He was nuts. Yet, there I was falling for him. It didn’t matter that I’d only know him for a day, or that my brain was telling me I was being ridiculous. I longed for his hands to be all over my body. To experience that spark, again and again.

My mouth popped open as I stared at the engagement ring he’d presented me. And hell, he was down on one knee too.

A million thoughts flashed through my mind. Sebastian was all in… this was what he wanted, clearly. The huge twinkling diamond was proof of that. Not to mention bringing me all the way from another country. He wasn’t messing around, that was for sure.

But could I say yes? Could I knowingly agree to marry him and then break his heart when I walked away? Here he was looking up at me with expectant warm eyes practically handing me his heart on a platter… and god, I so wanted to take it. Lock it up and keep it forever.

His touch had melted my insides, his kiss lit fires, stoking the heat until I thought I was going to pass out. There was no doubting we had a connection. It was off the charts and instantaneous.

But this… slipping a ring on my finger would be the final step to making it all come true.

Focus, Anna, I told myself and tidied away thoughts that could get me into trouble, remembering I was here purely for one reason, and one reason only: my gran. That was the whole point of this crazy plan, right? Get his money and get out. So what if I damaged his ego a bit… or his heart, I thought with a wince. He looked like he could get over a little heartbreak, especially if what his ex had said at the airport was true.

I heaved in a breath, my gaze darting from the ring to him. He was still looking at me with hopeful puppy dog eyes. Who was I kidding? I couldn’t resist his proposal, couldn’t stop myself from pretending this was real. He wanted me, a pseudo-foreign, crazy woman who’d traveled all this way, from another country, to be with him.

My hand trembled, reaching out to stroke the stubble that grazed his jaw. He was right there for the taking… and I wanted him.

I began to nod before the words left my mouth. “Yes,” I breathed.

The smile that erupted on his face almost rivaled the dazzling twinkle from the precious stone. Sebastian took my hand and carefully slipped the ring on. It fit like it was meant to be there. A sign that we were meant to be. Wayward, negative thoughts tried to claw their way into my mind, clamoring for attention: I bet you could get a pretty penny for that shiny bauble, it said wickedly. But I didn’t have time to push them away, for Sebastian was pulling me into an embrace, his lips finding mine and obliterating all and any naughty thoughts. Except for the dirty ones that were in charge now, at the wheel, in the driver’s seat.

I was lost in the moment, kissing him back, wrapping my arms around his neck as he lifted me up and carried me to the sofa.

Sebastian nuzzled my neck, trailing his lips downward, parting and undoing my shirt as he went.

“You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen, Anna,” he whispered as his steady gaze bore. “I can’t believe this is happening. That you want to be mine. That you came all this way. For me.”

My fingers teased his short hair, as he dived in for another kiss, our tongues meeting each other, desperate for contact. I moaned, trying to remember every detail of the moment. Wanting to catalog the smell of his musky body, the taste of his mouth on mine.

Everything was moving too fast, I had a hard time processing it all, but I never wanted it to slow down.

Sebastian began peeling down my leggings, running his hands down my legs as he went. I bit my lip watching him as he worked at stripping me. Finally, they were off, and he flung them across the room. He loosened the knot of his tie. This was getting serious, I thought with a smirk. His eyes flashed with desire as he tracked my gaze, running down his chest as slivers of his hard muscles began to appear. Before long I was staring at his torso, laden with knots of glorious hardness, sculpted and defined. I could’ve looked at him all day, but the pulse between my legs demanded that I waggle my finger at him, beckoning him back to where he belonged, on top of me.

My skin tingled. I shuddered with pleasure, his hands teasing, working me into a frenzy. The whole world disappeared, there was only him and me… nothing else mattered. And if I thought it couldn’t get any better, I then felt his hardness pressed up against my thigh, trapped and seeking my heat.

He shucked off his pants as if thinking the same thing. He found the edge of my underwear, fingers skimming my skin, driving me wild. I wanted to scream at him to rip them off, for him to drive into me with wild abandon. But I couldn’t trust myself to speak and for it to come out the way it needed to… I still had a disguise to maintain. Instead, I nipped my tongue between my teeth.

Sebastian’s panting breath washed over my body as his lips scorched every bare surface he licked and tasted. Splaying a hand under my bra, he pushed up, my breasts exposed for the first time for him to see.

He sucked in a breath, caught my eyes for a second then smirked. He moved closer, wrapped his lips around my nipple and sucked it up into his mouth. I arched my back, the sensation rippling throughout my body, lightening a match at my core.

I pressed his head against my breast, hungry and eager for more of what he was giving me. He didn’t displease and through smiling lips, teased my hard nub with his tongue, playfully skimming his teeth, then drawing it back into his hot mouth again.

Down my waist his hand skimmed, brushing against my knickers again. This time he didn’t stop at the barrier. His fingers navigated through my short curls, barely grazed my clit—tormenting me—then slipped between my waiting sodden lips. I let out a blast of hot, needy air and lifted my hips, pushing myself against his hand. Oh, but he was a devil, he knew exactly what I wanted but enjoyed torturing me with grazes that never quite made contact with my impatient nub.

“Anna, I want you… right now,” Sebastian breathed as he plunged two fingers inside me. Even if I wanted to reply, I couldn’t. All words had vanished from my head, sound caught in my throat, unable to escape. I could only concentrate on the pleasure he was driving into me. My pelvis moved on its own accord as his forearm tensed, his thick digits invading my channel, deeper and deeper.

My eyes sprang open, shock appearing on my face—like I’d just been hit with lighting—when he tapped my clit, volatile and unstable… If he kept doing that, I was in danger of screaming his name out loud, at risk of giving myself away. I bit my lip instead and clawed my nails into his back, pulling him closer.

Swallowing my nerves, I formed my mouth into the correct position, thickened my tongue and whispered back, “Take me.”

Sebastian groaned, his movements becoming more forceful, spreading me wider as he continued to bring me closer to the edge with only the touch of his fingers.

My hands trailed down Sebastian’s chest and lower, bumping over his taut abs to get to the one muscle I craved. He hissed as I made contact with his enormous bulge, tentatively stroking his length. His movements within me faltered, I’d thrown him off his rhythm, but I was perfectly okay with that, the look on his face, blissful and needy—for me—was reward enough.

Becoming bolder, not content with just feeling him through his silky boxers, I tucked my fingers down between his waistband and took his thick length into my hand. Grasping lightly, skimming my cupped palm upwards.

He stiffened and murmured a moan against my breasts. “Fuck, Anna… if you don’t stop, I won’t be able to.”

“No stopping,” I replied meeting his gaze. I knew what I wanted. I was a grown woman, with needs and a mind of her own. It had been a very long time since anyone had touched me like this. Stroked me like I was an overdue library book, not wanting to give me up, or give me back. And I wanted him as much as he wanted me, and there was no thought of turning back or putting on the brakes.

I pulled him closer, rubbing the head of his cock against my mound, breathless and buzzing with anticipation.

Sebastian settled himself between my legs, spreading me wide, bracing his arms on either side of my head. He then lowered his hips, his cock nudging against me again but this time slipping between my folds. I held my breath, then let out a gasp as he breached my entrance. My skin was alive, and it felt like I could feel every inch of his advance. Kissing me as he sank himself deeper, he went slowly, stretching my walls to accommodate his girth. His tongue found my lips, parted them, and slipped inside too, filling me.

Slowly he began to draw out, then with a ravenous look in his eye, suddenly bucked, thrusting hard. An involuntary cry burst out in a breathless exhale as my body responded to his treatment. He felt deliriously good; I had a hard time imagining this was real, that I wasn’t having an incredible wet dream, but Sebastian dispelled that notion with another hard lunge. The pressure at my core began to swell, blooming and opening. I needed more.

Wrapping my legs around him, my ankles pressing keenly against his tight ass, I urged him on. He renewed his efforts and scooped me up, bringing me closer, onto his lap. His thighs worked furiously as I hung on, clinging to his neck as we rutted. I bounced in sync with his fierce rhythm, our flesh slapping loudly when contact was made. It sounded loud to my ears, but my keening moans and his desperate grunts soon drowned out all the other noises.

Dipping his head, he sucked at my breast again, searching for my nipple, like he was trying to quench his thirst. He nipped, timidly at first, at my erect nub, arousing the sensitive area before sucking harder. Intense flashes of pleasure and pain discharged themselves, surging through the tendrils of my body, reaching my very core.

Unable to communicate my need any other way I sank my teeth into his slick shoulder, salt on my tongue. I didn’t draw blood but was rewarded with a carnal groan that had him increase his pace. Inside me I felt him tense, hardening against me.

He called out my name with each unstoppable stroke, saying it over and over, rutting me harder against the couch. The heavenly angle of his cock, unyielding, rubbed me into a frenzy, polishing my G-spot like he was trying to coax a genie out from a lamp. A light shiver took over my body as my muscles tightened, convulsed. Bright sparks blinded me, and finally, I was set free, coming over his cock, my walls clamping around him. He roared, milking him as he unleashed his pleasure into me.

---

Hours later I woke with my body angled diagonally across a thick mattress, nestled up to Sebastian’s side. Sheets were twirled around my legs like rope, binding me, but it wasn’t as if I wanted to move anyway. His body was warm against mine, comforting and I felt surprisingly safe.

So much for not sharing his bed, I thought with wryly.

He snored lightly, deep in sleep. I wasn’t surprised; he must’ve been exhausted after all the things he did to me and our escapades around his apartment. I hadn’t had that kind of workout for a very long time. My whole body hummed with the preliminary soreness.

As I thought about my crazy day, my gaze fell to my hand resting on Sebastian’s chest. The central diamond glinted, winking at me like it knew something I didn’t. A secret it wouldn’t tell. But as I study the intricate setting, the beauty of the stone, all I knew was that I couldn’t keep it. No matter how good the sex was, or how my heart thudded whenever he kissed me, he wasn’t mine… not really. It was only temporary. And as soon as he found out the truth, that would become blatantly clear. He wouldn’t want a liar, someone who deceived him… someone who was considering pawning the engagement ring he’d only hours before given her.

I shifted and groaned, frustrated with my predicament, but was startled when I noticed Sebastian staring right at me; eyes heavy with sleep but crinkling as he smiled.

“You’re awake,” he said and began to nuzzle my neck. Tingles swarmed across my skin, slowly awakening too. His tongue stole a taste, leaving a wet trail that made me expose my throat even more when he blew on it.

I whimpered. Sebastian swiftly covered my body with his, positioning me just so… His need was mighty again, pressing into my belly.

We stared at each other without saying a word. We didn’t need words, or the same language. We only needed this. Right here.

Sebastian brushed my face with his fingertips, tracing my hairline. With the tilt of his hips and mine coming to meet his, he slipped into my warmth.

He moved like time didn’t mean a thing. Like we had eons of pleasure to experience, and there was simply no rush.

Every so often his jaw tightened, then relaxed as he pulled out, only for him to slide right back inside, making my back curve.

Together we made slight movements, light friction, that seemed to drive us both insane with the need for more. It sent tantalizing surges of ecstasy out to every corner of my body, all the way to the tips of my fingers and the top of my head. The hair on my arms practically stood on end, and I could see Sebastian’s bulging upper arms were also peppered with tiny goose bumps. And it wasn’t because of the cold.

We were aglow in our embrace, getting hotter with every sensual lick, nibble, or loving thrust.

I let my head fall back, eyelids fluttering, and my eyes rolling, as his cock stroked the full length of my channel, his groin grazing my clit.

“No, baby… look at me,” Sebastian said softly, though his voice was strained. “Look at me. I want to watch you come undone.”

I licked my lips and lazily opened my eyes again, as yet another blissful wave began battering at my door. I was so close to coming apart again, but having Sebastian watch me was crossing yet another threshold. Another intimate line that I could never take back or uncross. I closed them again not wanting to let him see me like this… It seemed like all my emotions, fears, and desires were converging on this very moment, completely overwhelming me. I felt alive and helpless all at the same time, safe yet at a loss. Unanchored and drifting.

His lips pressed against my lids, with feather-softness. One then the other. Then moved to the corner of my eyes as the salty tears overflowed. He kissed them away.

But perhaps in Sebastian’s arms, with him loving me, I could be okay.

Gradually light shone through, and I opened my eyes a crack. His face transformed, full of love and adoration. Fully open now, I wasn’t afraid anymore. I stared into his depths and let him take me. Swallowing me whole.

---

A light knocking stirred me the next morning, after many more hours of lovemaking, bolstered by the food Sebastian ordered and had delivered.

We’d devoured the sushi in bed, and even at one point, Sebastian decided it was much better to eat the parcels of rice, delicate morsels of mouth-watering sashimi from my body while in bed. I couldn’t stop giggling as he licked and used his tongue to scoop up the food that jiggled on my belly.

Morning crept through the gaps at the side of the drapes, and I wondered if the knocking had just been in my imagination. Sebastian was face down with only part of the sheet covering him… I had most of it wrapped around me. He lay spread-eagle, his shoulders, back, and one butt cheek that I longed to bite, were exposed. I almost leaned over and gave into temptation, opening my mouth to take a nibble, when a sound in the apartment made me freeze.

The knocking hadn’t been my imagination after all. Not only that but whoever was out there had let himself in too. I clutched the sheet tighter to my chest and began to shake Sebastian’s shoulder hard.

He muffled a groan and turned his head in my direction. “Anna? What is it?”

I pointed to the door and whatever or whoever lay beyond. “Noises… someone out there.”

Sebastian’s forehead crumpled into lines. He twisted around and sat on the edge of the bed, wiping his eyes.

“Are you sure? I don’t hear anything,” he said. I quickly shushed him as something clattered in the apartment. His pupils dilated, and he leaped into action, finding a pair of boxer shorts and pulling them on.

“Stay here,” he warned as he approached the bedroom door.

He slipped out of the room, and I sat rigid on my side of his bed. It was funny how the righthand side had somehow become mine in a few short hours, yet it also felt like the most natural thing in the world.

First, there was silence and I strained to listen, hoping he was all right. A building like this, it would be highly doubtful that there would be any break-ins, but I was on high alert regardless.

I sucked in a breath, silencing myself further, making sure not to rustle the bedclothes as muffled voices found their way to my ears. I recognized Sebastian’s cadence, his tone getting louder. Then an equally angry voice, female, high and shrill, responded. But I still couldn’t understand what they were saying.

Unable to resist any more I gathered the sheet around myself, holding it tight in place at my chest and approached the door, intent on only opening it a crack. But the door swung open too wide, and I was revealed like an impromptu magic trick before Sebastian and a woman.

“What the hell is she doing here?” the woman screamed at me. Her face was crimson but I instantly recognized her as Sarah, Sebastian’s ex, the same woman who’d practically thrown a tantrum at the airport the day before. But this time she was wearing a lot less. A discarded black trench coat was draped across the back of the couch, and Sarah in extremely high peep-toe heels, stood in a dark purple basque, complete with skimpy panties and garters.

Even if I had a response to her question, there was no way I would’ve been able to, what with my mouth gaping open.

Sebastian turned from Sarah to me and back again. Stuck in the middle of the living room. Stuck between the pair of us. If this had been any other time, this probably would’ve been a fantasy come true for him.

Obviously, though, she wasn’t expecting competition or a surprise ménage. Looking over to the kitchen island and the breakfast items that hadn’t been there before, Sarah had come over with a plan… feed Sebastian breakfast and have some morning, make-up nookie.

“That is none of your business!” Sebastian replied finally making a move. He reached for Sarah’s coat, extended his arm and offered it to her.

“I’m not going anywhere!” Her eyes pierced mine, trying to wither me away but I was too surprised to move or even respond. Then her gaze dipped to my chest, to the hand that was clutching the sheet. To the hand that now held the most magnificent ring I’d ever had the pleasure of wearing. “Holy hell,” Sarah breathed. “You actually bought her a ring?”

Sebastian could only shrug in confusion. “Sarah, I already told you that—”

She turned on him, furious. “I thought you were kidding! I thought this, all this, was a ruse to get me to come back to you,” she said as she waved a dismissive hand in my direction. “And it almost worked didn’t it? I’m here. Tell her to leave. I don’t care, just make her go.”

Sebastian’s Adam’s apple moved thickly in his throat. With the ruffle of her trench coat, he wrapped it around Sarah and then held her upper arms, his back to me. He whispered something I couldn’t hear.

Was he telling Sarah to go? Or reassuring her that he still wanted her?

Oh god…

I stared, my stomach twisting, making me feel like I was going to throw up. I should’ve known he still had feelings for her. From what little information I had, they’d only recently broken up. Maybe Sarah was right… maybe this had all been a ploy to get her back. And I was brought here to be used as a prop, an inconsequential item in their little melodrama. The ring probably wasn’t even real, I thought, as I glanced down at it.

Because who in his right mind gave an engagement ring to an absolute stranger on the first day that he meet her? Why hadn’t I thought of this sooner?

Oh. Because of those dreamy eyes, that physique, and the way his lips had set me alight when he’d kissed me down there.

I was a fool. Pure and simple.

I needed to stick to the plan, get the money, save my gran from eviction, then get out. Disappear from his life like I was never there to begin with.

Because he wasn’t mine. Never was. And never would be.