Chapter One

Phoebe

“Please don’t do this.” I dashed the tears from my eyes and pleaded with the man holding a knife in front of me. “I have to pay my sister’s facility, or they’ll kick her out. The state facilities...” I trailed off, realizing he didn’t care.

His red eyes didn’t even blink. He seemed high on something, and it was clear I couldn’t get a spark of empathy from him.

He didn’t care that my disabled sister was thriving in the privately run facility, and I was solely responsible for covering what the meager benefits she received didn’t. The few thousand dollars in my purse, accumulating because of late nights and not making it to the bank before working again the next day, would just be a drug spree to him, while they would ensure my sister another month in her home.

Tears welled again as I thought about how hard I’d worked for that money. I’d stripped and danced for hours, letting men paw my young body in what they thought were discreet ways, because I had no choice. He couldn’t just take it!

With a grunt, I slung my bag of dance clothes at him, trying to knock him off-kilter. He blinked as though in a stupor for a moment but was most likely shocked that I had the temerity to strike him and not because I’d hurt him.

What had I been thinking? I shuddered as his trance slowly slipped, and anger simmered below the surface. He was going to lunge at me at any moment, and he still held that knife. I had to get away.

The problem was, the robber stood between me and the way out of the alley. As he stumbled toward me, I held tightly to my purse and darted to the side. His fingers caught my long fall of brown hair, and I winced at the sting in my scalp, but I kept running. I couldn’t let him take me down.

If he got hold of me now, he’d probably kill me on top of stealing my money. I couldn’t risk that. I was pretty attached to my life, but not just because of that.

I had Tabitha counting on me. Without me, she’d end up in a state-run facility, and I couldn’t let that happen.

I jerked away from him, leaving behind a chunk of my hair in the process, and ran with everything I had. I turned just once to see if he was following me, and he was. He seemed to have shaken off the effects of whatever drug coursed through his veins, and he was clearly angry.

I ran without paying attention. I tucked in my elbows and pumped my legs, charging down the alleyway as though my life depended on it.

It probably did.

I emerged from the alleyway and onto the street. A short-lived wave of relief washed over me, but I soon realized I wasn’t out of danger yet. There wasn’t anyone around at the moment, so I didn’t see an option for help.

I should have had one of the bouncers walk me out to the bus stop, but they were all pretty useless. They spent most of their time obsessed about their muscles and didn’t care about us dancers. It was usually easier to skip dealing with them, but I wouldn’t in future, if I had another chance.

I still ran, but my speed was flagging. I glanced behind me again, and the mugger was still charging at me like a bull seeing red. I swallowed down the hitch in my chest and forced me legs to keep moving.

I saw headlights on the next street over. I just had to cut across this one to make it to them. With a burst of speed, I plunged into the road. If I could reach the headlights—

A screech of brakes made me turn slightly, and in panic, I froze. A red car bore down on me, but I couldn’t move. The driver couldn’t stop in time either, and all I could do was stand there, knowing he was about to hit me, but too paralyzed to turn.

The car slammed into me, jolting me backward and making me fly off my feet. As I flew through the air, I saw the mugger stop, stare in shock for a second, and then turn and run the opposite direction.

I hit the pavement hard. It was a strange moment, as everything seemed suspended. I was paused, except for my trajectory. I slammed into it, and there was a jolt. For a second, I felt nothing but shocked surprise.

Then the delayed reaction caught up, and my entire body hurt. My head throbbed, and I barely clung to consciousness.

There was a light above me, and then a man stood over me. The streetlight formed a halo around him as he bent down, giving him an angelic look.

Not a heavenly angel though. In his dark suit, with his dark hair and perfectly chiseled features, he was anything but pure. He was a dark angel for sure.

I blinked, trying to hold on or make sense of the words coming from his mouth, but all I could see were the shape of his lips. They were firm, smooth, and elegantly defined. I wondered what he tasted like.

He blinked and seemed aghast before looking amused. “I assume you’ll live.”

His voice was deep and smooth, like polished onyx. He was everything dark, sexy, and perfect in the world.

As my awareness faded, his countenance was all I could see. I kept my eyes locked on his bright blue gaze, but rather than anchoring me, it tempted me to fly.

I let go…

***

Damon

I was bored. This club was the same as ever. When my friend Micah first invited me to the underground scene of depravity and desires known as Flesh, I was titillated. That had been long ago, and the luster had worn off over the years.

It was no longer intoxicating to have my pick of the minxes around me. I could have any dream I wanted, live out any fantasy with ease, and structure the next one by the time I returned.

It didn’t matter. I was still bored.

It wasn’t just Flesh that bored me these days. Everything seemed to have lost its spark. I wasn’t unhappy, and I certainly wasn’t depressed. I was just existing. Nothing changed.

Oh, I suppose some things did. The clients and mergers changed on a regular basis, but the stakes, no matter how high, failed to get my blood pumping as they used to.

Everything was the same. None of it mattered.

It had to be my brush with mortality that had set me on this path. A misdiagnosis by my dermatologist a few months ago left me facing the thought of death at thirty-nine. He’d told me it was a malignant melanoma, and I’d grappled with the fact I wouldn’t be around forever.

Fortunately, lab results had confirmed his mistake, and I’d quickly switched doctors. That should have been the end of it, but the experience had me questioning everything. Suddenly, what used to matter meant nothing, and I was keenly aware of all the things I didn’t have.

As a billionaire, that was a short list. Short, but significant.

I had no family. My parents were dead, I had no siblings, and I was never close to my cousins. I’d grieved my parents when I lost them in my early twenties, but I’d gone on. I’d been young then and somewhat convinced of my own immortality.

My, how things changed. Now, I was practically obsessed with all the things I might be missing. I wanted a child.

It was getting so bad that I found myself eyeing Dana, one of the servers at Flesh. She wore a revealing outfit and a coy little mask, but I’d been coming long enough to recognize her.

I didn’t know anything about her, except she sucked cock like a hoover, and I certainly had no indication she was maternal. She did have nice hips though. That was important in a brood mare, right?

That was essentially what I wanted. I wanted a legacy, but I didn’t want a wife. Been there, done that, and I was still writing the checks to Virginia. As much as I wanted a child, I was thankful it never happened with her. She would have only sunk her claws in deeper, and she had as much warmth as a pit viper.

No, I needed someone young, healthy, and not morally opposed to taking money in exchange for letting me rent out her body for a few months. I understood it was hard to ask a woman to walk away from her offspring, so I needed to find the rare woman who could pass on caring traits and empathy but still be mercenary enough to sell her interest in our child.

I winced at the blunt thought, but I had to be honest. I wanted a business transaction that ended in a baby and the mother exiting stage-right.

It was an epiphany to realize that was where my thoughts had led me. I finished my Scotch, nodded to Micah, and left the club.

Behind the wheel of my Ferrari, I raced down the empty street as my mind raced with the thoughts in my head. Could I find a woman to give me what I wanted? I knew there were agencies, but it felt too personal and intimate to trust the details to someone I didn’t know to arrange and find me a surrogate.

I grinned in irony at the idea of that being too impersonal, but I was okay with having a child with someone I didn’t know and didn’t want to know well.

I was so consumed with my thoughts that I didn’t see the woman running in front of me in the road. I cursed as I realized I’d been so distracted I hadn’t even turned on my headlights.

I slammed on the brakes, knowing it was too late to stop. The laws of physics said the car had too much velocity, but I tried.

My car hit her lithe frame with a terrible jolt that made me wince. She went flying. With her long hair framing her face, and the arms of her overly large sweatshirt fanning out around her, she looked angelic.

For a moment, I thought she might fly. It was a crazy, fanciful thought, but it still crossed my mind.

Then she crashed into the pavement, breaking my paralysis. I scrambled from the car and rushed over to her.

She appeared unconscious, and I was afraid she was dying. Her lids lifted, and her warm green eyes locked with mine with sudden intensity. She stared at me, and her lips moved.

“Are you okay, miss?” I knelt on the ground beside her, not giving much thought to my custom-tailored trousers.

I reached out to feel for a pulse, and she shivered when I touched her neck. So did I. Her skin was soft and warm despite the circumstances.

I felt awful for my thoughts until she said, “Your lips are beautiful.” Then I smiled. Not as beautiful as her, even crumpled as she was on the pavement.

When her eyes closed, the moment ended, and I realized I hadn’t even called nine-one-one. I hastily dialed it and sat with her as the sound of sirens rushed closer.

I had no idea how things would change, but I suddenly knew they would. For the first time in a long time, I wasn’t numb. As I held her hand to make sure she stayed with me, I felt more alive than I had in a while.

How strange.