Chapter 4: Dangerous Introduction
Holy sh*t. It really is him.
“Are you sick?” I ask, sliding his wallet back into his pocket, my fingertips lingering against the damp fabric of his pants.
I take a moment to really look at him. He’s impossibly tall–if he wasn’t leaning so heavily against me, I’d probably only be eye–level with his jawline. His skin is pale in a refined way, his nose straight and aristocratic. He has that perfect European- American mixed heritage look that makes him seem like he belongs on a billboard in Times Square.
“Not sick,” he murmurs, his lips too close to my ear. “Drugged. Someone spiked my
drink.”
“What?”
I start guiding him toward the bed but hesitate mid–step.
Is it too late to run? I should definitely run, right?
As if reading my thoughts, he suddenly grips my arm, moving with surprising speed for someone supposedly drugged. In one fluid motion, he pulls me forward and tosses me onto the plush hotel bed.
“Too late for second thoughts,” he says, his voice a low growl.
I bounce on the mattress before he drops his weight partially on top of me,
pinning me with one muscular thigh between my legs. The fabric of my dress rides up dangerously.
“If you’re not planning to run away from this marriage,” he whispers, his lips hovering just above mine, “maybe you could help me out?”
J**us Chr**t. How am I supposed to respond to that?
I mean, yes, I’m committed to going through with this arranged marriage, but he’s asking me to… what exactly? And we only just met, literally seconds ago, in a bathroom of all places…
“I’m not going to run,” I manage to say, my voice embarrassingly breathy.
“Good.”
He studies my face for a moment, seemingly satisfied with what he sees. Then
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without warning, he lowers his mouth to mine.
His lips are soft but demanding. At first, I freeze, but within seconds I’m responding, parting my lips as his tongue slides against mine. He tastes like
expensive whiskey and danger.
“F**k,” he groans against my mouth. “You taste amazing.”
Still drugged or not, his hands know exactly what they’re doing as they slide up my thighs, bunching my dress at my waist. My body reacts on pure instinct, arching up into his touch.
“Wait-” I gasp as his lips move to my neck. “We shouldn’t—”
“Just let me touch you,” he murmurs, his fingers already slipping beneath the lace of my underwear. “Let me make you feel good.”
His fingers find me already w*t, and the sound he makes–a deep, primal groan of male satisfaction–makes me throb with need.
“J**us,” he whispers. “So responsive.”
I should stop this. I definitely should stop this. Instead, I find myself spreading my legs wider.
“That’s it, baby,” he encourages, his thumb finding my cl*t while one long finger slowly pushes inside me. “Show me what you like.”
Two hours later, I’m sitting up in bed, flushed and rubbing my wrists where his fingers had gripped me. My thighs are still trembling, my body still pulsing with aftershocks. The marks on my wrists aren’t from anything rough–just from how desperately I’d clung to him when he’d bent his head between my legs and made me c*me for the third time with his t*ngue.
My dress is somewhere on the floor, along with my bra. I’m wearing just my panties and his dress shirt, which he’d literally torn off his own body when I’d begged to feel his skin against mine.
“Oh god,” I’d cried out as his mouth did wicked things between my thighs. “I’m gonna–Lucas–don’t stop–f**k!”
He hadn’t stopped. Not until I was a quivering, begging mess beneath him. Not
until
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I’d returned the favor, taking him in my mouth until he’d groaned my name like a prayer, his hands tangled in my hair.
The perpetrator of my current state is now peacefully asleep beside me, his perfect face relaxed, dark lashes fanned against his cheekbones.
The absolute animal!
I grab a pillow, contemplating smacking him with it, when someone knocks at the
door.
My brother’s voice follows immediately. “Lucas?”
I freeze, not knowing what to do, but Lucas’s long body stretches across me. He cracks the door open just enough to reach out and yank my brother into the room. Jake looks from me to Lucas, his eyes widening to the size of dinner plates. He takes in my disheveled hair, swollen lips, and the obvious disarray of the bed. My dress is on the floor, I’m wearing what’s clearly Lucas’s shirt, and there are visible love bites on my neck and collarbone. The room smells unmistakably like s*x. “I wanted you two to get acquainted, but holy f**king sh*t, not THIS acquainted!” he sputters, face turning scarlet.
“Shut up,” Lucas mutters weakly, collapsing back onto the bed beside me. My brother’s hands clench into fists.
“Motherf**ker, I haven’t even punched you yet and you’re already telling me to shut up? What the f**k did you do to my sister? Even if you’re engaged, you can’t
just—”
Seeing Jake about to lunge at Lucas, I quickly intervene.
“Jake, it’s not what you think.”
“Then what is it?” My brother’s face is red with fury as he glares at me.
I clear my throat uncomfortably. While we didn’t technically have s*x, we definitely did things that go way beyond what casual acquaintances would do. But how the hell do I explain that to my overprotective brother?
As I struggle for words, Lucas speaks up first.
“You know about my family’s situation. I was compromised tonight. Had no
choice.”
Docnite the vague explanation. my brother’s furrowed brow gradually relaxes,
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though he still looks pissed.
Later, in the car, I curiously ask Jake about Lucas’s situation.
My brother sighs heavily and gives me the full story.
It turns out that Lucas’s grandfather plans to hand complete control of their multinational banking corporation to Lucas after our marriage is finalized.
But Lucas’s aunt Karen isn’t happy about this arrangement. She’s a total Karen in every sense of the word–entitled, manipulative, and convinced she deserves more. She’s been insisting the company should be split between her husband and Lucas’s father.
The problem is, neither of these men has the business acumen to run a corner store, let alone a global enterprise. Lucas’s uncle, in particular, was recently conned out of millions in a fraudulent investment scheme. If Lucas hadn’t stepped in to salvage the situation, the family might have lost half their fortune.
With this track record, why would the grandfather even consider putting the family business in such incompetent hands?
When Lucas’s aunt failed to convince the grandfather to change his mind, she decided to target Lucas directly.
To sabotage our marriage, she’s been working behind the scenes, pulling strings and setting traps. Destroying this union has become her obsession.
Lucas had been on guard against his aunt, but he never expected she would use her own son–his freshly–of–age cousin–as a pawn in her scheme.
Lucas’s only mistake was letting his guard down around his cousin, and that’s how he ended up drugged tonight.
I can’t help but shake my head at the drama.
Life in these wealthy dynasties is nothing but intrigue and backstabbing. So different from my family with our humble roots, where my parents worked their a**es off just to have me and Jake.
Before I can comment further, Jake’s phone rings.
I glance over and my heart stops when I see Ethan’s name lighting up the screen.
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Jake is navigating a sharp curve and can’t answer, so he asks me to pick up and put
it on speaker.
I hesitate for a second before pressing the answer button and putting it on speaker. My heart is pounding so hard I’m sure Jake can hear it. I’d spent seven years erasing evidence of Ethan’s calls from my phone history. Now here I am, about to speak to him with my brother listening to every word.
Jake glances at me, grinning mischievously. “Yeah, why do you ask?”
“I…”
Ethan pauses, clearly caught off guard, but doesn’t elaborate. “Can I talk to her? I need to ask her something.”
Jake’s grin widens. “Ask away. She’s right here next to me, and you’re on speaker.” Ethan goes silent. After a moment, he cautiously asks, “Sophie, can we talk privately? Please?”
Only now does Jake seem to pick up that something’s off. He gives me a suspicious side–eye, and when he speaks again, there’s a warning edge to his voice. “What’s this about? Something you can’t say in front of me? Don’t tell me you want advice on getting back with that ex of yours–what’s her name? Ava?”
Ethan exhales slowly. “Look man, I’m not trying to hook up with Ava again. That ship has sailed. It’s done. Over.”
“Sophie, please, can we talk? Just for a few minutes.”
“F**k!” Jake suddenly slams on the brakes, pulling the car to the side of the road. “Ethan, don’t be a f**king a**hole. I know you’ve been obsessed with Ava for years -you’ve gone through what, five or six replacements now? And now you’re after my sister? This is my f**king SISTER we’re talking about! I’ve considered you a brother all these years, don’t make me fly to New York to beat the sh*t out of you.” Jake hangs up abruptly, tossing the phone into the console. It keeps ringing, but he ignores it completely.
He turns to stare at me accusingly. “What the hell is going on between you two? Didn’t you tell me you barely knew him?”
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I press my lips together, knowing I’ve been caught. With no way out, I confess everything that’s happened over the past seven years.
When I finish, Jake’s eyes are red with anger and emotion. After a moment, he wipes a tear and pulls me into a hug.
“It’s not your fault. I’m the one who picked a sh*t friend. I should have told you about Ava years ago—maybe you wouldn’t have fallen so deep.”
I shake my head, feeling a rush of tenderness toward my brother.
“I was stubborn and stupid. For seven years, he refused to go public with our relationship or even visit you. I should have seen the red flags.”
Jake ruffles my hair affectionately. “It’s over now. Things will be better. Lucas is the real deal–I’d bet my life on it.”
Ethan has always been proud and image–conscious. After Jake’s verbal beatdown, I figured we’d never cross paths again.
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