ELENA

“Oh my God, Elena,” Emily wrapped me in a bear hug, one of her hands tightening around me while the other hand pushed through my hair after I concluded the ordeal of my life to her.

Emily had been my friend since we were in kindergarten. I had shown up in her house unannounced as I had nowhere else to go and she had welcomed me with open arms.

“I hate him, Emily. I hate him so fucking much. He used me, he never loved me. I went to prison for that man, and this is all I got in return,” I mumbled as more tears streamed down my cheeks.

“I can't believe he was married to you for seven fucking years just to get back his brother’s money,” Emily said in disbelief.

“I am so stupid. Why didn't I see it from miles away? The way he approached me, flirting at his own brother’s funeral with me. He made me feel loved, less lonely. He love-bombed me, I thought he was like Braden….” I couldn't even finish my words. Braden would never do this to me. Luke is anything but Braden.

“It was the trauma, girl. You had just lost the love of your life, and you couldn't have seen it even if he was strapped and decorated in color red. Don't blame yourself, he showed you the part he wanted you to see,” She tried to console me.

She was right, he had manipulated me from the start.

“You know what?” Emily pulled back to wipe away my tears. “We are not going to sit here, sobbing because of some asshole on a weekend. We are going to go to the club and get fucked up tonight,” she said with such excitement that only she could have. Typical Emily.

“I don't know, Emily,” I grunted, in no mood to go out.

“You can't say no, baby. You dodged a bullet, being married to a psychopathic narcissistic son of a bitch, and that is worth celebrating. And if you say no, I swear to God, I will drag you to the club,” she swore.

How could I argue with that?

*****

Three hours later, I’d had three shots of tequila gone, screamed my heart out while dancing my ass out in the middle of the club. I was on top of the world, right now and I didn't care. I wanted to be reckless and make decisions I would regret tomorrow. After all, there was nothing more to lose.

“There is this guy that has been staring at you since we got here, at the bar,” Emily whispered, subtly pointing toward the bar at a man wearing a black suit. She was as drunk as I was so she could be wrong.

I giggled taking in the man I could barely see. “He is handsome, I should go talk to him,” I gulped another shot of tequila as I made my way toward him.

“Be Careful, he could be a serial killer,” Emily called out after me.

I gave her a thumbs-up as I made my way to the stranger. He had his eyes on me not even pretending not to stare. Somehow, the intensity of his gaze almost made me change my mind. I was nervous, I couldn't even lie.

“Has anyone ever told you that it is rude to stare at people?” I teased as I approached him. A small smile formed on his lips and instantly my heart melted.

I was drunk, but I could still make out his facial features. He had brown eyes, the most gorgeous pair I had ever seen in my life. Maybe it was the depth of them that wouldn't stop searing my skin with a burning intensity.

“What is a stunning woman like you doing in a place like this?” He tilted his head toward me while I stood in front of him.

I let out a soft chuckle, glancing at him in amusement.

It was the first time any man had called me stunning in seven years.

“I hardly think I am stunning and as for what I am…”

“You are exquisitely beautiful” He cut me short before I could undermine myself. When I wouldn't look at him, especially as those eyes continued to burn through me, he brought his hand up to my face, slowly tilting my head back to face him with a gentle flick of his finger beneath my chin.

Although his eyes are brown and filled with warmth, they are stormy…exactly like those of a man I had seen before.

“You…” I muttered, at loss for words. I was sure that I had seen him before but it could be the alcohol.

“Me?” He drew back in reply. “What about me?” He arched a questioning brow at me.

My eyes followed the curve of his sensual mouth as they lifted in a smile. Shameless. I was Shameless.

“You look so familiar. Have I met you before?” I asked, my lips curling in a smile. It must be the alcohol.

“Am I now?”

He leaned forward then, brushing his lips against mine. I gasped while my toes curled in my heels and every thought of self pity I had been feeling for myself vanished with the wind.

“Yes,”

“Maybe our hearts have met before and yours recognize mine and it leaps for me. It wants me,” He teased as he pulled away.

“I want you,” the words escaped my mouth before I could stop myself. It was the alcohol.

The alcohol was messing with my head.

“Do you now,” A sly smile formed on his lips, but before I could respond, he pulled me to him. I spinned around and my hands fell on his hard chest, putting a distance between us. He pulled me by my waist until my breasts were pressed against his chest, burning me, sending a rush of heat waves down my nerves.

“You are so damn gorgeous. You take my breath away,” he whispered as he lowered his mouth to my ears, nibbling at them gently.

“You have fine eyes, I could stare at them forever,” I tilted my head up to gaze at him since he was towering over me. His strong arms steered me to the music for and for a second, I wanted to run my fingers over them and feel them flex under my touch.

Alcohol. Alcohol. Alcohol.

“Let us go upstairs,” I muttered, my voice barely above a whisper. He didn't utter a word, instead he pulled away from me. Disappointment sank to the bottom of my stomach but then he stretched forth his hand, gesturing for me to follow him. I smiled as I silently followed behind him while he led the way out of the place, up a fleet of stairs.

My fingers trembled with nerves and impatience as I watched him pay for a room. This man who I didn’t even know was the most beautiful person I'd ever seen in a very long time. And I wanted him. He paid for the room and beckoned for me to follow him which I did.

Why wasn't I regretting this? I should turn back now. But every fiber of my being wanted to be with him. We made our way to the room in tension-filled silence.

My breath hitched and my eyes closed in pleasure as his arms wrapped around my waist, pulling me to himself the moment the door went shut.

“You smell like heaven, Kitten.” He inhaled, placing his face in between my breasts.

I almost yelped when he knelt in front of me, his fingers crawling up my thighs taking my dress with it until I was bare in front of him.

“You are going to be the death of me, little kitten. I am going to devour you,”

“Don’t keep me waiting then,” I pulled him to me, hungrily kissing him before he pulled away.

“Patience, kitten. I am all yours tonight,”

I found it sensuous that he was calling me that and when his fingers grazed my opening in a teasing touch, my legs buckled with need.

“All mine,” I repeated his words as my mouth met him in a kiss. His mouth didn't taste like alcohol so I knew that he had not been drinking. I pulled away, our breath mingling with each other. He pressed kisses to my breasts and I felt myself shudder from the pleasure raking through me.

His mouth caught mine briefly while his fingers pushed my panties aside to graze over my clit once more. I couldn't help myself as I moaned into his mouth, desperate for more. As if he heard my thoughts, he broke the kiss and slowly tugged my panties down.

My eyes followed his movement as I stepped out of my panties but still wearing my heels. He crouched down and picked up my panties, bringing it to his nose to drink in the scent. I felt a thousand times hot.

“Fucking apples, you smell like apples,” He growled low in his throat.

I couldn't even say a word as I watched him, mesmerized by how wet he was making me. Meeting my gaze, I watched him fold my panties neatly still smeared with my juices before he tucked it away into the pocket of his pants. I should ask for them back but it brought me great pleasure that he was willing to keep a reminder of me.

Tugging at my hand, I allowed him to lead us to the bed where he sat down while I climbed his laps to straddle him. His fingers trailed down my naked back and then my waist and my thighs until he touched my wetness.

My back arched in pleasure, wanting more.

“Do I have permission to fuck you?” He asked as though he wasn't already playing with my pussy. My eyes fluttered open once as I nodded.

“You do,” I muttered just in case he was thinking of stopping this after getting me so wet.

He let out a low growl, gripping my waist before he gently shoved me onto the bed. He lowered himself on me, giving me a part of his weight that I could handle. I closed my eyes in anticipation.

“Keep your eyes open, little dove… I want you to watch us. ” He ordered and that was all the warning I got before he drove into me.

ELENA CARLSON

My eyes slowly peeled open and the world around me felt like a blur. A sharp pain ran from my head down to my eyes as the light beside me shone on them.

My eyes slowly adjusted to the light and that was when my eyes fell on the man by my side. He was naked, and he had his back turned to me. Since his breathing was slow, and peaceful, I could tell that he was asleep.

My eyes fell on my body, I was naked too.

Shit!

Shit!

Shit!

It was all coming back to me now. I had met this man yesterday and I had asked him to take me upstairs. I had requested for him to fuck me.

Fuck, why did I remember every detail of how I screamed when he made me cum multiple times? I thought hangovers made people forget things like that.

I had to get out of there before he woke up. I couldn't stand the shame of looking a stranger in the eyes and saying, “Sorry, last night was a mistake,”

I gently tiptoed out of the bed, picking up pieces of my clothing that was scattered all around the room. I slipped into them as quietly as I could and that was when I noticed that my panties were missing.

“Fuck,” I cursed out, squatting to see if it was under the bed. It wasn't.

I heard a sound coming from above me and I almost froze in place. It was from the stranger.

Shit. Was he waking up? I decided to crawl my way out of the room, forgoing my panties. As soon as I reached the door, I got on my feet to scurry away.

But I heard my name and I froze again. “Elena, Elena,” a masculine voice called out.

Fuck! It was him. I didn’t bother turning around to confirm as I bolted out of the door, descending the steps, hurriedly. I didn't stop running till I was at the bus stop. And my heart didn’t stop beating wildly till I got on a bus.

My head was spinning with a mixture of an early morning sprint and hangover. That was the worst walk of shame ever. My mind flickered back to the stranger.

“He called my name,” I whisper to myself.

I didn't remember telling him my name. How the fuck did he know my name?

TWO WEEKS LATER

I made my way to the elevator and pressed the button that would take me to the tenth floor. I exhaled as the elevator doors slid close.

“It is going to be fine, Elena,” I muttered to myself.

But I knew it wouldn’t.

I was on my way to another job interview, the fifth I had been to in the last two weeks. As soon as they check my records and see that I was an ex-convict, they immediately end the interview and never call me back. I was beginning to get really frustrated.

The elevator door flung open, and I stepped out. I adjusted my blue skirt, which I borrowed from Emily. It wasn't even reaching my knees and I was trying so hard for it to appear professional. So I wouldn't look like some ex-convict slut here to seduce the boss.

I made my way to the front desk and approached the brunette lady at the receptionist counter.

“Hi, I am Elena Carlson, here for the interview,” I greeted her with a smile on my face, but she didn't smile back.

“Ms. Carlson, you are a minute late.” She eyed me as if that would make up for the lost time. “The CEO is already waiting for you,”

My heart skipped a wild beat, “The CEO?” I asked.

“Yes, The CEO of ATLAS HOLDINGS. Right this way,” she gestured as she made her way through the hallway while I trailed after her, my mind racing. Why was I meeting the CEO of this big corporation? As soon as he finds out that I was an ex-convict, he would have me thrown out for wasting his time.

“Right here,” she announced when we got to our destination. She pulled the door open, revealing a gigantic modern office. I took a glance at the office but my eyes fell on the figure who had his back to me, staring at the window, staring at a distance.

He had broad shoulders, wearing a navy blue tailored suit. I stepped into the room and the door shut behind me. The brunette had left me to my fate.

He turned around to face me and that was when my heart actually left my body. My jaw dropped, and my eyes widened in disbelief.

“You…you…” I stuttered.

A knowing smile formed on his lips as he strode toward me, extending his hand to me, “Nice to meet you again, Elena,”

No fucking way. He was the stranger I had sex with two weeks ago.

“You are…You are…” I stuttered.

“I am Atlas Grant, the CEO of this company,” he introduced himself.

Atlas Grant. The name echoed repeatedly in my head.

Atlas Grant.

Grant.

Grant!

“Grant!” I exclaimed, “As in, Son of Richard Grant?”

He nodded and my head began to spin again.

I was so fucked. So so fucked.

“Elena, Elena,” he called out, as I began to back away, staggering. He held me, his hand gently gripping my wrist. “I know what you are thinking,” He muttered in a low tone.

“You are… you are the brother to Braden and Luke Grant?” I asked again, even though I damn well knew the answer. He nodded again and that was when I realized how fucked I was.

I had fucked the brother of my late and ex-husband.

Talk about the worst luck one could ever have.

I yanked my hands away from him, “You fucking piece of trash. You knew who I was, you fucked me knowing who I was,” I spat at him, my eyes burning with tears. Why did the Grants kept fucking me over?

“Hear me out, Elena. It is not what you think,” he tried to explain himself but I held up a hand to his face.

“Oh, please,” I scoffed a bitter laugh before I turned around to leave, making my way to the door. “All you Grant family are sick and fucking sadist,” I snarled about to pull the doorknob when I heard it slam back shut.

“Let me the fuck out, you Psycho,” I yelled at him, surprised that I didn't hear him follow me. That was when he pulled me to him, by my waist. My fist clenched, ready to hit his rock-hard chest, but he pulled me closer, closing the distance between us.

“Let me go,”

“Calm the fuck down Elena,” he growled and that was when my eyes met his, I tilted my head to meet his gaze as he towered over me, his chest pressing against mine, burning me, sending heatwaves all over my body.

“Listen to me Elena, It is not what you think,”

“Then what is it? you fucked me knowing who I was and pretended not to, was it revenge sex, haven't you Grants done enough?” I snorted, trying to wiggle my way out of his grip but he tightened his grasp on me, leaving no distance between us.

“No, it is not like that, yes, I am a Grant but I am the illegitimate son of Richard Grant, Braden and Luke are my half-brothers,”

I stared at him, Braden did mention he had a half-brother, but I never met him.

“I know what they did to you, and I am here to help you bring them down, I am here to help you make Luke pay and get back all he had stolen away from you.”

ATLAS GRANT

SEVEN YEARS AGO

“ I am here to visit, Elena Carlson,” I muttered to the guard in the black and white striped uniform. My voice was shaky. This would be the first time I stepped into a prison.

Elena is a stranger to me, I mean, she doesn't know me. But I know her.

“And who are you?” the Guard with the unlinked goatee had asked. I hesitated, not sure if I should give my real name.

“Atlas, Atlas Jasper,” I responded, Jasper was my middle name.

He buzzed me in and I made my way to the visitor area. I sat down, gently tapping the table nervously as I waited for Elena, she had not been convicted yet. Her trial would be in a few days, and I was here to stop her from making the biggest mistake of her life.

She strode in with handcuffs in her hands, her eyes were dim and her eye patches faded in pale yellow. Her hair was messy and it looked like she had lost a few pounds. I adjusted my sunshades and fake mustache.

I had worn a disguise because I didn't want her to know who I was.

She approached the table and sat down, staring at me, she didn't say a word.

Gosh, she is so beautiful, despite being in prison Orange she radiated like the sun, her essence gently being accentuated by her aura, her calm presence breathing a soothing stillness to the air.

“How… How are you doing?” I stuttered, not really sure what to say. She glanced at me. Her eyes scrutinized me.

“Do I know you?” she asked, clenching her fist to the table as her gaze pierced through mine, she was trying to make out my face.

“No but I know you, I know you are Elena and you are married to Luke Grant,” I responded, adjusting my glasses.

“Congratulations you can google,” she muttered, her tone laced with sarcasm.

“I know that you are innocent, I saw you that night, you were not the one driving, Luke was, you are taking the fall for him, Elena,” I spoke in a low tone, her gaze widened, her hands clasped onto the table firmer.

“You know nothing,” she simply responded.

“Elena, don't go to prison for a douchebag like Luke, he is not worth it,”

“How dare you, come here to tell me what I should do and not do,” she snapped, “I don't know who the fuck you are but it is none of your business,” she stood up from the chair.

“Elena, I just want to help, Luke Grant is evil,”

“And you are a saint?” she asked and I hesitated before responding. I stood up from the seat and tried to reach to her, my hands gently grazing hers. I expected her to shove my hands away but she didn't.

She froze at my touch, my eyes piercing hers.

“Elena, don't do this, you will regret this,” I spoke in a low tone. She glanced at me, I could feel her heaving breath on my skin.

“Who are you?” she asked.

I wished I could respond to tell her everything. But I couldn't.

PRESENT DAY

The name Atlas Grant was plastered on the door.

Being a Grant had always gotten me through doors.

But I had never felt like a Grant.

I was the illegitimate son of Richard Grant, the son people called a mistake. My mum, who was the maid, had an affair with Richard Grant.

It didn't also help that he had two sons before me.

Braden Grant, the first and probably the only Grant who liked me. He was painfully stolen from us by the cruel arms of cancer.

Then there was Luke, Luke Grant is a fortunate son of a bitch. He had always wiggled his way to the top in the shadiest way.

I am no saint either, don't get me wrong. I can't even say I am, but Luke had no moral scruples whatsoever.

You are just a bastard son, birthed from our father’s inability to keep his dick in his pants,” Luke had once said to me. We were just teenagers then.

Of course that earned him a punch, we got into a fight and my father grounded me. Just me.

That had fueled my hatred for Luke.

“I know what they did to you, and I am here to help you bring them down, I am here to help you make Luke pay and get back all he had stolen away from you.”

I had gotten her attention. She glanced at me, the same way she had glanced at me seven years ago when I was a stranger to her. The same way she had glanced at me two weeks ago when I made love to her.

Gosh, those eyes, they were breathtaking.

“You don't know anything about me, you are just some twisted sociopath,” she snarled, trying to squeal away but unable to do so.

“I know that you went to prison because of Luke, I know that you sacrificed your life for him and he stole the inheritance Braden left for you,” I explained, trying not to divulge too much, so she wouldn't think I was a stalker.

“Of course you would know that, you are part of that monstrous family,” she snapped. “Look here mister, I don't know what kind of twisted game you are playing, I want none of it. I just want to be left the fuck alone,” she tries to wiggle her way again out of my grip but my grasp was firm, I didn't want to lose her, not this time again.

“Elena, can you stop being so stubborn and listen to me, I am on your side here and I want to help you gain back all you lost,”

“Oh no, I am stubborn?” she scoffed, “I don't need your help, I don't want anything to do with you Grants, how many times do I have to say it,” she snarled and paused, I exhaled hoping she would calm down but she didn't.

“You slept with me knowing perfectly well who I was,”

“Don’t put it like that,”

“Oh sorry, I mean, you fucked me, knowing I was your brother’s ex-convict wife,”

I couldn't help but chuckle, there was this humor and beauty to the way she spoke, the way she smiled and gazed at me, it made me want to protect her, to help her, to be there for her… my thoughts trailed off for a moment. “My step-brother,” I corrected.

It made me want to WANT her.

“Let go,” she pushed, this time so hard, and I let her go, “Go fuck yourself,” she snapped and was storming towards the door when I called out.

“I will pay you 10 million dollars if you help me bring down Luke,”

She stopped abruptly, veering around to gaze at me, she didn't say a word for a moment, “You think you can buy me with money?” she glared at me.

“I am not buying you, I need a service and you can render that service, so why shouldn't I pay you for that service.”

She remained silent, scrutinizing me, I could tell her thoughts trailed off, and then she finally broke the silence, “Why are you doing this?”

“I already told you, we want the same thing. I want to bring down Luke and you want the same thing too, so why can't we work together,” I replied in a calm tone, tucking my hands in my pockets while leaning on my desk, she took a few steps close to me.

“How can I trust you?” she asked, skepticism etched all over her face.

“It is a risk you would have to take for the greater good,” I paused and stood up from the desk, tilting my head towards her. “And what do you have to lose, you already lost everything,”

She gazed at me, “I have nothing to lose,” she muttered. “Why does it feel like I am about to make a deal with the son of the devil,”

I chuckled. “Don’t be modest Elena, if we make this deal, you would be making it with the Devil himself,”