"What's up?" Zara Lane cut in from the couch, chewing on a Clif Bar.

"What are you doing here? Where's Lylah?" Jess Vaughn asked.

Zara laughed and stood up. "Rude much?"

"You know I didn't?"

"I know," she smiled. "I just finished working out at The Nexus Fitness Center and had to shower before I went all the way home to my apartment. I might have let myself in right before Lylah left to meet some guy."

"Well."

Jess left her sentence hanging.

Zara reached for her water bottle on the counter, looking Jess up and down. "You radiate like you're glowing on the inside."

"I lost my virginity," Jess blurted out.

"You what?" Zara asked.

"I lost my virginity," Jess replied, her heart racing in her chest.

"To who?!"

She snorted. "To maybe. an older dude?"

"Like someone who's eighty?"

"No!" Jess exclaimed. "Who do you think I am?"

Zara laughed.

"Like someone who's twice my age, not eighty. He's my dad's best friend."

Mouth hanging open, Zara stared at Jess with wide eyes. "He's your what?!"

"Dang, Zara, do you need a hearing aid from all that music you blast when you work out?" Jess rolled her eyes good-naturedly, her cheeks burning hotter by the second because it was so bad to say this out loud. "He's my dad's best friend."

"Oh my God," Zara said. "We need all the deets tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Jess repeated. "Where are you going?"

"It's movie night with Caspian Black."

"Movie night again?" Jess hummed.

Zara smiled softly. "Yes."

"When are you going to finally admit that you love him?"

Zara rolled her eyes. "I do not love him. We're friends."

"Friends who fuck?"

Her eyes popped wide. "We do not."

Jess laughed. "But you want to."

Waving her hand away, Zara made a move for the door. "I'll see you later."

Before she could make it out the door, Jess grabbed her wrist. "Please."

"I have to go," Zara said to him. "Caspian's waiting for me."

Shrugging Jess off, she smiled warmly and pushed out of the apartment. Jess sighed and closed the door behind her, pouting back to the couch. She flopped onto it, surrounded by only her own thoughts.

Within a couple of minutes, there was a banging on the front door. Jess sprang from the couch and went towards it, searching for Zara's keys since she'd forgotten them more times than she could count.

"Don't tell me you forgot your keys this time. You always do?"

At her door instead of Zara stood Kai Rylan with his furrowed brows in an angry scowl and a rope in his hand.

Hunched over his desk overlooking Ashwood City, Kai Rylan stared out the window and let out a stiff breath. He'd not been able to look Gideon Vaughn, Jess's dad, in the eye all day, and if he didn't get about it, he'd start to notice.

"Are you okay?" Gideon asked.

"I'm fine," Kai replied quickly, yanking his attention away. "Just stressed."

"What's going on?" Gideon asked.

"No, I'm good." Kai rubbed his face.

Gideon waved the folder Adelaide Grey held to her body. "What's this report?"

Adelaide handed him the folder.

"Just some figures from last year. The firm has grown about twenty-four percent since last quarter, mostly because of Adelaide's efforts. Nothing bad," Gideon clarified. "I just like to get you riled every now and then."

Kai rolled his eyes since Gideon had been doing this since they started the business five years ago, and he should have known better. But he couldn't shake his head. All day long, he'd kept thinking of her.

His phone was on the desk, and he picked it up an inch in his direction to see the notification. His face recognition system wasn't having any issues unlocking the phone, and a message from Jess Vaughn appeared on the screen. It was not a standard message, but a naked picture with the caption, Bet you can't guess what I'm doing without your permission.

Pulling his pants tight, he turned the phone off in a rush and jammed it into his pocket. He glanced across at Gideon, who had no idea that his own innocent daughter's naked would be in front of him if he were to turn it back on.

She was going to be getting him so much fucking trouble. But she wasn't going to get away with it. No fucking way.

"By the way," Adelaide cleared her throat, "I'm happy to work underneath you."

"Yes, me too," Kai lied. "Make sure you're in the office by six every morning."

"Yes, sir."

"Address me by Kai," he clarified, glancing down at his phone. Because Sir and Master were reserved for someone else.

"They totally fucked," Lylah Kim giggled at Jess, her gaze lingering on Zara at the counter of The Daily Grind.

Zara hadn't responded to them since the previous night, and this'd only made it stronger that the running joke that she and Caspian Black were hooking up was actually true.

Zara grabbed her Ashley's Egg Sandwich and headed towards them, her complexion glowing and a huge smile on her face. She slowed down her walk, noticing Lylah's naughty expression, and then stopped dead in her tracks. "What?"

"Is he good?" Lylah cocked an eyebrow.

"Is who good?"

"Caspian."

Rolling her eyes dramatically, Zara sat down next to Jess and grasped her sandwich. "If we ever get together-and we won't because we're totally friends-you'll be the first to hear it, okay?"

"Sort of," Lylah tapped her chin, "I think that's a lie."

"Get real," Zara hummed. "You think I could ever keep it from you? Jess couldn't."

Lylah tore her focus to Jess, her eyes erupting. "You what?"

Snip on her phone, impatiently waiting for Kai to reply, Jess sealed her lips, her face reddening. "Oh, well, I might or might not have gotten busy with my dad's best friend last night and-"

Lylah slammed her hands on the table and stood up. "And you didn't warn me?!"

"Anyway, you were with Professor Orion Welles last night."

Zara shook her head as if she was enjoying the melodrama. "Jess hooking up with her dad's best friend. Lylah sleeping with her sex ed professor. And always me who is the butt of everyone's slutty rumors."

"Because clearly you and Caspian Black are banging," someone muttered behind them.

Mei-Ling Wong came over to their table and placed her backpack on the floor beside Lylah.

As Mei-Ling ordered a coffee, Jess reclined in her chair and opened up her messages to Kai. She had been firing off some sassy ones to him this morning when he was at work and she was lounging around at home.

"Where the fuck are you?"

The text on the screen pulsed with Kai’s impatient energy. Jess stared at the glowing rectangle, her thumb hovering.

"Why don't you go and find me?" she typed back.

The three dots appeared instantly. "I'm not playing games with you, Jess. Where are you?"

She leaned back, a jagged smirk cutting across her face. "What are you going to do when you actually find me?"

"Nothing that you'll enjoy."

"Hmmm," Jess tapped out, the fabric of her blouse rubbing against nipples that had gone rock-hard at the threat. "I don't think so. I quite enjoyed last night. xx"

"I was giving you a let's-be-fair last night," the reply snapped back.

"Suuuure."

"You wouldn't be able to endure an actual punishment, Jess. You'd be fucking begging me to quit. Weeping. Fucking sobbing. But I wouldn't because you can't learn otherwise."

Heat flared low in her gut, a sharp, liquid clench that made her shift in her seat. She didn't have time to savor the ache. The screen changed. A notification from her brother, Ethan, slid over the chat.

Grades are posted.

The flirtatious heat died, replaced by a cold, leaden weight in her stomach. She navigated to her student portal with trembling fingers. One unread message from Professor Orion Welles sat at the top of the inbox like a digital executioner.

Jess, I'm disappointed in your performance. Come by my class to talk about your grade on the last test. If you are actually doing the reading, you know better than this. Don't want it to get back to your father that you failed again.

The words blurred. She’d spent three weeks locked in the library, caffeine-sick and hollow-eyed, memorizing every goddamn footnote. And still, she’d hit the dirt. If her father saw this—if he saw another failure—he’d cut the cord. No more tuition. No more Ashwood. Just the suffocating silence of the family estate and the slow rot of being the "disappointing Vaughn."

Her phone vibrated. Kai again. She swiped it into silence. The screen stayed dark for a second before lighting up with his name again. She slammed the phone facedown on the desk.

Kai Rylan's jaw ached from the force of his grind. He shoved through the glass doors of Jess's apartment complex, the security guard not even bothering to look up as Kai’s predatory stride cleared the lobby. He reached her door and hammered his fist against the wood.

Silence.

"Where the fuck is she?"

He pivoted on a heel and headed back to the one place she’d likely crawl to when she was being a brat: Elysium.

The club was a low-thrumming beast of bass and expensive perfume. Kai bypassed the main floor and stormed into Alethea’s office. His sister sat behind a mahogany desk strewn with the latest prototypes from their sexual wellness line—slick silicone and chrome.

"Did you see Jess?" Kai demanded.

Alethea didn't look up from a weighted glass toy she was inspecting. "Who?"

"The woman from last night. Is she here?"

Alethea’s lips quirked into a slow, knowing pull. "Why? Got a thing for her, big brother?"

"You're infuriating." He turned, his coat billowing as he stalked back toward the exit.

He hit the front door at the same time a body slammed into his chest from the street. The impact jarred him. Jess. She was hunched, arms wrapped tight around her middle like she was holding her organs in.

"Sorry," she muttered, her voice a raspy friction. She tried to push past him into the club.

Kai’s hand shot out, fingers clamping under her chin. He forced her head up. "Where were you—"

The words died. Her eyes were bloodshot, the rims raw and puffy. A single tear tracked through her foundation, leaving a pale streak against her flushed skin. He felt his grip soften instinctively, his thumb brushing the dampness away.

"What happened?"

"Nothing." She tried to jerk away, but he held firm.

"Don't bullshit me."

She bared her teeth, a trapped animal snarl. "I said, nothing happened! I'm here to fuck you, then leave. That’s the deal, right?"

Kai’s nostrils flared. He didn't say a word, just wrapped his fingers around her wrist and hauled her back inside, away from the biting fall wind.

"Off me!" She shoved at his chest the moment they cleared the vestibule. "You've got fucking tears in your eyes, Jess. What’s wrong?"

"Maybe someone face-fucked me as hard as you did last night," she spat, the venom thin and shaky. "Drop it. Why do you even care?"

"I'm not dropping it. And I'm not fucking you again until you tell me what’s going on."

That did it. Her bottom lip wobbled, the defiance crumbling into a ragged sob. She swung a fist, hitting his chest with a dull thud. "Why not?"

"Because you're a mess."

Her eyes went wide, the hurt fresh and bleeding. She turned, stumbling back toward the door. "All I wanted was to relax. You have to be an asshole? Fine. I'll be a mess somewhere else. With someone else."

She made it ten feet onto the Ashwood Promenade before Kai caught her. The cold air bit at them, but he didn't let go of her arm.

"Get off me. I’m going home."

"No."

"What do you mean, no? You don't get to decide—"

"I do when you're too hysterical to drive a straight line." He began pulling her toward his parked sedan. "Have you eaten?"

"No."

"It's ten o'clock, Jess."

"I've been busy crying! Now let go!"

He released her, but only to open the passenger door. "You’re coming with me. I’m feeding you. No complaining."

She stood there, shivering in the wind, her brow furrowed as if he’d just spoken in a foreign tongue. "You're... going to feed me?"

"Yes." He held out a hand.

The silence stretched. Then, a small, cold hand slid into his. "Fine. But only because I'm hungry. Then I'm leaving."

The kitchen smelled of garlic and heavy cream. Jess sat at Kai’s island, her legs kicking rhythmically against the barstool as she shoveled a forkful of fettuccine into her mouth. The heat of the food felt like a physical bandage on her raw nerves.

"I didn't know you could cook," she said around a mouthful.

"Like it?"

She shrugged, though she was already reaching for a second helping. "It’s okay."

Kai set his fork down, his eyes locking onto hers with a gravity that made the air in the room feel thick. "Are you going to explain the tears now?"

"Just a bad day."

"What happened, Jess?"

She looked at the remains of the pasta, the weight of the failed grade and her father’s looming shadow pressing down on her. "I failed a test. A big one. My father... he’s looking for an excuse to discard me. This is it."

Kai didn't offer a platitude. He didn't say it would be okay. He just watched her, his gaze dropping to her mouth. "You're too smart to fail. You're just distracted."

"By what?"

"By this."

He reached across the table, his hand sliding behind her neck, his thumb pressing into the sensitive dip behind her ear. He pulled her forward. The kiss wasn't gentle. It was a collision of teeth and tongue, tasting of salt and wine.

He hauled her off the stool, his hands diving under her thighs to hoist her up. Jess wrapped her legs around his waist, her skirt riding up as he slammed her back against the cool marble of the kitchen counter.

"Kai—"

He didn't let her finish. His mouth was on her neck, biting, sucking, marking her as his. He fumbled with his belt, the metallic clink loud in the quiet room. He freed himself—thick, heavy, and pulsing—and she felt the blunt head of him press against the damp lace of her underwear.

He didn't strip her. He just shoved the fabric aside, his fingers finding her slick and ready. He entered her in one brutal, agonizingly perfect thrust. Jess’s head hit the backsplash, a sharp cry tearing from her throat.

"Look at me," he growled, his voice a low vibration she felt in her marrow.

He began to move, his pace frantic and unrefined. It wasn't a dance; it was a reclamation. His weight was a solid, grounding force, pinning her to the stone. She gripped his shoulders, her nails digging into the expensive fabric of his shirt as he pounded into her, each stroke hitting the back of her throat.

He flipped her suddenly, shoving her face down against the counter. The cold marble bit into her chest. He grabbed her hair, pulling her head back as he drove in from behind, his hips hitting hers with a wet, rhythmic slap.

"Please," she whimpered, her legs shaking so violently she could barely stand.

"Please what?" He gritted his teeth, his breath hot against her ear. "Tell me you're mine. Not your father’s. Mine."

"Yours," she sobbed, the climax hitting her like a freight train, her internal muscles clamping around him in a desperate, pulsing rhythm.

He followed her seconds later, a low groan vibrating through his chest as he emptied into her, his forehead resting against the back of her neck, both of them drenched in sweat and the sharp tang of sex.

He stayed inside her for a long minute, his heart drumming against her spine. When he finally pulled away, the loss of warmth was immediate. Jess slumped against the counter, her limbs like water, the stinging heat between her legs a vivid reminder of the last ten minutes.

Kai reached around, turning her back to face him. He didn't look satisfied. He looked haunted.

"You're staying here tonight," he said, his voice dropping an octave.

"I have to go, Kai. My brother—"

"Ethan can wait." Kai grabbed her chin again, his eyes dark. "Because we aren't done. That was for the tears. The next round is for the grade."