Chapter 3

I lay flat on the cold mahogany desk for a long second while the thick legal contract rested heavily on my chest and Damien Sterling adjusted the gold cuffs of his suit jacket with an infuriatingly calm expression. My breathing was ragged from the sudden, violent loss of his physical touch and the heavy ache settling deep between my thighs made my hands shake uncontrollably. I forced myself to sit up and violently yanked my red silk gown down over my bare legs because I absolutely refused to lay exposed like a desperate animal in front of a man who just bought my entire existence.

I snatched the thick paper off my chest and unfolded it with trembling fingers to read the bold black ink spanning the bottom of the document. The signature of my older brother was scrawled perfectly across the dotted line next to Damien’s precise, rigid signature. The bold heading at the top of the page clearly stated it was a binding transfer of assets and my full legal name was listed explicitly under the collateral section.

"This is not a legal contract in the United States," I spat at him while I crumpled the expensive paper into a tight ball and threw it directly at his broad chest. "You cannot legally buy a human being to settle a corporate debt and my brother does not have the legal authority to sign my life away to his psychotic best friend."

Damien caught the crumpled ball of paper effortlessly with one large hand and did not even flinch at my sudden outburst of anger. He tossed the contract carelessly onto the floor next to his shattered laptop and stepped back into my personal space, immediately placing his hands flat on the desk on either side of my hips to cage me in again.

"I own the judges in this city and I own the politicians who write the laws you think are going to protect you," Damien explained in a dark, gravelly voice that vibrated straight through my bones while his golden eyes locked entirely onto mine. "Your brother embezzled ten million dollars from my private accounts over the last three years and I have the financial records to put him in a maximum-security prison for the rest of his miserable life."

I stared into his ruthless face and realized the terrifying depth of his manipulation because he let my brother steal from him for three entire years just to build an inescapable trap for my family.

"You did not care about the money," I whispered in absolute horror while my fingers dug fiercely into the edge of the desk to keep myself upright. "You let him steal your money on purpose just so you could use the evidence to blackmail me into your bed."

"I have billions of dollars, Chloe," Damien confirmed ruthlessly while he leaned down and dragged the back of his knuckles slowly along the curve of my jawline in a mockery of a gentle caress. "Ten million dollars is absolutely nothing to me, but your absolute, willing submission is worth destroying your entire family legacy."

"I will never willingly submit to a monster who orchestrated the ruin of my family," I promised fiercely, turning my face away from his touch because the dark obsession burning in his eyes made my stomach clench with genuine fear.

Damien grabbed my chin forcefully with his large hand and wrenched my face back toward him, entirely ignoring my resistance while he stepped his thick thighs directly against my spread knees to completely eliminate the space between us.

"You will submit to me," Damien commanded with a feral growl that sent a violent shiver of heat straight down my spine before he reached his free hand behind his back and pulled a small silver key out of his pocket. "Because I am going to lock you inside my penthouse for the next six months and I am going to systematically break down every single defensive wall you have built until you are begging me to touch you."

"My family will realize I am missing," I argued desperately while I grabbed his thick wrist and tried uselessly to pry his fingers off my face. "My brother is literally downstairs in your ballroom right now and he will call the police if I do not come home tonight."

"Your brother just boarded my private jet thirty minutes ago with a one-way ticket to Switzerland," Damien stated flatly, instantly shattering the last remaining shred of hope I had left. "He took the severance package I offered him and he agreed to never contact you again as long as I do not turn the USB drive over to the federal prosecutors."

My breath completely stopped in my throat and a sickening wave of betrayal crashed over my senses because my own flesh and blood abandoned me to a ruthless predator to save his own skin. I felt the hot sting of tears welling in the corners of my eyes but I violently blinked them away because Damien Sterling would never get the satisfaction of watching me cry.

"You have exactly two options tonight, little bird," Damien said while he released my chin and grabbed my waist, effortlessly hauling my body off the desk until my feet hit the floor and my chest pressed tightly against his solid torso. "You can walk out of this office and I will call the FBI to arrest your brother at the airstrip before his plane even takes off. Or you can take my hand, walk out to my waiting car, and accept the fact that you belong entirely to me."