The limo stops outside a mansion in Malibu. Knowing that if I ask where we are I’ll be spanked later, I hold my tongue. It takes some effort, especially when Liam releases the driver from his duties.

As he guides us toward the front doors, we pass cars stacked tightly together in the curved driveway. A Lamborghini. A Bentley. BMWs and Mercedes. Four Teslas.

Screw the spankings.

I grab Liam’s hand. “What is this?”

With a wicked glint in his eye that promises a sting, he replies, “You keep asking to meet my friends, so here we are.”

My anxiety returns in a rush. I plant my feet, yanking him to a stop. Karina pauses nearby, staring at the mansion with a mixture of eagerness and envy.

Liam touches my face. “Little dove, why are you nervous?”

“Because… fuck, I don’t know. Tell me I’m being stupid.”

Because it’s my birthday, you ass, and you know I’d rather spend it naked with you than at a party of strangers.

He tugs on my hand until I’m in his arms. Smiling softly down at me, he murmurs, “Don’t ever call yourself stupid. If you do it again, I’ll add it to your punishments.”

The word ignites the usual need, but it simmers beneath the thick border of my fear. “You know I’m no good at shit like this. Remember? We met at a party like this one.”

Like this one…

The party had revolved around drugs, that much I knew. My palms grow clammy as I wonder if the answer to my question has been staring me in the face all along, only I’ve been too scared to face it.

Liam knows Maddoc Donnelly because he works for him as a drug dealer.

I don’t know what Liam sees in my eyes as I have the thought, but his own darken. “Not quite like this one. Besides, I dropped my car off earlier. We can leave at any time.”

He sounds completely normal. At ease and in his element. I want so badly to believe him.

And I want so badly to know.

A small voice inside me whispers, What will you do? Will you leave him?

Yes.

I don’t know.

“Come on, live a little,” cajoles Karina.

I look between them and finally nod, bolstering myself with the knowledge that I can leave whenever I want.

Liam kisses me swiftly and we resume our trek to the front doors. They’re unlocked, and open onto a scene I’ll never forget as long as I live.

At least twenty people scream, “SURPRISE!”

Familiar faces fill the spacious entryway and adjoining rooms. Raul, wearing a rainbow party hat above a shit-eating grin. More coworkers from both Al’s and Veritas. Jen Campbell and Lucy Yang, my roommates for the first two years at UCLA, and a host of other friends from college who I’ve been horrible at keeping in touch with.

When I see my parents grinning and waving in the front row, I almost pass out.

Soft lips press against my temple. “Happy birthday, dove.”

* * *

Liam rented all the cars in the driveway as party favors for the guests. Over the next few hours, I hear numerous stories from awed coworkers and friends about cruising town in the luxury automobiles.

The gesture was completely over-the-top, and I see my own discomfort reflected in my parents’ faces. Driving a Benz in an unfamiliar city was more intimidating than enjoyable for them.

“I’m grateful, don’t get me wrong.” My fingers clench on the sleeve of his white dress shirt. He discarded his jacket and now looks more like himself, top button undone and hair an absolute mess.

“But?” he murmurs.

We’re alone in one of the bedrooms. Music filters to our ears from the party, and I hear Raul and Karina’s loud laughter. My parents left twenty minutes ago for their hotel. They were by far the oldest people at the party, and I know the late hour was taxing for them.

I force myself to meet his eyes, almost indigo in the low light. “It makes me uncomfortable.”

His brows lift. “That I’m wealthy?”

“No.” I pause, looking down. “Maybe.”

His fingers on my chin lift my face. “Look at me.”

The command is spoken in a tone I have no willpower to resist. When my gaze meets his, he gently palms my face. His soft expression, and the adoration in his eyes, make his next words all the more shocking.

“I won’t spout the usual drivel about how money is useless unless I can spend it on the ones I care about. The truth is much more simple and not nearly as self-flattering.” His fingers move into my hair, releasing several pins to the floor. “I want to keep you, Eden. I want to own you. And if that makes me a brute, so be it.”

Desire and satisfaction shimmer in my veins. That primal, unstoppable, fucked-up core of me rises and twists and blooms.

I don’t pretend to misunderstand him. He wants me to give up medical school. He wants me to stay. To be his. And Liam knows exactly what he’s asking. He knows how much my future means to me. That, before him, it was my primary focus in life.

I’m sickened by how tempting his offer is. Sickened by myself.

Anger straightens my spine even as tears well in my eyes. “You had to do this—to say this—today? On my birthday?”

He shrugs one shoulder. “Would you rather I’d done it the night before you left me?” His fingertip catches a tear. “I’ll do whatever it takes. Do you want me to pay off the mortgage on your parents’ house? Set them up so they can retire?”

The words stab and slice, leaving bloody pieces behind. My adoration—and dare I admit, love—for him suffers what feels like a death-wound. In this moment, I hate him. His power over me. His unfailing equability. His conceit.

With an intelligible yell of fury, I put both palms on his chest and shove as hard as I can. He barely moves, but we both freeze. Him in surprise. Me in dismay.

Liam’s eyes soften with worry. He reaches for me, but I turn and flee. I don’t glance at the bed, where just ten minutes ago his mouth brought me hard and fast to climax.

I tear open the bedroom door and run into the living room. I ignore everyone except my two real friends. They see me at the same time and jump to their feet.

“Get me out of here.”

And like real friends, Karina and Raul don’t question. They get me out of there.