Chapter 1

The heavy oak door of the private study clicked shut behind me. I did not even have time to turn around before a massive hand clamped forcefully over my mouth and a solid, muscular chest pressed flush against my back.

"You are exactly where you are not supposed to be, Chloe," a deep, gravelly voice whispered directly into my ear.

Damien Sterling. My older brother’s best friend. The most ruthless billionaire in the city. And the exact man I was trying to rob.

I grabbed his thick wrist with both of my hands and dug my fingernails into his skin. He did not flinch and he did not let me go. He just laughed. The dark, vibrating sound resonated through his chest and sent a violent rush of unwanted heat straight between my thighs. He removed his hand from my mouth and immediately wrapped his long fingers around my throat. He did not squeeze to hurt me. He held me securely in place to prove he possessed absolute physical control over my body.

He spun me around in the dark and slammed my back hard against the edge of his mahogany desk. He stepped forcefully between my legs and pushed forward. His tailored slacks brushed against the high slit of my red silk evening gown. I felt the hard, thick ridge of his arousal pressing directly against my center. My breath hitched in my throat. I hated his arrogance, but my body instantly flooded with a desperate, heavy ache the second he touched me.

"What are you doing in my office, little bird?" Damien demanded. His golden eyes burned in the dim light and dragged deliberately down to my exposed cleavage.

"Let me go, Damien," I spat. I kept my chin high and refused to show him how fast my heart was beating. "My brother is right downstairs in your ballroom. If he realizes I am missing, he will come looking for me."

"Your brother works for me," Damien stated flatly. He grabbed the fabric of my dress right at my thigh and violently yanked the slit higher until his rough palm slid directly onto my bare skin. "And he is currently drinking my champagne while he signs a contract that gives me complete ownership of your family’s company. So you are going to drop the feisty attitude and answer my question."

I grabbed his broad shoulders to push him away but his body was an immovable wall of muscle. I needed the silver USB drive sitting on his desk. It held the security footage of my brother committing corporate fraud. Damien was going to use it to destroy my family by morning.

"I want the flash drive," I demanded. I glared into his dark, obsessive eyes. "Name your price. I will pay you whatever you want to destroy that footage."

Damien leaned down and dragged his open mouth slowly along my jawline. He bit my earlobe hard enough to make me gasp out loud. He slid his large hand directly between my thighs and his thumb brushed firmly over the thin silk of my panties. He knew exactly how wet I was for him.

"My price is you," Damien murmured against my heated skin, his breath sending shivers down my spine. "I want you in my bed every single night. I want you to wear my ring. I want you to belong to me completely."

"You are thirty-five years old and you are my brother's best friend," I breathed heavily, my fingers curling uncontrollably into the expensive fabric of his suit jacket. "This is completely forbidden. You cannot do this."

"I own this city, Chloe. Absolutely nothing is forbidden to me," Damien said.

He pulled back and reached into his suit pocket. He held up the silver USB drive right in front of my face.

"I orchestrated this entire fraud just to trap you," Damien confessed ruthlessly, his eyes locking onto mine to make sure I understood the depth of his manipulation. "I set your brother up to fail. I cornered your family so you would have absolutely no choice but to come begging to me in the dark."

I stared at him in complete horror. He planned everything. He destroyed my family's legacy just to get me alone in this room.

Damien tossed the USB drive onto the desk behind me. He gripped both of my hips and pulled my body forcefully against his hard erection, refusing to give me a single inch of space to breathe.

"You have exactly ten seconds to make a choice," Damien ordered, his voice dropping to a dark, feral growl that made my knees buckle. "Walk out that door right now and watch your brother go to federal prison for twenty years. Or hike that red dress up to your waist, spread your legs, and show me exactly how you pay your debts."