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hat type of movies do you like?” Archer asked while I did a three-sixty of my surroundings.

I had never been in such opulent settings. I mean, there was rich, and then there was wealthy. This was the latter, and good God, I was speechless.

The pool stretched from corner to corner, and across from it was the super high tech gym, which was separated by floor-to-ceiling glass walls. Everything was done tastefully, and I couldn’t help being impressed at how the other folks lived.

When the projector appeared, I glanced at Archer, a little curious. “How do you people live like this on a daily basis? It just blows my mind.”

Archer stopped whatever he was doing, looking at me and riotously laughing. “Oh, Serena love, I honestly don’t know how to respond to that without sounding like a privileged snob.”

“Point taken.” I beamed at him before I strolled towards him as he held the remote, shuffling through the movie catalogue. Then he handed it to me so he could go to the bar and scour for alcoholic beverages.

“What’s your choice of poison, love?” Archer asked as he opened the bar fridge.

With my eyes glued on the screen, weighing in if I wanted to do a zombie movie or a romantic comedy, I managed to respond, “Hmmm … Surprise me.”

Archer brought two bottles with him—a vintage champagne and vodka. Obviously, he kept the fiercer drink to himself before handing me the bubbly potion.

“No glass?” I stared at the expensive label.

He made a cute, hunky wink. “I can’t seem to find one, so we’ll share and swap bottles to satisfy our thirst, and I’m such a bloody flirt believing that, by doing so, we just made the first step to getting intimate.”

Same old, same old. I had to give him credit, though; the man was persistent.

“Ha, you’re too cocky. All this talk and I get the feeling you won’t even come close to satisfying me.” Teasing and provoking men was my strong suit, though I wasn’t known for pulling the trigger … well, with the exception of the oldest Elliot brother. That was a random, isolated incident for sure.

As much as I wanted to ponder about the oldest brother, the younger one was busy trying to win my undivided attention.

“Is that a challenge, Serena? Because I’ll bite if you want me to; just say the word,” he baited.

“It’s like that, huh?” I wasn’t necessarily seasoned, but growing up in LA made flirtation normal, like a prayer. Everyone did it like it was part of their daily routine.

“You have no idea how arduous it is to be this close yet not sample the sweetness.” His finger caressed the side of my arm, brushing upwards, reaching towards the base of my neck.

I swallowed hard. His eyes looked intense as he watched my breasts rise and fall from his touch.

“Archer!” A loud, booming sound echoed throughout the basement, making me freeze with horror.

My eyes were wide with shock as his voice sent electrifying shivers down my spine.

Cruz. He was here and had most likely witnessed that impromptu exchange. Fuck the fuck. I just couldn’t catch a break today whenever it concerned him. Damn it.

“Can we help you?” Archer asked with an exasperated voice.

I took a breath then a couple more. Then I took a few more before I braved it out and directed my eyes towards where he was, and when I did, I felt something fierce, something violent. My emotional response confirmed how much work I had put into trying to get over the damn man.

. Whatever it took, I had to do it. Meeting Ivy had slapped me back to the reality of the situation. She wasn’t simply a name any longer or the forgotten fiancée. When I thought of her, I could put a face to the name, and it made it all the more real to me.

“What the bloody fuck do you think you’re doing, Archer?” He stood, looking down at us with the steady gaze of a panther waiting for its opponent to make the next move before attacking with a deadly blow. His dominating presence alone spoke volumes. All he did was stand there, yet he emanated power like no other. Steadfast with his hands in his pocket, his eyes didn’t waver from his brother.

“What?” Archer quipped back, obviously rankled at Cruz’s uninvited presence. “Are we not behaving up to your standards?”

Keeping his cool, Cruz didn’t move from his spot, but his displeasure was unmistakable in his eyes.

“I’m not in the mood to be trifled with, Archer. You know quite well what I’m capable of doing if you keep defying me.”

“You’re a fucking controlling bastard!” Archer was immediately inflamed at his brother’s dominating display of power.

Instead of engaging Archer in another round of threats, he chose a different route. “I need to speak to Serena alone,” he emphasized, issuing a request that sounded more like a demand.

“Why? So you can warn her not to be in my presence? She and I were getting on quite well without your interference.” Archer wasn’t ready to back down just yet, but it was obvious his big brother had the upper hand.

“Are you done with your spiel?” Cruz remained as calm as a cucumber, though his eyes portrayed the opposite.

Looking as though he was about to pop like a well-shaken champagne bottle, Archer took a few short breaths before sending me a severe gaze. “I’ll be waiting for you in my bedroom. Come to me whenever you’re done here.” He parted without a glance at Cruz, who seemed to resemble a ticking time bomb by the time his younger brother exited the pool area, temporarily banished.

I was screwed, and I knew it

The tension grew, and just when I thought I couldn’t take any more of it, Cruz decided to break the growing pressure by clearing his throat.

“Do you always feel the need to flaunt your body whenever there are men around, Serena?”

Oh, hell to the no!

Instead of feeling remorseful for whatever fault he thought I had done, his sardonic comment brought out the bitch in me.

“Yeah, Cruz, ’cause this all I’ve got going. Can’t you tell?”

His jaw locked while his eyes heatedly studied my body, making my nipples hurt.

“Stop staring at me!” I snapped, ready to match fire with fire.

“My brother was doing the same thing, but you had no qualms then,” he said in a measured tone, making me wonder what he truly thought of me.

“Maybe I like your brother better.” With my claws out, I decided that, if he was ready to draw blood, I was ready to go an eye for an eye.

His silvery gaze turned dark, unmistakably displeased. “Is this what I think it is, Serena?”

I blinked a few times. “What do you mean by that, Cruz?” I feigned innocence.

“You and my bloody brother!” His contained anger began to crack, giving me a glimpse of the man underneath the controlled temper and emotions.

I swallowed what little moisture was left in my mouth, weighing how to proceed without damaging our already tattered relationship.

“What you saw—”

“Are you shagging him!” he thundered out.

Did he just ask me that? Fucker.

My nostrils flared as I wondered if I should kick him in the balls or punch his face for insulting me like I was a second-class hooker. Regardless, as much I wanted to flow with my emotions, something made me change my tune by deflating the situation.

“Cruz, I think you’re out of line,” I tried to calmly reason with him, but he wasn’t willing to.

“I am not bloody out of line, Serena. We both know that. How could you simply go from kissing me to shagging my brother?” he huffed, beyond enraged. “Are you punishing me? Is that it?”

“Punish you? What are you fucking talking about! I don’t want to punish anyone.” I wasn’t that type. I wasn’t the kind to hold a grudge. My parents taught me better than that. If that was what he thought of me, then he was sorely mistaken.

“Tell me what this is all about, then.” Cruz pressed.

Carefully placing the champagne bottle on the nearest flat surface, I strolled a few steps so I was inches away from his infuriated form, facing him head on with my arms folded underneath my breasts. I was willing to use whatever weapon at hand so he could feel what he was accusing me of—punishing him.

“Has it ever occurred to you that I might just like Archer’s company? Or that he’s so fun to be around that I can joke around and be myself with him? Or how refreshing it is to be around someone who doesn’t take himself seriously? Did any of those enter your rational mind at all, Cruz, before you started accusing me of shit?” If he wants to go in circles, then let’s have at it. I had all the time in the world.

For a second, he seemed distracted as his eyes repeatedly glanced at my overly abundant display of flesh. “He wants you,” he rasped out, seeming aroused and angry at the same time.

Feeling empowered by his evident reaction, I reinstated some of my confidence.

“So? What’s your point here?” Liking and wanting someone weren’t a crime. Besides, he was making a big deal out of nothing. He was just being a control freak.

“Shouldn’t you be at least worried? You can’t honestly lead the man on, knowing full well you want me.”

I choked a little. What the fuck?

“Well, that’s fresh coming from you, but to answer your question, I don’t know. What I do know is that I’m attracted to him, and if that leads to something, then great. I’m just having fun, as you kindly suggested I should.”

My words sent him into a tizzy.

“I won’t condone that. Not here, not now! Most importantly, not under my watch,” he grated out, setting the rules once again.

“Fine, I’ll make sure to remember not to do anything with anyone in your mom’s house. Anything else I should remember?”

“If my brother does anything, I ask you to put a stop to it.”

“What if I can’t? What then?” I was playing with fire, and I knew it.

“No, you will. You have no other choice.” He took a step closer to me, his silver eyes storming.

“Oh, yes, I fucking do. It’s my life, my body. I’m free to share it with whomever I want.” No one, not even a man I secretly adored, would dictate my actions.

“You wouldn’t dare!”

I was my own woman, and I would stand by my conviction. “You don’t have any right to tell me what and what not to do.”

“You’re fucking mine! You’re mine! You became mine the second you bloody chose to kiss me like I was the best thing you’ve ever had. You chose me! Me, not him. You chose me, Serena!”

“No …” I shook my head, denying everything he had said as I noted the shift in him and the way his eyes seemed to look brighter by the second. “Cruz—” I gasped before I felt his lips crash into mine, hungrily consuming me while his hands possessively held me captive.

I was floored. How could kissing be potently beautiful and sinful at the same time?

His hands eagerly sought and cupped my breasts, massaging them, while his tongue hungrily took everything it could, as if he wanted each breath, each lick, each kiss to be all his.

The emotions he evoked in me were terrifying. We seemed to be drawn to each other, even though it was obvious how much he tried to contain it, control it. Now that he had failed to, what would happen?

The realization of the aftermath brought me back to my senses.

“Cruz, no. Stop.” When he didn’t seem to hear me, I used all my might to push him off me. “This has to end,” I cried out, trembling from the intensity of our earth-shattering encounter. “Stop messing with my mind and let me be!”

He was roughly heaving, looking devastated, like what could have happened if I hadn’t stopped it had just dawned on him.

“I apologize … I don’t know what came over me. I hoped I didn’t frighten you,” he murmured, despondent.

Frightened? Far from it.

“I’m fine, but we can’t—I can’t, Cruz. You’re engaged, so this will turn out badly. We both know it will, so let’s stop it here, right now. We have to promise this will never, ever happen again.”

His head dipped, inching closer to my face until I felt the tip of his nose brush against my cheek, caressing. “You confuse me,” he whispered, evidently tortured by this whole situation. “I want to kiss you again, but I’m afraid you’re going to hate me for it.”

Never had I wanted another man like I craved him.

“No more. No more.”

“Serena, whatever you decide to do”—his lips brushed against the side of my ear, breathing me in—“promise me you’re not going to do anything drastic.”

“Why should I do that, Cruz?” God, I wanted him, though I knew I must fight it. Even if it was hurting me, I must keep on fighting.

“Because I’m having a hard time,” he muttered. “It’s been hellish.” He paused before seeking my eyes, penetrating into my soul, my heart. “You’re all I think about, even when I’m with her.”

The very mention of her was enough. There was nothing left to be said. As much as it pained me to walk away, I did just that, but before I did, I pled with him for the last time.

“Please, I don’t want to hear any of this. Whatever this is, it’s over and done with.”

And this time, I was going to stick to my guns. If my relationship with Aaron had taught me anything, it was the horrible feeling of being cheated on, and I wasn’t going to do that to another woman. If Cruz was confused, he had to deal with it. I didn’t want to be a part of that, not anymore.

In the beginning, it was hard to grapple with the situation because he hadn’t divulged that he was engaged. I felt as though he had led me, distracting me with the butterflies and rainbows he painted before me. Since then, I had been battling this push and pull between us. However, it was time to end this. I couldn’t take it anymore. My conscience wasn’t a willing participant, and my heart wasn’t a willing hostage.