LOGINAdam povBy the time I got back to the penthouse, my hands had started shaking.I shut the door behind me and stood there for two seconds, breathing through my nose, keys still in my hand, jacket hanging off one shoulder.The place was dark anc Eve wasn't running her mouth in my kitchen.I threw the keys on the table and walked straight to the bedroom. My fingers missed the first drawer handle. I grabbed it again and pulled it open so hard it slammed against the stopper.“Where the fuck is it?”Shirts, watch case, receipts, nothing.I opened the next drawer and shoved everything aside. Cufflinks scattered across the floor. A black box hit the rug and split open. I did not care.“Where is it? Where the fuck is it?”My chest tightened. I coughed once, then again, gripping the edge of the dresser until my knuckles went white. The room tilted slightly. I shut my eyes, breathed in, and immediately regretted it because my lungs caught halfway.Not now.I yanked open the bottom drawer and fo
I stood there frozen as Dante held my wrist after pulling me away from the fight area. My body stayed tense and I felt my heart pounding hard in my chest.I stared at his hand on me, blood marked one of his knuckles.“Let me go,” I said.He released me immediately.I almost stumbled because I had braced for a fight. My hand flew to my chest, and I looked at him like he had done something strange. I was already used to Adam grabbing, pulling, moving me like his decisions came before mine, so I expected him to be the same.He leaned one shoulder against the wall and wiped blood from his mouth with his thumb, “Dante.”I blinked. “What the hell?”“My name,” his eyes stayed on mine, “since you walked into my ring looking like you had no idea where your feet took you.”I looked him over properly then. He was tall, broad and shirtless. Scar across his ribs, blood on his mouth, but he looked like someone’s worst idea of temptation.He pushed away from the wall, “this is a hunting ground. If y
I had about fifty questions, but every one stayed trapped behind my teeth. Adam was already walking, keys in one hand, jacket hanging from the other, not looking back because he knew I would follow. I grabbed my purse and followed him out.The car ride was worse than the hotel room silence. Adam drove with one hand on the wheel, his bruised knuckles resting where I could see them.I glanced at him a few times but looked away fast when he caught me staring. The drive felt long and I gripped my seatbelt tighter every time we turned onto a quieter road.The roads got darker, then familiar. My hand froze around my purse when he turned into the narrow lane with the broken fencing. The same ugly building came into view, grey and dead. My throat closed. “No,” I whispered.Adam parked and switched off the engine. “Look at me.” He extended his hand toward me and added, “It will be okay.”I stared at his hand for a second then took it. He pulled me out of the car and I followed while my eyes sc
My hand tightened around my purse. The bikini suddenly felt smaller. The sheer cover up might as well have been air.I looked at the pool, then the champagne glasses, then the women in blazers, and my stomach dropped.Someone muttered, “How did she get in here?”Another voice said, “Is she part of the entertainment?”My face burned. Adam moved before I could run.One second he was across the terrace with a glass in his hand, and the next, his fingers closed around my wrist as he pulled me from the crowd and stopped near the glass doors.“What do you think you’re doing?” he asked.His voice was low, but it was worse than shouting. I pulled my wrist back but he held on. My body stayed tense and my mind raced through everything I had seen him do with his workers. I knew I was not supposed to mess up this deal for him“I’m sorry,” I said quickly, holding the cover up across my chest. “I’m sorry, okay? I’ve never been to a business pool party. I thought pool party meant pool party. Like bi
My body reacted before my brain did. My stomach flipped, my thighs pressed together, and my fingers tightened around Beverly’s bag.Adam saw it. His eyes dropped, then came back to my face.I hated that his words turned me the fuck on but then my hand touched my throat.My fingers found the sore place under my jaw and everything inside me pulled back. The concrete wall, the hand over my mouth and tge bald man on the floor.I stepped back and held the bag against me, “don’t.”Adam’s face changed slightly, “I wasn’t moving.”“Tell me what happened back there.”He turned away from me and started searching through his bag without looking up.That infuriated me more and I clenched my fists, "so you won't say a thing? You know I can't -"I trailed off as he pulled out a first aid kit and pulled my wrist, guiding me to the edge of the bed until I was say there while he crouched in front of me.My body stayed tense while I stared down at him up close.He tilted my chin and started cleaning th
My whole body forgot what to do. Then I started fighting.My nails scratched at his hand. My shoes scraped the concrete. I tried to scream, but the sound stayed trapped against his palm. His arm tightened under my chin, cutting off my air until my eyes burned.Oh my God. This was it. This was why my mother told me to stay away from Adam Dalton. Not because he had a fake girlfriend or weird contracts. Because he was actually dangerous. Because he brought me here. Because I was going to die in an abandoned building wearing Beverly’s stupid cardigan.I kicked back hard, but my heel hit nothing useful. The man shoved me into the wall. My cheek scraped concrete, and my lungs started panicking. Adam was going to kill me. Or he had brought me to people who would.Then the hand disappeared from my mouth.Air rushed into my throat so fast I coughed. A strong arm grabbed me around the waist and yanked me backward. My back hit a hard chest, and another hand spread over my stomach, holding me the
My mom smiled between us like she was happy about the whole thing.I gripped the blanket tighter around my chest while I tried to keep my face from showing how messed up this felt."I'll leave you two alone," she said, maintaining her huge grin, "sho would have thought he was nearby? I was so surpr
I sat up fast when the knock hit the door again.My heart pounded so hard it felt like it was in my throat.I grabbed the blanket and yanked it higher over my chest while I looked at Adam.He just stared back at me blank, no panic on his face at all, like this was nothing.He leaned back on his elb
Eve povI woke up slow, the sheets tangled around my legs and my head fuzzy like I’d slept through a storm.My body felt heavy and my pussy throbbed sore with every tiny shift.The memory hit me in pieces, his mouth everywhere. I raked my fingers through my hair and sat up, wincing at the ache betw
I was still wrapped around him, legs locked tight around his waist and arms around his neck, my bare tits pressed against his chest.He tried to ease back but I held on harder.“Eve, come on now, you’re drunk,” Adam said, voice low and steady, “last time you did this you said it was a mistake.”I s







