The elevator slowly came to a stop then the doors opened.

I didn’t tell Titan I was coming over. I didn’t need to tell her a damn thing. I could have her when I wanted her—and she could have me whenever she pleased.

I stepped inside and saw her on the couch, folders and documents scattered on the table in front of her while her laptop remained on her thighs. Instead of a glass of whiskey, there was a glass of ice water on the sofa table.

Maybe she took my warning to heart.

Her green eyes were on me, and her lack of surprise suggested she’d anticipated my face before the doors even opened. She didn’t rise to her feet or greet me with a hello. Sometimes she projected a cold exterior, but that was part of her business persona. I knew something was different now. Something was on her mind.

I’d worn a black blazer over my V-neck t-shirt, so I hung it up by the door. Her eyes immediately went to my shoulders, her favorite feature of mine. It was her favorite place to grip me whether she was on top or being plowed into the mattress.

I sat on the couch beside her and pulled the laptop off her lap. To protect her privacy, I closed it so she wouldn’t wonder if I was looking at whatever she was working on. We used to have a solid foundation of trust, but now that was lost.

I missed it.

I missed the way she used to look at me—like I was the last person in the world who would ever hurt her. Now she stared at me with suspicion, second-guessing everything I said. No mask she wore was thick enough to hide the love in her eyes, but I wished there was more. I wished there was trust, friendship, and unflinching loyalty. “What is it?” I leaned back against the couch and turned my head toward her, smelling her perfume and hair shampoo mixed together. She was still in her pencil skirt and blouse, her heels sitting on the floor next to the other couch. Her hair was in loose curls, soft enough for me to run my fingers through.

She crossed her legs and straightened her posture, like this was a meeting between two partners, not two lovers.

“Don’t do that.”

She turned her cold expression on me. “Excuse me?”

“Don’t put on a front. I want Tatum, not Titan.”

“You don’t get Tatum anymore. You’ll never see her again. She’s long gone.”

The simple words drilled a hole right through my heart, hitting me in the sternum and fracturing the rest of my bones. Titan was a powerful woman with impressive looks and powerful intelligence. But Tatum was beautiful, compassionate, soft…and so much more. I wanted that woman—the woman I’d fallen in love with.

“You aren’t to barge in here like that again. If you want to see me, you notify me first.”

“Since when did we start this?”

“Now.” She stared at me with a hard gaze.

“I don’t reciprocate that. You can stop by my place whenever you damn well please, Titan. I have nothing to hide.”

“Nor do I. But don’t invade my space again.”

When we last spoke, she was cold like this—but not so hard. Something had happened since I last saw her. Something influenced her to push me away like this. And I suspected I knew exactly who that was something was.

“I know this arrangement means something different to you than it does to me.”

No.

“To me, it’s just sex between two people. It’s an exchange of fantasies. It’s private and quiet. We don’t talk about it with anyone else.”

“I’m aware.”

“But that’s all it is. If you think it’s going to lead to something more, I don’t want to waste your time. I’m marrying Thorn. And I won’t change my mind.”

Like she’d smashed a sledgehammer against my heart, it cracked right down the middle. I knew she didn’t love Thorn the way she loved me. I knew their relationship was nothing but a business arrangement. But that didn’t stop me from being jealous—and terrified. I couldn’t lose my woman over a crime I’d never committed. If I’d really wronged her, I’d be man enough to let her go. But that wasn’t what happened, and I had to be man enough to fight for her. “Yes, you will.”

“Hunt.” Her voice became sterner, more powerful. “I won’t change my mind.”

“You don’t love him.”

“Exactly.”

My jaw automatically tightened on its own, my teeth grinding together.

“If that’s something you can’t accept, then you should walk away. Despite what you did to me, I don’t want to hurt you.”

“I did nothing to you, Titan.”

“Let’s stop pretending you didn’t sell my secrets to the world, and I’ll stop pretending that I can keep my hands off you. I want this arrangement to continue because I don’t want anyone else. I love our passion, our heat. You’re the only man who can truly give me what I want. I could find someone else, but frankly, I don’t want to. But I also want to marry Thorn, to spend the rest of my life with him and start a family. Those are my conditions. Take it or leave it.”

She wasn’t bluffing. I could feel it in the air around her. She must have told Thorn about our hookups in France, and he straightened her out. He made her hard as steel and cold as ice. I’d already made my case to her several times, and she didn’t listen to me. I wasn’t giving up, but I had to play by her rules. I would make her fall harder for me, rebuild the trust we lost, and I would change her mind before she handed herself over to Thorn. In the meantime, I would try to clear my name. They’d be engaged for a year. I had time. I wouldn’t sleep with her when she was married because that would just make me sick to my stomach, knowing she was legally bound to someone else. Then I’d have to let her go—but only after I gave it all my effort. “There’s a piece of the puzzle you’re missing, a detail you overlooked.”

Her eyes narrowed slightly. “And what is that?”

“Don’t you think it’s strange that the story came out after you told Thorn you wanted to marry me?”

Her expression didn’t change, but I could tell her brain was working furiously to catch up to me, to understand my meaning before I revealed it to her.

“You said the three of us are the only people who know about that night. If I didn’t tell anyone, then it must have been Thorn.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Never.”

“Well, I didn’t do it. The guy may not be in love with you, but he’s possessive of you. You think he’d let you go without a fight? He pretended to be supportive, but I bet he did this to get rid of me. It’s the perfect crime. He risked potentially incriminating himself so he looks innocent.”

“You’re ridiculous.”

“Am I?” I pressed. “It adds up to me.”

Her eyes shifted slightly back and forth, her mind working at the speed of light.

“If you were mine, I’d do anything to keep you.”

“Like accusing the one man I trust above everyone else?” she asked. “By making me question the only person who’s ever had my back?”

I suspected Bruce Carol was the one behind this, but it could easily be Thorn. Bruce had no real way of getting access to that information. But Thorn knew every single detail because he’d lived through it. “It’s a strange coincidence, Titan. Thorn has been planning on sharing his life with you for a long time. His parents adore you. You’re already the richest woman in the world—not to mention the most gorgeous. He’s ambitious and ruthless. He’d never find a woman more perfect than you. He knows that. So instead of letting you walk away, he sabotages the only competition—me.”

Titan said nothing more, but her eyes kept shifting. She kept thinking, that brilliant brain of hers working at full speed. No matter how much she trusted Thorn, she had to admit that the timing was peculiar. Just before Thorn announced their mutual breakup to the world, that story hit the papers. Obviously, someone was framing me. Thorn was just as much of a suspect as Bruce Carol.

I kept staring into her eyes, hoping Titan would seriously consider my words and explore them. If she questioned Thorn about it, she might get some answers. She knew him better than anyone, so she could probably tell if he was lying. She was the best person to confront him. If I did it, I wouldn’t get anywhere. “Ask him about it.”

“He wouldn’t do that to me.” Her strength was gone, and only her quiet voice remained behind. She no longer seemed certain like she did just moments ago.

“It doesn’t hurt to ask.”

“You’re turning me against him.”

I shook my head slightly. “I’m trying to get to the truth. I wasn’t the one who sold you out, and that means someone else is out to get you. I have to find out who that person is, not just for my sake—but for yours. I have to protect you. Whether you want me to or not, I have to make sure you’re okay. I’m not gonna let someone ruin everything you worked so hard for. You’re the most incredible person I’ve ever met. Even if you turn your back on me, I’m never going to turn my back on you.”

Her mask broke, and Tatum started to shine through. She was impervious to criticism and cruelty, but when I put my heart on the line, she was vulnerable to it. Her soul opened just to take it in. “Diesel…I’ve never been so confused in my life. I want to believe you…more than anything.”

I cupped her face and kissed her, giving her a gentle embrace. My heart melted into hers as we connected. I breathed with her, and she breathed back. There was nothing that made me feel more at peace than when I kissed her, when I shared everything I had with my woman. When I was with Tatum, my life felt complete. She felt the same way. I could feel it in the shake of her fingertips, the way her breathing changed simply because I touched her. “Just ask him. Please.”

“I don’t know. If he didn’t do it, it’s very insulting.”

“You have to ask, Titan. I understand that you can’t take my word for it, not when it’s too risky. But if you love me, at least ask. Just give me the benefit of the doubt and ask.”

She rested her forehead against mine and closed her eyes.

“Baby.”

“I’ll do it.”

I squeezed her hand. “Thank you.”

“If he says no…then I don’t want to talk about it anymore. I want this just to be an arrangement, only sex and nothing else. I’m giving you a chance to clear your name. If you don’t, then I have to move forward.”

I knew that would be her attitude. “I’ll figure it out. One way or another.”

“I hope you do.”

---

I’d been managing my ever-growing empire for over ten years, and not once did I feel overwhelmed by stress. I did what I needed to do and focused on the job. Shit always got in the way, but I found ways of overcoming those obstacles.

But I was terrified I would lose Titan.

She was slowly slipping away from me, being influenced by a man she trusted above everyone else. She told me that she was going to marry him, that she had committed to it. Unless a miracle happened and I managed to put everything to rest, she wouldn’t be mine anymore.

I couldn’t let that happen.

Titan was the first woman to make me feel something. She made me feel passion, lust, excitement. She got me rock-hard and violently aroused. And she made me feel softer emotions, like compassion, loyalty, love, and everything in between. She brought me back to life when I’d only felt numb. She made me feel joy for the first time in my adult life. She was more valuable than my net worth. All the money in the world couldn’t make me feel as good as she did.

I wanted her for the rest of my life.

I’d die if Thorn got to keep her, if he got to have her without even falling in love with her. It was a total waste. Titan deserved more. She deserved to be loved by a man who gave her his entire heart, who put everything on the line to love her so deeply.

Someone like me.

I wasn’t a romantic guy, but I sure as hell loved that woman with everything I had.

I sat at my desk and kept thinking everything over, wondering if she’d spoken to Thorn about my accusation. I didn’t want to believe he would do that to her, sabotage her happiness in such a vile way. I’d rather have him be the upstanding man she believed he was instead of the rat I feared he could be. But at least I could get my answer and move on.

Natalie spoke through the intercom. “Mr. Hunt?” Her lack of confidence was apparent the second she said my name. “Mr. Hunt is here to see you.”

All thoughts of Titan disappeared. My eyes shifted to the small speaker on my desk, and I felt my heart immediately increase in pace. Jax had called me once to warn me about our father. I never expected him to stop by. Whatever he had to say must have been important if he came all the way down here. No doubt it had to do with the story I spilled to the entire world. “Send Jax in, Natalie.”

“Uh…it’s not Jax Hunt.”

Now my heart stopped altogether.

“It’s Vincent Hunt.”

My office had never been so quiet. I had never felt so alone but so suffocated at the very same instant. I hadn’t seen my father in years, hardly gave him any thought. Now he was standing right outside my doors, probably fuming with hostility. I wasn’t afraid of my father, but I didn’t exactly feel comfortable with him showing up on my territory. This was my world that he’d stepped into.

But I knew exactly what this was about. He’d been pissed I took Megaland, but now he was livid that I’d tarnished his reputation to everyone in the world. I could never give him the real reason why I did it, so I’d have a hard time explaining my actions.

Natalie spoke again. “Should I send him in?”

The cowardly thing to do would be to refuse him. And I definitely wasn’t a coward. “Yes.”

“I’ll send him right in.”

I only had a minute to prepare for his entrance, but there was no mental preparation I could undertake to anticipate the conversation. Perhaps he was just there to yell at me, but that wasn’t his style. The only terminology he used was veiled threats. That was the only way he communicated with people.

The door opened, and he stepped inside.

He was my height, six foot three, with broad shoulders and a trim physique. He was in his fifties, but he looked like a man who’d just hit forty. He still had the musculature of a strong man in his youth, arms tight with muscle and a slim waistline. He wore a gray suit with a matching tie. His dress shoes were shiny, probably because he never wore the same pair for longer than a week. One hand rested in his pocket, while the other swung by his side. His deep brown eyes were on me.

He didn’t blink.

I didn’t blink.

It was quiet.

So fucking quiet.

His shoes tapped against the hardwood floor, but the sound was drowned by our mutual hostility.

He approached my desk, unfastened his button, and dropped into the chair.

Now we were face-to-face, eye level, and mutually aggressive. He waged a war against me with that cold stare. His chin was covered with thick stubble, the kind I got when I didn’t shave for over a week. His brown eyes seemed darker than mine, resembling black tar more than tree bark. He wore a flashy watch along with his expensive suit. He didn’t wear a wedding ring because he never remarried after my mother was gone. My father and I had a startling resemblance. People mistook us for brothers sometimes. He’d aged well, and I felt like I was looking into a time machine. I just hoped I wouldn’t be so bitter, angry, and spiteful when I reached my fifties. Jax looked similar to him, but not the way I did. I was his firstborn son, and that was probably why he was so much harsher with me than he was with Jax.

More tense silence.

More absent threats.

More stares.

I held his gaze and hardly blinked, remaining rigid in the silent standoff. He thought he had the upper hand because he showed up on my doorstep, but I was the one dealing with his visit without any warning. That gave me the upper hand—a million times over.

I could start by explaining my actions when I shared personal information with the press, but since I didn’t have a real explanation, I chose to remain silent. I didn’t want to mention Titan in any context. I didn’t want him to hear her name, to know she even existed. So I kept my silence.

“You shouldn’t have fucked with me, Diesel.” Deep and powerful, he spoke with the authority he’d had since I could remember. He’d always been a wealthy businessman. He’d owned most of the world since I was a child. He was used to pushing people around until he got what he wanted. He was an elitist, assuming he was better than others simply because he was a self-made man. His DNA was more important than anyone else’s. Brett would never be human since he wasn’t his son. “I’ve let you crawl around like a cockroach in the house because you weren’t worth my time to squish. But not anymore. You know what I do to my enemies. You know what’s coming.”

I wasn’t intimidated by this man. If I were, I wouldn’t have turned my back on him in the first place. My father and I had had a good relationship. When he cast Brett out, I didn’t want to declare war against him. But to do nothing made me just as guilty, so I had to take a stand. I had to do the right thing. I had to be there for my brother. “If my mother were still alive, she’d be ashamed of you.” She had a beautiful spirit that counteracted my father’s coldness. She never cared about money. She still cooked all our meals because she enjoyed it. She still took us to the park on a sunny day so we could toss a football around. She never wanted a fancy car or expensive jewels. All she wanted was for us to be a family.

His expression didn’t change, my words bouncing off his exterior like they had no impact at all. “And I’m ashamed of you, Diesel. We’ve had our differences, but I’ve never been so humiliated to call you my son.”

I had the exact same reaction, pretending his words didn’t infect me like a poison. Like what he said didn’t matter, my features were etched in stone and didn’t change. But those words sank into my frame and damaged my heart. I was paralyzed by what he’d said. I knew he despised me, but hearing him actually say it was crippling. I wasn’t an emotional man. Never had been. But those words hurt—badly. “I didn’t go to the press to hurt you.”

“I know exactly why you did it.”

That wasn’t possible, so I waited for an explanation. I couldn’t ask more of him because that would only make him reveal less.

“You picked Tatum Titan over your own family. Unforgivable.”

I struggled to keep up my neutral expression even more. Pretending to be indifferent was nearly impossible once her name was mentioned. My father’s assumption was right on the money. It was exactly why I did what I did. But how did he know? I couldn’t ask, so I didn’t.

He rose to his feet and adjusted his cuff links without taking his gaze off me. “You shouldn’t have fucked with me, Diesel. Now it’s my turn to fuck with you.”