Chapter 1: The Offer

"You'd be in deep trouble."

Nadia sat in her study long after Marcus had left, those words echoing.

She stared at the desk where his hands had gripped the edge, leaving marks in the polished wood.

You'd be in deep trouble, these words kept resounding.

Her hands trembled. She was just a lawyer trying to survive and Marcus decided to put her in so much debt.

She pressed her fingers flat against the desk, trying to anchor herself, but everything felt like it was tilting. There was no way out.

She could feel it in her chest, In her bones. No way out.

She sat in the dark, unable to move, unable to think of anything except that she was drowning, until sleep claimed her.

*****

She was in a bedroom that wasn't hers. Candlelight flickered across velvet walls.

The man behind her didn't have a face, but she felt him everywhere. His breath against her neck.

His hands tracing her skin with deliberate slowness, like he was learning her.

"What are you running from?" His voice was rough, dark. She couldn't see him, but his presence surrounded her like gravity.

She tried to answer, but his fingers traced down her spine and she forgot the words.

His touch was controlled, knowing exactly what he was doing to her.

"I don't..." she started.

"You do." He was close now, his body pressing against hers. Not threatening. Absolute.

"You know exactly what you want."

His hand slid lower and electricity shot through her. She arched toward him without meaning to.

The velvet sheets were impossibly soft. Everything about this moment was wrong, and her body didn't care.

"Who are you?" she whispered.

He leaned down, and she felt his lips against her shoulder. Almost a kiss. Almost.

"Someone who can help you," he said, his voice in her ear. "If you're brave enough to let me."

The pressure of him against her made her breath catch.

She was completely exposed to him, and the worst part was how much she wanted this.

How much her body ached for him to continue.

His hand moved across her hip, slow and deliberate. Heat coiled low in her belly. She tilted her hips back instinctively, seeking more, and his fingers found the inside of her thigh.

The sensation was impossibly soft and impossibly unbearable.

"I can't..." she said, but her voice didn't sound like a refusal.

"You already are." His touch sent waves of heat through her.

"Stop fighting it."

It suddenly got blurry and she the voices began to get lower and less audible.

She woke in the dark, gasping.

Her body was on fire. Her sheets were soaked between her legs.

For a moment she lay still, trying to separate dream from reality, her heart hammering.

The phantom sensation of his hands lingered on her skin.

Between her legs, she was still throbbing, still aching, the dream clinging to her like a second skin.

The clock read 6:47 a.m.

She jumped out of bed, her legs still unsteady. The dream clung to her, making everything feel like a dream.

She moved through her morning in a daze, her body still humming with the echoes of his touch. The shower didn't help.

The warm water only made it worse, reminded her of the dreams that wouldn't stop haunting her.

She dressed without thinking, pulled on a blouse and skirt, wet hair plastered to her neck.

Her skin felt oversensitive, alive in ways that gave her tingling sensations.

In the car, her hands shook on the steering wheel. The dream had its claws in her, making the drive to the office feel like moving through water.

By the time she arrived at 8:25, she felt hollowed out.

She sank into her chair and tried to look normal, but she couldn't because a lot of things were going through her mind.

The office felt heavier lately. Everything felt like it was closing in.

She closed her eyes for a moment, and when she opened them, the weight was still pressing down.

"Ma'am, these files came in for you."

Nadia flinched at the sudden voice. Mary stood beside her desk holding a stack of documents, watching her with quiet concern.

"Okay, you can drop them and leave," Nadia said quickly, her voice still husky from the morning.

Mary set the files down, lingering a second longer before stepping out. Nadia exhaled.

She picked up the stack and began flipping through. Most were routine, files she had to sign, then the last document stopped her cold.

She remembered it as the file Mary had just dropped.

A single page.

There was no client name attached. No address. Just information and a contract summary.

The offered payment was ridiculous. Enough to clear her debts and keep the office running for months.

Her eyes widened as she read it again, then a third time.

"I need you to help me win an acquaintance. The details of the job would be communicated to you when you sign the contract.

If you are interested and agree with the amount, come to Acheron Manor tomorrow to finalize the deal.

It will last for a month, so prepare to live in for that period."

No explanation. Just a number that could save her life.

Her heart stopped.

An excited scream escaped her lips before she could stop it. Loud enough that Mary came rushing back in, eyes wide.

"Ma'am, what is it?"

"Yes. Yes, I'm fine." Nadia's smile was wild, uncontrollable. "I have a deal. A serious one. I don't expect you to come to work for at least three weeks, here take a look."

Mary blinked slowly and handed the file back to her "Ma'am, but what's the name of the client?"

"I don't know. I guess I'll find out when I get there."

"That's risky, Ma'am. People don't pay that hundred thousands of dollars without—"

"I'm way too broke to care about anything right now."

Mary swallwed and left, still uneasy.

Nadia, however, couldn't stop smiling.

For the first time in months, she felt like she could breathe. Whatever came next, it couldn't be worse than drowning in debts.

She was more than ready for what tomorrow would bring.