The whiskey burned my throat, but I swallowed another mouthful straight from the crystal decanter.

The grand hallway of the Hawthorne estate spun in a dizzying blur of marble and shadows. It was past two in the morning. I had drained half a bottle to numb the reality of my two-million-dollar price tag.

A heavy tread sounded on the stairs.

I squinted through the dim light. A tall silhouette paused at the landing. Broad shoulders, tailored suit, the arrogant tilt of a Hawthorne chin.

Jasper.

Anger flared, hot and sharp, overriding the alcohol. I stumbled forward and slammed my hands against his chest. Solid muscle met my palms.

"Two million dollars," I slurred, gripping his lapels. "You think you own me? You think I'm just a prop for your press events?"

The man stood completely still. His hands hovered over my hips.

"Loren," a deep, raspy voice rumbled.

It sounded rougher than Jasper's usual polished tone. But my brain, drowned in liquor, ignored the difference.

"Don't talk down to me," I snapped, leaning my weight against him. "I hate you. I hate this fake marriage. I hate that I have to live in the east wing like a prisoner."

His fingers dug into my waist. Hard.

"You hate me?" he asked. The question carried a strange, heavy edge.

"I despise you."

"Good." He yanked me flush against his body. "Keep hating me."

Before I could process the shift in his demeanor, he shoved me backward. My spine hit a heavy oak door. He twisted the brass knob, pushed me inside the dark guest room, and kicked the door shut.

He pinned my wrists above my head against the wall.

"Jasper—" I started.

His mouth crashed down on mine, silencing his brother's name. It wasn't a polite kiss. It was violent, hungry, tasting of rain and mint. He shoved his knee between my thighs, parting my legs with brute force.

"Say you hate me again," he growled against my lips.

"I hate you," I gasped.

"Fuck, yes," he muttered. His large hands ripped the silk fabric of my slip dress down the middle. The material tore with a loud screech.

Cold air hit my bare skin. He didn't hesitate. He cupped my bare breasts, his thumbs rolling roughly over my hardening nipples.

"I've wanted to fuck you since the first day," he said, his voice thick with lust. He ducked his head and sucked my left nipple into his mouth, biting down hard enough to make me cry out.

My drunken mind spun. Jasper was supposed to be cold. Clinical. But the man devouring me felt like a starving animal.

He dropped his hand between my legs, tearing my lace panties aside. His long fingers found my slick pussy immediately.

"You're soaking wet for a man you claim to despise," he taunted, sliding two fingers deep inside my cunt.

I arched my back, crying out as he pumped his fingers in and out. "Fuck."

"Tell me what you want, Loren." He scraped his thumb over my swollen clit.

"Fuck me," I begged, shamelessly grinding my hips against his hand. "Put your cock inside me."

He withdrew his fingers. The sound of a zipper echoed in the dark room. He freed his thick, hard cock and pressed the blunt tip against my entrance.

"I'm going to ruin you for anyone else," he whispered harshly.

He thrust his hips forward, burying his cock deep inside my pussy in one brutal stroke.

I screamed, my fingernails digging into his broad shoulders. He filled me completely, stretching my walls.

"Fuck," he groaned, burying his face in the crook of my neck. "You feel incredibly good. Mine. You are fucking mine."

He pulled back and slammed into me again. The heavy thud of our bodies colliding filled the quiet room. He didn't pace himself. He fucked me with relentless, punishing speed.

"Take my cock, Loren," he demanded, slapping his hips against my thighs. "Take all of it."

"Yes," I sobbed, wrapping my legs around his waist to pull him deeper. "Harder. Fuck me harder."

He dragged me away from the wall and tossed me onto the guest bed. I bounced on the mattress. Before I could crawl away, he grabbed my ankles, yanked me to the edge of the bed, and drove into my cunt again.

"I'm breeding your pussy," he snarled, his sweat dripping onto my chest. "Look at me while I fuck you."

I opened my heavy eyelids, but the room was too dark to make out his features. I only felt the massive size of his cock sliding in and out, hitting my sweet spot with every thrust.

"I'm close," I whimpered. "Please."

"Come for me," he ordered, his pace turning frantic. "Come on my cock."

Pleasure exploded through my body. My muscles clamped down hard around his shaft. I screamed his brother's name into the darkness as the orgasm ripped through me.

He let out a guttural roar, driving balls-deep into my pulsing pussy, and pumped his hot load deep inside me.

He collapsed heavily on top of me, his chest heaving against mine. My alcohol-soaked brain finally shut down, pulling me into a deep, dreamless sleep.

***

Harsh sunlight pierced my eyelids.

My head throbbed with a vicious hangover. I groaned, rolling over on the unfamiliar mattress. The sheets tangled around my bare legs. The space beside me was warm.

I blinked my eyes open, expecting to see Jasper's perfectly styled blonde hair.

Instead, I saw pitch-black hair.

My stomach dropped.

I shoved myself up on my elbows, pulling the white sheet over my naked breasts. The man sleeping next to me shifted. His face turned toward the morning light.

A sharp jawline. A small, jagged scar on his chin. Thick, dark eyelashes.

Kael Hawthorne.

Jasper's older brother. The ruthless head of the Hawthorne empire.

Bile rose in my throat. I clamped a hand over my mouth to stifle a scream.

It wasn't Jasper last night. It was Kael. I had poured out my hatred for the contract, and Kael had taken me into this room. I had slept with my fake fiancé's brother.

Shame crashed over me in suffocating waves. I had broken the number one rule of the two-million-dollar agreement on the very first night.

Kael's chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm. The sheet dipped low on his waist, revealing the dark bruises I had left on his ribs.

I couldn't stay here. I couldn't face him when he woke up.

I slid off the bed, my legs trembling so violently I almost collapsed. I scrambled across the carpet, grabbing the torn shreds of my slip dress. It was ruined. I clutched the fabric against my chest and tiptoed toward the door.

I paused, throwing one last glance at the bed. Kael looked peaceful, a stark contrast to the brutal way he had taken me last night. I completely missed the slight furrow in his brow, the way his hand reached out blindly across the empty sheets, searching for me.

I slipped out the door and sprinted down the long hallway toward the east wing.

Guilt gnawed at my insides. Jasper had bought my loyalty, and I had betrayed him with his own flesh and blood.

I reached my bedroom, slipped inside, and locked the heavy door behind me. I slid down the wood paneling, burying my face in my hands.

A sharp knock hammered against the wood, making me jump.

"Loren," Jasper's cold voice filtered through the door. "Get dressed and come downstairs immediately. My brother just returned from Europe, and he demands to meet my new fiancée."

"Smile for the cameras, Loren." Jasper's fingers dug into the fabric of my waist.

I forced the corners of my mouth up. Flashbulbs popped from behind the dining room's floor-to-ceiling windows.

"Perfect," Jasper murmured. He released his grip the second the photographers moved to the next pane of glass.

I grabbed my water goblet. My hand shook, rattling the ice cubes against the crystal.

"Are you cold?" Kael asked.

His deep voice carried across the long mahogany table. I flinched.

"She's fine, brother," Jasper answered for me, slicing into his steak. "Just overwhelmed by the attention. It is her first time in the Hawthorne spotlight."

I risked a glance upward. Kael sat directly opposite me. He wore a charcoal suit that fit his broad shoulders flawlessly, projecting total authority. The small, jagged scar on his chin caught the chandelier’s light, a harsh reminder of the face resting on the pillow beside me this morning.

He wasn't looking at Jasper. His dark eyes locked entirely on me.

There was no mockery in his expression. No triumph. Instead, a heavy, quiet ache settled in his gaze. He looked at me like I was a tragedy he desperately wanted to fix.

I snapped my eyes back to my plate. The roasted pheasant tasted like ash.

If he spoke up right now, the two-million-dollar deal would vanish. Jasper would throw me out on the street. The Hawthorne family would crush my parents for the scandal. Sleeping with the older brother hours after signing a contract with the younger one was corporate suicide.

"Loren hasn't touched her food," Kael pointed out.

"Nerves," Jasper said smoothly. He reached over and covered my trembling hand with his. "She wants everything to be perfect for the press tour tomorrow."

Kael’s eyes dropped to Jasper’s hand. A sharp muscle flexed in Kael’s neck.

"Is that right, Loren?" Kael asked.

"Yes," I forced the word out. My throat felt tight.

Kael set his silver fork down. The metallic clink echoed in the massive room. "A marriage built on a business arrangement rarely brings an appetite."

Jasper chuckled, a cold, hollow sound. "Always the romantic, Kael. We are building an empire. Romance is for the poor."

"And what are you building, Loren?" Kael pressed.

I stared at the white tablecloth. "A future."

"At what cost?" Kael murmured.

Jasper frowned, finally sensing the shift in the room. "Enough interrogations. She is my fiancée, not a hostile takeover target."

I pushed my chair back. The wooden legs scraped loudly against the marble floor.

"Excuse me," I said, my voice thin and wavering. "I need to use the powder room."

I didn't wait for Jasper's permission. I turned and practically ran out of the dining hall.

The hallway was dim, illuminated only by small wall sconces. I hurried toward the east wing, desperate to reach the safety of my locked bedroom.

A tall shadow detached itself from the alcove ahead.

"Running away won't solve the problem."

I halted. Kael blocked the corridor. He had abandoned his suit jacket, leaving him in a crisp white shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his forearms.

"Please let me pass," I said, keeping a wide distance between us.

"You looked terrified in there," he noted.

"Because you keep staring at me!" I snapped, dropping my voice to a harsh whisper. "Jasper is going to notice."

Kael took a step forward. I instantly took a step back, my spine hitting the cold wall.

"I don't care what Jasper notices," Kael said.

"I do! That contract is the only thing keeping my parents out of federal prison."

He closed the distance between us. He didn't touch me, but his towering frame trapped me against the floral wallpaper. The scent of rain and mint wrapped around me, violently yanking my memory back to the dark guest room.

"Two million dollars," Kael said softly. "That is what he bought you for."

"You know about the debt."

"I run the Hawthorne empire, Loren. I know everything." His dark eyes searched my face. The hardness I expected from a ruthless CEO was entirely absent. "You don't have to do this."

"I don't have a choice."

"You do." He raised a hand, his knuckles grazing the wood paneling right next to my cheek. "Don't ruin your life for a man who views you as a press release."

"It's just a fake marriage. I can survive it."

"Can you?" Kael’s voice dropped, raw and heavy. "Can you survive living in this house, pretending to love him, while I am right down the hall?"

Panic clawed at my chest. He was going to use this. He was going to hold last night over my head like a guillotine.

"What do you want, Kael?" I demanded. "Money? A confession? Are you going to tell the press I slept with you?"

He recoiled slightly. The accusation struck him like a physical blow.

"You think I would expose you?" he asked.

"You hold all the power! If you tell Jasper, the deal is dead. My family is ruined. The scandal will destroy us."

"I would never hurt you, Loren."

"You already did!" I shoved his chest. He didn't budge. "You took advantage of me in the dark. I thought you were him."

A muscle feathered in his jaw. "You screamed his name."

"Because I was drunk and angry!"

"And today?" Kael asked. "Are you angry today?"

"I am terrified." I wrapped my arms around myself, creating a barrier. "If anyone finds out about last night, my life is over."

Kael stared at me for a long time. His hands dropped to his sides.

"I have watched you for three years," Kael said.

The admission froze the blood in my veins.

"What?" I whispered.

"Three years, Loren. At the charity galas. At the country club. I watched you smile, I watched you help your father's failing company, and I watched Jasper swoop in with a predatory loan."

My mouth fell open. I couldn't form a single word.

"I didn't take you into that room to ruin you," Kael continued, his tone laced with a quiet, fierce devotion. "I took you because I couldn't stand hearing you pledge your life to a man you despise."

"You..." I shook my head, my mind spinning. "You knew who I was."

"Always."

"But Jasper—"

"Jasper is a fool." Kael stepped back, giving me space to breathe. "I am offering you a way out. Let me pay the debt. Walk away from him tonight."

He wasn't threatening me. He was offering a rescue.

But the Hawthorne brothers didn't do favors. They made acquisitions.

"If you pay the debt," I said, my voice shaking, "what do I owe you?"

"Nothing."

"Liars," I spat. "Both of you. Jasper wants a prop. What do you want?"

Kael held my gaze. "I want you to stop hurting."

I squeezed my eyes shut. This was a trap. A different kind of snare. If I accepted Kael's money, the scandal would be inevitable. Jasper would find out. The media would tear me apart as the gold-digger who played two billionaire brothers against each other.

"Keep your money," I told him, opening my eyes. "And keep your mouth shut about last night. If you really care about me, you will stay away."

I pushed past him, marching toward my bedroom.

"Loren," Kael called out.

I didn't stop walking.

"Jasper didn't draft that marriage contract to save your father," Kael's voice chased me down the hall. "He drafted it to steal the final shares of your family's company."

I stopped dead in my tracks.

Before I could turn around to demand an explanation, the heavy oak doors of the dining hall swung open.

"There you are," Jasper announced, stepping into the corridor. His cold eyes darted between Kael and me. "Am I interrupting something?"