Chapter 5: The Ruin

"I should hate you." "You will. But not before you scream my name."

Sunlight streamed through floor-to-ceiling windows, pulling Lexi from a dreamless sleep. Her body ached in places she'd forgotten existed, delicious reminders of the night before. Silk sheets hugged against her naked skin as she shifted, becoming aware of the warm weight of an arm draped possessively across her waist.

Julian.

Memories flooded back—his mouth on her skin, his hands pinning her wrists, her own voice begging for more. She'd surrendered completely, coming undone again and again under his merciless attention.

She turned her head, finding him watching her with those piercing blue eyes, already awake. His expression was unreadable, but something in his gaze made her breath catch—a possessiveness that hadn't been there before.

"I should hate you," she whispered.

The corner of his mouth lifted in that dangerous half-smile. "You will." His hand slid up her bare stomach to cup her breast. "But not before you scream my name." Again, he didn't say. But they both heard it.

Lexi closed her eyes as his thumb brushed over her nipple, her body instantly responding despite her exhaustion. "I need to go."

"No." There was no anger in the word, just absolute certainty. His mouth replaced his fingers, tongue circling her sensitive peak.

"Julian," she protested weakly, even as her back arched off the bed. "I have work—"

"Your work can wait." He moved over her, pinning her beneath his weight. "I can't."

His kiss silenced any further objections, demanding and possessive. Lexi surrendered to it, hating how quickly her body responded to his touch, how desperately she wanted him despite everything.

An hour later, she lay boneless against his chest, her breath still coming in ragged gasps. Julian's fingers traced in lazy patterns on her bare back, his heartbeat strong and steady beneath her ear.

"Be my mistress," he murmured into her hair.

She should be angry at his proposal, of all things to be, his mistress? Instead she looked up and him and asked shyly. "What do you mean?"

"I mean," he said, cupping her face in his large hand, "one night isn't enough. Not with you."

Her cheeks turned red as she looked down shyly, "Why? Why do you want me?"

Julian's eyes darkened. "You're not like the others."

The words should have pleased her. Instead, they sent a chill down her spine. She felt jealous. "I need a shower."

He released her, watching as she slipped from the bed, making no effort to hide his appreciation of her naked form. "Use mine. Through there." He nodded toward a door on the far side of the master bedroom.

The bathroom was palatial, all black marble and chrome, with a shower large enough for four people. Lexi turned the water to scalding, needing to wash away the evidence of her weakness. She'd sworn never to let a man control her, yet here she was, completely at Julian's mercy.

When she emerged, wrapped in a plush towel, the bedroom was empty. Her clothes had been laid out on the bed, cleaned and pressed. The gesture was both thoughtful and unsettling, as if Julian had planned for this, prepared for her to stay.

She dressed quickly and padded barefoot through the penthouse, following the scent of coffee. The morning light transformed the space, making it less intimidating than it had seemed in the darkness. Art adorned the walls, original pieces worth millions, she guessed. Everything spoke of wealth, but with a restraint that suggested Julian valued quality over ostentation.

He was nowhere to be found, but a steaming cup of coffee waited on the kitchen island beside a note: Business call. Help yourself to breakfast. Back soon. —J

Lexi sipped the coffee prepared exactly how she liked it, though she couldn't remember telling him her preference. The normalcy of the moment struck her as absurd. Twelve hours ago, she'd been on her knees before him. Now she was drinking coffee in his kitchen like they were...what? Lovers? The word felt wrong.

She wandered into what appeared to be Julian's home office, curiosity overriding her sense of propriety. The room was impeccably organized, dominated by a massive desk facing the Manhattan skyline. Here, the art was different, darker, more provocative pieces.

A laptop sat closed on the desk, beside it several folders neatly arranged. Lexi wouldn't have given them a second glance if not for the name visible on one of them: Thorn.

Her father's name.

Her heart hammered against her ribs as she reached for the folder, fingers trembling slightly. She shouldn't. This was crossing a line. But if Julian had information about her father...

The folder contained newspaper clippings, court documents, financial records. Headlines jumped out at her: Thorn Industries Bankruptcy Scandal. CEO James Thorn Faces Fraud Allegations. Styles Industries Acquires Thorn Assets in Fire Sale.

The last one made her blood run cold. Styles Industries. Julian's company had acquired her father's business after its collapse. A collapse that had destroyed her family, left her father a broken man, forced Lexi to abandon college to support them both.

Deeper in the folder, she found photographs—Julian with her father, shaking hands over what appeared to be a business deal. The date stamp placed it just weeks before everything fell apart. And beneath that, a handwritten note in Julian's precise script: Thorn's daughter. Potential leverage?

The coffee cup slipped from her fingers, shattering on the hardwood floor.

"Finding anything interesting?"

Julian stood in the doorway, his expression unreadable. Gone was the passionate lover of the night before, replaced by the calculating businessman she'd first met.

"You knew," she whispered, the folder clutched in her hand. "You knew who I was from the beginning."

He didn't deny it. "Yes."

"Why?" The word came out choked. "What is this? Some sick game of revenge?"

Julian stepped into the room, his movements deliberate, predatory. "Not a game, Lexi."

"Then what?" She backed away until the desk stopped her retreat. "You seduced me because of my father? What did he do to you?"

"Everything that happened between us was real," he said, ignoring her question.

"Real?" She laughed, the sound brittle and sharp. "You manipulated me from the start! Targeting my clients, forcing me into your orbit—what was your plan? Seduce me, ruin me, then tell my father about it? Is that your revenge?"

Something dangerous flashed in Julian's eyes. "You have no idea what your father did."

"Then tell me!" She hurled the folder at him, pages scattering across the floor between them.

Julian watched her with cold calculation. "No. Not yet."

"I'm leaving." Lexi moved to step around him, but his hand shot out, gripping her arm.

"This changes nothing," he said, his voice low and intense. "What's between us—"

"There is nothing between us," she hissed, jerking away from his touch. "Nothing but lies."

For a moment, she thought he might stop her. Instead, he stepped aside, allowing her to pass.

At the door, she wanted him to stop her, she wanted to turn back so badly, needing to see his face.

With her last strength, she fled. Only when she was blocks away, lost in the anonymous crowd of Manhattan, did she allow the tears to fall.

Julian Styles hadn't just seduced her, he'd planned it all along, a calculated move in whatever game he was playing with her father. And the worst part?

She still wanted him. Despite everything, her body still craved his touch, her mind still raced with memories of the night before.

Julian had taken everything—her pride, her control, her body.

And she had a terrible feeling he wasn't done with her yet.