Chase Sterling always felt like furniture. The kind you don't notice, the kind that's easy to shove in a corner and forget. He was used to it: people looked right through him, brushed him off like lint. But it only takes one phone call to erase a lifetime of being overlooked. When his estranged family meets a tragic end, Chase suddenly finds himself in charge of the sprawling Sterling fortune. Turns out, riches aren't the only thing the family left him. There's a curse running through his blood, warping love into something hungry and dangerous, impossible to escape.

Vivian Ashford never set out to blow Chase's life to smithereens. Just one decision (a sharp, ruthless move at graduation) was all it took to set their worlds spinning out of control. While Vivian soaks up the Hollywood limelight and collects red-carpet headlines, Chase slips into his new role as Manhattan's most intimidating heir. But no matter how far they run, something keeps yanking them back together, like a stitch in an old wound that refuses to heal.

The sheets are silk. Of course they are. Everything in Chase Sterling's penthouse is expensive, perfect, cold.


I lie in his bed, watching Manhattan's lights through floor-to-ceiling windows. Chase is in the bathroom. I hear water running. He'll come back soon, and I don't know what happens then.


Will he ask me to leave? Will he pretend tonight meant something?


God, when did I become this person? The woman waiting in a man's bed, hoping for scraps of affection.


The premiere was a disaster. Vivian slapping Chase in front of everyone. The cameras capturing every second. And me, standing there like an idiot, holding his arm like I had any right to be there.


Like I didn't know exactly what I was. A weapon. A pawn in whatever sick game Chase and Vivian are playing.


Chase emerges from the bathroom wearing just pajama pants. Even now, after everything, I can't help but notice how attractive he is. Young, powerful, dangerous.


Chapter 13 - Pillow Talk Betrayal