could feel every inch of him, his chiseled muscles, his 'member' hard-rock beneath his clothing, pressing against my back. I hadn't had sex in over a year, I'm not choosing to abstain, but sex had always had a meaning for me, one I'm about to throw away for this beautiful man against me. "What's your name?" he whispered, his breath hot and alcohol-laced on my skin, I shivered. His grip on my waist got tighter, could my desire not be any more obvious? Fuck. "What are you gonna do with it?" I teased, facing him. A surge of courage laced my veins, I looked up to him, staring directly into his dark eyes. He tried to mask his emotion, but, I read the playful hint in his eyes. "I want you to enjoy how your pretty name sounds from my mouth." He teased right back. I was tempted to tell him my name, but, where's the fun in that? I bit my lip to avoid spilling it. "If you can make me come tonight, I'll tell you." Did I just say that? The fuck I did. He clenched his jaw and pressed his fingers on my bare back, pressing me firmer to him, so that I could feel how 'on fire' he was for me. He felt so huge, I wonder if I'm doing the right thing. "Oh honey, I'm not sure if that's gonna work, you'll probably forget your name by the time I'm done with you." Show off. I rolled my eyes mentally, he's probably all talk and no action. But, who cares? I need to get laid. "We'll see about that." We were tongue-deep into each other by the time we got out of the elevator. Mr. Greek god had gotten a suite at the hotel across the street. If he's going knee-deep into his pockets to impress his one-night stand, then he's even more intriguing than I thought. But damn, he sure is an excellent kisser. He pulled away to find our suite, after opening it with the keycard, woah… the place looked massive. I have never been in any place as grand as here, impressive. Even if the lay may end up being an ass, I'd get pleasure from knowing I was fucked in a place so grand. Filthy, pathetic, I know. I turned to him, eager to get his lips back on mine but he didn't move, just stared at me from where he was. "Into the room," he ordered. Like a dog, I obeyed. It was like he had this invisible leash on me, and it turned me the fuck on. I stood still, trying not to gawk at the wealth written all over the room, waiting, patiently, sex-starved for him. I felt him behind me, with one finger, he slid my hair to the side, exposing my neck. "Goosebumps." he chuckled. "Is this how hungry you are?" he traced his finger across my shoulder. "I-" I started but he cut me off. "Take off your clothes." I wasted no time, undoing my zip. "And face me, I want to watch you." He commanded. Something about his voice made me lose all power, so dominant. I'm not sure if this is how one-night stands normally are. This feels different, he seems to always want to be in control and I'm enjoying every inch of it. I took off my dress, now bare in front of him, except for my lace black panties. My nipples peaked for him, and he couldn't keep his eyes off it. I bent to take my panties off too, it's probably why he was just staring and not saying anything. "No, darling. That's my job to do." He growled and walked towards me.POV: ClaraVictor was already at the table when I came down for breakfast.That was unusual. He was a late riser at home, always taking his coffee in the study before appearing for anything social. But this morning he was seated at the head of the table with his jacket already on, a half-eaten plate of eggs in front of him, and the particular energy of a man who had already won something and was enjoying the feeling."There she is," he said, when I came in.Mr. Quinn and his wife were at the table too, along with Camille, who was picking at a bowl of fruit. Nikolai wasn't there yet.I sat down and poured coffee and told myself it was going to be a straightforward morning."The Quinn partnership is finalized," Victor said, as though he was making a toast without a glass. "Everything signed, everything settled. I thought we'd celebrate properly when we're back home. A dinner, nothing too large. A hundred guests perhaps."Mr. Quinn looked pleased. His wife looked like she'd heard this ki
POV: Nikolai The beach at six in the morning was grey and flat, the tide pulling back from the sand in long, slow sheets.Victor walked ahead, hands behind his back, talking. Quinn kept pace beside him, nodding at the right intervals. I walked a half step behind them both, which was where Victor preferred me during these conversations—close enough to hear, far enough not to contribute unless invited."The Wilson portfolio is nearly sorted," Victor said. "A few remaining assets. The lake property, some personal holdings they'd been sitting on for years. Sentimental attachments to things that stopped being worth anything a long time ago."Quinn made a sound of agreement. "Old families have that problem.""They do." Victor stepped over a line of seaweed the tide had left behind. "It's almost a kindness, helping them let go. They wouldn't know how to do it themselves."I kept my eyes on the waterline.Kindness. That was the word he used. I'd watched him use it before—with the Hendersons,
POV: Clara The Draven beach house looked like something that was built to intimidate people rather than welcome them.It had floor-to-ceiling glass walls which reflected the setting sun. Apparently Victor loved it here, so of course I hated it on sight.He parked with a satisfied sigh and turned to Mr. Quinn in the backseat. “Wait till you see the infinity pool. It looks like it drops straight into the ocean.”Mr. Quinn chuckled. “You always did have taste, Victor.”I got out first, my sandals sinking into the white gravel. The salt wind whipped my hair across my face as I heard the waves crashing below the cliff, loud and endless. The sound pressed against my chest, reminding me how isolated we were. We had no neighbors or roads close enough. It was just water stretching forever in every direction.I busied myself with the caterers while Victor gave the tour. Trays of shrimp, chilled oysters, tiny crab cakes—everything expensive and perfect already arranged out. I pointed at wher
POV: NikolaiThe mansion looked worse in daylight.I stood in the doorway of the breakfast room with my coffee, watching the staff move through the ground floor like a cleanup crew after a natural disaster. Someone was on their hands and knees picking sequins out of the carpet. Another was collecting champagne flutes from the windowsills and the mantelpiece and one particularly concerning location behind the grandfather clock.Victor sat at the head of the breakfast table, still in last night's shirt, snapping at the housekeeper about the flower arrangements being moved without his permission."They were wilting," she said carefully. "I thought—""You're not paid to think about flowers. You're paid to move them when I tell you to move them." He pressed two fingers against his temple and reached for his water glass.I took the seat across from him and poured myself more coffee from the carafe. I looked around the table. "Where's Clara?""Migraine." Victor didn't look up. "She's restin
Clara's POVThe black SUV pulled up the circular driveway, and my stomach performed a slow, agonizing flip. My parents stepped out, looking so small against the backdrop of the Draven estate.My mother looked even more slender than the last time I had seen her, her kind face was etched with that pe
POV: ClaraThe pantry floor felt like it was still burned into my skin. Every step I took that morning was heavy, like my legs were made of lead. I was a hollow shell, just a set of lungs moving air in and out while the rest of me was rotting from the inside.I was sitting at the breakfast table, t
POV: ClaraThe morning light felt like a physical weight pressing against my eyelids. My head throbbed with the kind of hangover that had nothing to do with champagne and everything to do with the lies I had swallowed the night before. Victor had left before dawn for some mysterious business meetin
POV: ClaraThe dress was a scream. That was the only way to describe the shade of red Victor had picked out for the Quinn-Novarion gala. It wasn't elegant; it was the color of an open wound. As the stylist tucked the silk around my waist, I felt less like a guest of honor and more like a target pai
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