SecretRomance-cloudn38

It was nine-thirty at night when Scarlett Lane keyed in the code and let herself in. The living room was pitch dark, and only the faint outline of a tall figure was visible against the shadows. The familiar scent of his body wash hung in the air. Scarlett dropped her bag, loosened the belt of her trench coat, and sauntered up to him, hips swaying. Her arms looped around his neck. One leg slid up to brush along his thigh. "Honey," she murmured, "your naughty girl's home." He gave no answer. The shift in his breathing said everything. A flirty smile crept across her face. She caught his wrist, guided his hand inside her open coat, and walked him backward step by step. The moment she'd landed, she'd slipped into a changing room at the airport and thrown this outfit on, all to surprise her billionaire boyfriend. Right in the middle of that thought, his arm cinched tighter around her waist. Scarlett raised both arms and laced them behind his neck. "Carry me, honey." He scooped her up on cue. Her palm slid down and pressed flat against his abs. 'Damn, it's been a while, and he's gotten even more cut,' Scarlett thought, biting back a grin. Her fingers traced the ridges, and she couldn't resist teasing him. "Honey, your abs keep getting harder every time. So hot." Behind her, the door lock chirped open, and the sound froze her in place. Half a second later, she snapped into motion. She slid down out of his arms and pulled her outfit back into place as fast as her hands could move. The front door swung open. The living room lights snapped on right after. Scarlett looked up. The man walking through the doorway was Shawn Taylor. Her brain stalled out. Her shoulders locked up. 'Shawn?' Scarlett thought. 'So the man I was wrapped around two seconds ago—' "What're you doing here?" Shawn looked her up and down. Scarlett snapped back into the moment. She walked straight up to him, threw her arms around him, and let her voice go soft. "I missed you, honey." Shawn gave a quiet laugh and patted her hair out of habit, the way someone might pet a kitten. Scarlett hooked her arm through his and stepped up beside him. That was when she got her first clear look at the man across the room. Of all Shawn's childhood friends, Miles Gilmore came from the most loaded background. Since landing Shawn, Scarlett had crossed paths with him exactly twice, but they'd never traded a word. Miles, like the rest of Shawn's circle, wrote her off as a gold-digging schemer. Just like now, their eyes met across the room, and he made no effort to mask the contempt in his. Shawn turned to him. "Miles, she didn't bother you, did she?" Scarlett's pulse climbed, but her smile held steady. "I'm so sorry, Mr. Gilmore." Miles sneered. His gaze raked over her once, slow and deliberate. "I figured some idiot with a death wish had ordered me a hooker." That wasn't a veiled jab. That was a direct hit. Scarlett played it like she hadn't caught a word, beaming like a clueless airhead. Shawn let out a laugh. "Sorry about her again. Let me get her out of your hair. You go do your thing." And just like that, Shawn hauled her off to the bedroom. ***** By midnight, Miles was propped against the wall outside the master bedroom, a glass of water in one hand. The ghost of a smirk played at his mouth as he stared at the shut door. A woman's coaxing voice drifted out from inside. "Honey, hold me." A moment later, her giggling came through the door, breathless and broken. "Oh god, stop. Okay, you win." Miles let out a derisive snort. His eyes flicked down to his own crotch. Then his hand came up, and he hurled the glass at the floor. The expensive crystal shattered into pieces across the tile with a sharp crack. The noise behind the bedroom door died at once. A minute later, a door down the hall opened and Shawn stepped out, shirtless. His eyes dropped to the broken glass on the floor. "What happened? Hand okay?" Miles shook his head and dragged his gaze across Shawn's bare torso. 'Different as night and day, and she still couldn't tell. Heh. Asking to be fucked,' he thought. ***** The racket Miles had caused cost Scarlett her shot that night. The next morning, the second her eyes opened, she put on a hurt face and burrowed into Shawn's chest. "Honey, you don't like me anymore?" "Don't be ridiculous." Shawn pinched her cheek. "Miles is moving out any day now. Once he's gone, we'll make up for it properly." Scarlett nodded sweetly. Shawn had work to handle. He humored her for a few minutes and then headed out the door. Scarlett rolled back under the covers for a second round of sleep. By the time she opened her eyes again, it was almost 10. The apartment had gone dead quiet. She pulled on one of Shawn's T-shirts as a nightgown, hopped out of bed to brush her teeth, and padded into the dining room for breakfast. A couple of bites in, a video call from her best friend, Quinn Yates, lit up her phone. Scarlett tapped to pick up. "So how long you staying this time?" Quinn propped her phone against something. Scarlett stabbed at her food. "Once my ovulation window closes, I'm out." Quinn dropped her voice. "Yesterday was your peak day, right? Did it actually happen?" A curse slipped out of Scarlett. "Don't even get me started. Ugh, this sucks. "Nothing about this is easy money. If I weren't trying to milk a few more checks out of the Taylor family, you couldn't pay me to do this gig." Scarlett spent the next 20 minutes venting to Quinn over breakfast. Once she finished eating, she wandered into the guest bathroom for a long soak. Shawn's apartment had a top-end soaking tub with temperature control and massage jets, and she'd loved it from the first night. She closed her eyes, sank back against the curved rim, and let out a soft, contented hum. She rarely got to drop the act. Even rarer was a moment when she could actually let her guard down. Right in the middle of all that ease, the bathroom door clicked open without warning. A startled scream tore out of her, and her eyes flew open. The moment she registered Miles stepping inside, both her arms shot up to cover herself. 'Wait, didn't he leave?' Her pulse spiked. She had nowhere to retreat. Miles closed the distance in a few strides and stopped at the edge of the bathtub. He grabbed both her arms and stared down at her. "What're you hiding for? You were plenty bold last night." Scarlett almost laughed. Men loved to flip the script. They couldn't keep themselves in check, but somehow the woman always ended up at fault. 'What an asshole,' she thought. "How many times did you come for him last night?" Miles's voice cut through the steam again. Scarlett drew in a slow breath and faced him with the picture of innocence. "I don't know what you're talking about, Mr. Gilmore." Meeting that look on her face, Miles felt his throat tighten. He leaned down close. "If you want to squeeze more cash out of the Taylors, you'll need to work a lot harder. Your sugar daddy's not so easy to satisfy anymore." Scarlett's mouth went stiff. 'Shit. What had he heard?' Before she could chase the thought any further, Miles let go of her arms and dragged a finger along her collarbone. "How about I train you myself?" His gaze stripped her right through the water. Scarlett forced a smile and parted her lips to refuse, but Miles raised his other hand, a phone in his grip. His thumb moved across the screen, and a recording started to play. It was her video chat from the dining room earlier. Miles let a short clip run before tapping it off. He patted her cheek. "Think the Taylors will keep paying you once they hear you talk about them like that?" Scarlett said nothing. Miles tossed the phone aside and beckoned her with a tilt of his chin. "Get over here. Strip." Chapter 2 Serve A Man Scarlett didn't move. She couldn't figure out what Miles was playing at. If she'd left him hot and bothered last night, he had plenty of other options. Women lined up for men like him. 'So why me? He's never hidden his contempt for me,' Scarlett frowned. Scarlett still remembered their first meeting at some party. Miles had looked at her like she was something foul he'd accidentally stepped in. When she still didn't move, Miles let out a mocking laugh. "What's with the show?" Scarlett blinked. 'This asshole stole my line.' She'd been about to ask him the same thing. "Thanks for the interest, Mr. Gilmore." Scarlett kept the fake smile in place. "But I'm already taken, so maybe you should..." "You're not even close to having him locked down." Miles's contempt didn't budge. Scarlett's fists clenched. The smile stayed. "Even if you did get him to marry you, so what?" Miles gripped the back of her neck. "You think I'm scared of him?" 'Of course you're not,' Scarlett finished in her head on reflex. "If I told him right now I wanted to fuck you," Miles continued, "you really think he'd risk the friendship to protect you? Or just gift-wrap you and hand you over?" Scarlett didn't have to think about the answer. She pulled in a deep breath and let it go. 'If you can't fight it, lie back and enjoy it,' she thought. Still, she had her conditions. "How much?" If he wanted to sleep with her, he was paying for it. Plus, she had one more concern before this went any further. Her eyes dropped to his crotch. "You clean?" Miles lost his words for a beat. He let out a sharp laugh when it registered. "That's cute. I'm supposed to be the one with standards here. Not you." Scarlett's mouth shot off before her brain could stop it. "Standards, my ass. Your dick was saluting me just fine last night. Fucking hypocrite." Miles's eyes narrowed. "What did you say?" Only then did Scarlett realize she'd run her mouth. Denying it was pointless. She doubled down. "Am I wrong though?" Her gaze traveled slowly down his body. "You men really do say one thing and do another, don't you." Miles caught every ounce of meaning in that look. He gritted his teeth. "You little—" Scarlett didn't let him finish the curse. She held up a closed fist between them. "This much. Deal?" ***** ***** Around an hour later, Miles got out of the bathtub and crossed over to the shower across the room. Miles watched Scarlett, barely conscious in the water, and the irritation that had clung to him all night finally started to ease. Then he stared at her a few seconds too long, and the irritation came right back. Miles turned the water colder, looked away, and let the spray pound against him. The steady drum of the water pulled Scarlett back to herself. Her vision sharpened again, and she caught sight of Miles standing under the showerhead. One glance, and she couldn't look away. Earlier, between the haze and the pounding, she hadn't gotten a chance to take in his body. She thought back to what those abs had felt like in the dark last night. She had to admit, the man was put together. Miles had to be six-two at least, broad shoulders tapering to a narrow waist, every muscle cut and dense, the proportions almost unreal. He was, without a doubt, the best of the best. No wonder Shawn had once joked Miles could've dated half the women in the city if he'd wanted to. A catch like that was hard to resist. Scarlett caught herself staring and slid her tongue across her lower lip. Right then, the water cut off. Miles walked back to the bathtub, his cock already hard again and pointed straight at Scarlett. He caught her by the wrist. ***** Miles left around three thirty in the afternoon. Standing in front of the full-length mirror, Scarlett took one look at the marks scattered across her body and felt her stomach bottom out. Miles must've been raised by wolves. He'd worked her over like she was a goddamn chew toy. Those marks weren't going anywhere for at least four or five days, which meant her fertile window this month was completely shot. On top of all that, she still had to come up with some kind of story for Shawn. Scarlett pressed her palms together and sent up a quick prayer, begging whatever higher power was listening for one halfway-decent excuse. Someone up there must've taken pity on her, because an hour later, her phone buzzed with a text from Shawn. Shawn: [Got a last-minute trip to Westbrook to check on a project. Entertain yourself.] Right below the message, he'd wired her 30 thousand dollars. The second Scarlett saw the transfer notification, it hit her like a freight train. 'That son of a bitch Miles still hasn't paid me a goddamn cent!' She launched off the couch, ready to march over and collect, only to realize she had no way to track him down. His number wasn't saved anywhere in her phone. The debt would have to wait until they crossed paths again. ***** A week went by before Scarlett laid eyes on Miles again, this time at a high-end equestrian club in Hinston. Shawn had put the whole thing together, and since Scarlett happened to be at his place that morning, he brought her along for the ride. The crowd was Shawn's usual lineup of regulars, and not a single one of them had any use for her. Scarlett had a thick skin about it. She tuned out the side-eyes and threw herself into playing the dutiful hostess, ferrying drinks and keeping every glass topped off. Tray in hand, she worked the room, asking each guest what he wanted and pouring one drink after another. One of the younger guys clicked his tongue and shot her a smug little smirk. "Damn. The professionally trained ones really are a cut above. Girl knows exactly how to wait on a man." The guy throwing the dig was Yosef Hoffman, the youngest of Shawn's crew at 25, even a year younger than Scarlett herself. He couldn't stand her either, and every word out of his mouth came drenched in that snide, mocking edge. Shawn didn't bother stepping in, which meant Scarlett couldn't exactly fire back and make him look bad in front of his friends. So she pulled on her best airhead routine and laughed it off. "Aw, Mr. Hoffman, you're too kind. Just doing my part, really." Yosef scoffed under his breath. "Shameless." Scarlett kept right on playing deaf, acted like she hadn't heard a word, and drifted over to where Miles was sitting. "Mr. Gilmore, would you like some orange juice?" Miles lifted his eyes, fixed them on her, and barely moved his lips. "No. I'll drink yours." Scarlett's hand jerked so hard she nearly sloshed the drink onto the floor. He hadn't bothered to drop his voice either. Half the table caught the line, and a few curious heads swiveled in her direction. Yosef's eyes went wide. 'The hell was that supposed to mean?' he thought. The bottle sitting at Scarlett's seat was just plain spring water. Luckily, Scarlett had nerves of steel. She froze for maybe two seconds before sliding right back into character. "Oh, Mr. Gilmore means the Evian, same as me. Coming right up!" She hustled off, grabbed a bottle, and handed it over with both hands. Miles took it from her, let out a quiet laugh, and remarked in that signature flat voice of his, "She really does know how to do her part." 'Shut the fuck up, you piece of shit,' Scarlett swore at him in her head, picturing herself stitching his goddamn mouth shut with a needle and thread. Right on cue, Shawn strolled back into the room. Scarlett wasted no time. She made a beeline for him, wrapped herself around his arm, and cooed, "Honey," in her sweetest, syrupy voice. Shawn pinched her cheek. One of the guys at the table piped up. "Wait, since when does Miles hand out compliments to Scarlett?" Shawn raised an eyebrow. "Hm? What'd he say?" "What do you think he said?" Yosef cut in with a fresh dose of sarcasm and rolled his eyes. "Said she really knows how to take care of a man." Miles smiled and didn't bother answering. He took a sip of water and pushed up from his chair. "I'm gonna go pick out a horse." Scarlett let out a quiet breath of relief. Yosef had a foul mouth on him, sure, but for once, she was genuinely grateful he'd jumped in. Otherwise, who knew what kind of bomb Miles would've dropped next. Twenty minutes passed and Miles still hadn't come back from the stables. He'd walked out without his phone too. Everyone else at the table had already picked their horses, and the wait was starting to grate on them. Yosef, smooth as ever, started bossing Scarlett around. "Go drag Miles back. It's not like you can ride anyway." Scarlett glanced over at Shawn. Shawn reached out and ruffled her hair affectionately. "Thanks for putting up with all this, honey." "No trouble at all," Scarlett said with a sweet smile. That was exactly the line she'd been waiting for. Just like that, her shot at collecting on Miles had landed right in her lap. Scarlett snatched up Miles's phone from the table and took off toward the stables at a brisk clip. She already had it all worked out in her head. If Miles tried to weasel out of paying, his precious phone was going straight into the nearest pile of horse shit. Chapter 3 Made For You Scarlett found Miles tucked away at the very back of the stables, currently locked in some kind of soulful staring contest with a thoroughbred. The two of them looked completely lost in each other, like nobody else in the world existed. The vibe between them was so damn intimate, Scarlett honestly half-expected wedding bells. Both Miles and the horse caught the sound of her footsteps and turned to look at her in perfect sync. Scarlett flashed her sweetest smile. "Mr. Gilmore, my husband would like a word with you." Miles gave the horse one last pat on the neck before turning and walking over to her. His eyes raked over her without an ounce of shame, dragging downward and locking on her chest. Today she'd gone with a body-hugging athletic set, the kind that showed off every single curve she had. It had been a week since he'd last seen her, but one look and the memory of that afternoon came roaring back. His jaw tightened with irritation. 'Nothing but a cheap little slut who knows how to flash her tits and bait men in. I can just bend her over the stall and fuck her senseless—' "Mr. Gilmore." Scarlett's voice cut clean through whatever filthy fantasy he'd been spinning. Miles glared down at her, his face ice cold. "Fuck off." She held her hand out toward him, palm up. Miles arched an eyebrow. "You still haven't settled up from last time," Scarlett reminded him in her most helpful tone. "Thirty grand. I'll waive the interest, no charge." Miles let out a sharp bark of laughter, somewhere between genuinely amused and pissed beyond belief. 'Interest, huh? Really interesting.' Miles tilted his head, eyes narrowing. "Charging that much? Your pussy made of gold or something?" Scarlett met his gaze without blinking. "Made for you, actually." Miles nearly choked on his own breath. His jaw locked tight, a vein jumping at his temple. "You're a slut, you know that?" Scarlett gave a small shrug. "Eh, more or less." Miles's eyes narrowed further. "You're seriously that desperate for cash?" "Hell yes," Scarlett said, completely deadpan. "Total Lifetime-movie tragedy over here. Deadbeat gambling dad, scheming mom who tried to pawn me off to some sleazy old creep, little shit of a brother who knocks me around for fun. "Whole town whispering behind my back. Now I've clawed my way back from the grave for sweet, sweet revenge. Venmo me 30 grand and I'll cut you in on the master plan." Miles said nothing. Her face practically lit up as she said it. There wasn't a hint of sadness in sight. Miles scoffed and decided to chalk the whole thing up to nonsense. Sure enough, a second later, Scarlett held his phone up and shot him a vicious little threat. "Mr. Gilmore, I'm pretty sure you don't want this thing landing face-down in a pile of horseshit, do you? Venmo, Zelle, bank transfer, whatever works for you." Miles's eyebrow twitched. For the first time in his entire life, someone actually had the nerve to threaten him. 'This reckless little idiot really thought she was going to pull this off?' Miles lunged forward to snatch the phone back. Scarlett darted sideways like a rocket and dove into the empty stall across the aisle. Miles stared at the stall, momentarily speechless. She crouched into the back corner. "So, you paying up or not?" Miles let out another laugh, sharper this time. "What are you, a goddamn jackrabbit?" "Come find me tonight. Make me come twice and the hundred grand is yours." His eyes raked down her body, slow and deliberate. "With a body like that, you better know how to use it." ***** With the terms locked in, Scarlett handed the phone back and slipped away on her own. By the time she got to the arena, Shawn was already mid-round with two clean jumps behind him. She drifted up to the rail, clapping and beaming. "Honey, oh my gosh, you look so hot out there. That was incredible. Babe, you're killing it." This brand of saccharine ass-kissing was Scarlett's bread and butter with Shawn, and the regulars had long since tuned it out. Yosef, parked on a nearby bench catching his breath, finally hit his limit and rolled his eyes. "Jeez, I can't take this anymore. She's fawning over him like he's a baby." "What baby?" Miles dropped onto the bench beside him. Yosef tipped his chin toward Scarlett and Shawn. "Her. The way she sweet-talks Shawn, it's like she's coaxing a damn baby. Tell me you don't see it." Miles ran a thumb along his jawline, eyes narrowed, and kept his mouth shut. Yosef pressed on. "You're telling me Shawn can't hear it? Come on. She's only here for the money. She doesn't give a shit about him." A smirk pulled at the corner of Miles's mouth. "And you think Shawn actually cares about her?" Yosef's brow knit together. "Then why the hell would he drag her around everywhere he goes?" Miles gave his shoulder a quick pat, left the question hanging in the air, pulled on his helmet, and walked onto the course. Scarlett's gaze snagged on Miles over in the adjacent arena, and once she'd locked on, she couldn't pull her eyes away. Every movement was sharp and effortless, every cue clean and instinctive. He cleared a five-foot-three fence without his horse breaking stride. Jumps that high would have placed him at the top of any pro circuit. Scarlett's eyes followed the way Miles moved in the saddle, and her mind went straight back to that night. The sex had been unreal, no two ways about it. 'Hooking up with a guy like Miles and a paycheck on top of it? Yeah, I could live with that arrangement,' she thought. Once her scheme wrapped up and she vanished back to her hometown, she'd be a ghost to every one of them anyway. The view was starting to do things to her, so she ducked into the restroom to cool off. She'd barely finished rinsing her hands when her phone lit up with a call from Simone Taylor. Simone was Shawn's twin sister, and like the rest of his circle, she wasn't a fan of Scarlett. Anytime Simone called first, it spelled trouble. Scarlett dragged in a couple of breaths, reminded herself how much money was on the table, and picked up. "Miss Tay—" "You at the stables with my brother and his guys?" Simone didn't let her finish. "Yeah." "Miles too, right?" "Yeah." "He bring anyone with him?" "Nope." "How long you sticking around Hinston?" "Was there something you needed, Miss Taylor?" "When they're all together, I need you watching him. Any woman shows up around him, you text me immediately." Scarlett agreed on the spot. After hanging up, she turned Simone's tone over in her head. 'Huh. Simone's got it bad for Miles?' she thought. Simone had buried that crush deep. For her to reach out to Scarlett today of all people, she had to be losing her mind. Scarlett was still smirking when Simone's photo dropped into her messages, a single line tacked underneath. [If this woman ever comes near him, you tell me the second it happens!] She tapped open the photo and got her first look at the woman. The woman wore a white dress, her long hair falling straight against smooth skin, her whole presence cool and untouchable. She was textbook first-love material. Anyone who could rattle Simone this hard had to mean something serious to Miles. 'High school sweetheart? The one that got away?' Scarlett wondered. It clicked then. Two years of working Shawn, and she'd never caught so much as a whisper about Miles dating anyone. She'd never even spotted another woman in his orbit. Every time Shawn brought him up, the line was the same. Nobody was good enough for him. Scarlett's nosy side perked right up, but she knew better than to pry with Simone. ***** The crew spent the day at the stables and called it around four. Shawn dropped Scarlett off at a downtown mall, transferred her some spending cash, and took off. When Shawn told her he wouldn't be back that night, Scarlett didn't even blink. There was no mystery there. Miles had obviously cleared him out of the way to make room for her house call. After killing some time wandering through the mall, she walked out with a three-dollar iced americano from Stellar Coffee and caught the bus over to Miles's place. Miles lived in a luxury high-rise smack in the middle of Hinston's financial district. Scarlett had to clear a security checkpoint and get her face scanned at the front desk before they'd even let her into the building. By the time she finished running the gauntlet, she was finally standing outside his front door. Two presses of the doorbell, and the door swung open. Miles stood in the entryway in a loose set of lounge clothes, hair still damp from a recent shower. She flashed him a quick smile and started to step inside, but he threw out a hand to block her. Scarlett glanced down. "What? Want me to leave my shoes out here?" Miles flicked his eyes toward the Stellar cup in her hand. "Don't bring that cheap-ass shit into my house." Scarlett stared at him, then drew in a slow breath. For the kind of money he was paying, she could choke down a little pride. She'd just treat Miles like another dipshit boss signing her paycheck. Plastering on a sweet smile, Scarlett set the nearly empty cup down on the floor outside the door, and Miles finally stepped aside to let her in. She helped herself to a pair of slippers from the rack by the entryway and slid them on. By that point, Miles had already settled onto the couch. He simply pointed toward the bathroom. "Go rinse your mouth out." Scarlett's brow shot up. "Excuse me?" Miles didn't bother looking at her. "I'm not interested in tasting three-dollar coffee on your tongue." A bitter laugh slipped out of her. The condescension in his voice lit a short fuse, and before she could rein herself in, she snapped. "Get over yourself, dude." Miles's face went arctic. "What did you just call me?" "Um, I mean, Daddy." Scarlett threw in the towel on the spot and bolted for the bathroom. When she came back out, Miles patted the cushion beside him. The scowl on his face hadn't budged an inch. She dropped into the seat next to him and plastered on her brightest fake smile. Miles cut straight to it. "Shawn doesn't give you money?" It was the only explanation his brain could land on for why she'd be drinking a three-dollar coffee. Scarlett broke into theatrical sobs and dabbed at the corners of her eyes for tears that weren't there. "I know, I'm so broke. That's why I've got you, honey. Slip me a little extra, yeah? Then I can start ordering 30-dollar lattes." A muscle ticked in Miles's jaw, and he yanked her down onto his lap. His eyes locked on hers, breath running heavy. "What did you just call me?" Scarlett nearly rolled her eyes. Miles had conveniently tuned out the part where she'd asked for extra cash. "Keep calling me that." Miles dragged his thumb slow across her bottom lip. "Make me satisfied tonight, and 150 grand is yours." Chapter 4 Should Ring A Bell Scarlett's eyes lit right up the moment Miles said "150 grand". But talk was cheap, and anything that fell out of a man's mouth while he was thinking with his dick was worth even less. She settled into his lap, palm sliding up his jaw. "Send the money first, and I'll make sure you get twice your money's worth." Miles let out a low laugh, fingers digging into her hips. "This how you negotiate with your husband too?" Scarlett breezed right past it. "He's nowhere near as generous as you are, Mr. Gilmore." Whatever ego button she'd pressed, it worked. Miles wired the money over before he so much as touched her again. ***** Miles was spent. Scarlett stretched out on the couch to catch her breath, then pushed herself up and shot him a sideways glance. What she saw made her pause. Miles sat hunched forward, one hand pressed against his stomach, his jaw locked tight. She stepped closer. "Mr. Gilmore?" Her instinct for reading people kicked in. "Stomach giving you trouble?" Miles didn't answer. He just nodded toward the drawer under the TV stand. "Grab the meds." Scarlett moved without a word, and even thought to pour him a glass of water on her way back. She crouched in front of him, popped a pill out of the blister pack, and lifted it to his lips. Miles took it without protest. Scarlett set the glass down. "You haven't put a thing in your stomach all day. Let me make you something to eat." Miles studied her for a beat, his mouth curling. "You really get a kick out of playing servant, don't you?" Scarlett shot the same cold smile right back at him. "Then starve. World'll have one less smartass in it." "What did you just call me?" "Smartass." "You're the fir—" "The first woman who's ever talked to you like this. Looks like I've officially got your attention," Scarlett cut in, finishing the sentence for him. "That's where you were headed, right?" She held out her open palm. "Since I'm so special, how about you wire over a little more?" Miles's stomach twisted again, and he honestly couldn't tell if it was the pain or her doing it. He'd never come across a woman this obsessed with money. She might as well print "gold digger" on a business card and hand it out. Funny enough, Scarlett with her claws out was a hell of a lot more bearable than Scarlett kissing his ass. Miles had been drowning in flattery since he was a kid, and he was sick of every flavor of it. She really was the first person ballsy enough to mouth off at him. Another wave of cramps hit, and his patience snapped. "Get out, now." Scarlett grabbed her clothes off the floor and pulled them on. Miles figured she was heading for the door. Instead, she marched straight into the kitchen. ***** Twenty minutes later, Scarlett hauled Miles into the dining room and pushed him down into a chair, where he came face-to-face with a steaming bowl of chicken noodle soup. "Saw you had some fresh noodles in the fridge, so I figured this'd do the trick," Scarlett said. "Noodles are easy on the stomach when it's acting up." Miles didn't move. She picked up a fork and held it out to him. "Come on. Eat." Once he took the fork from her hand, Scarlett walked over to the counter and grabbed her own bowl. Skipping dinner wasn't an option. There was no way she was going to suffer through hunger. Dropping into the seat across from him, Scarlett dug into her noodles with zero shame, the slurps loud and unapologetic, broken up by the occasional gulp of broth. It made a hell of a contrast to the slow, polished way Miles ate. His brow knit before he could stop it, and a thin layer of distaste settled into his eyes. "If Shawn ever caught you scarfing food down like that, he'd dump your ass in a second." Scarlett nodded along, perfectly cheerful. "Yeah, no kidding. That's exactly why he never sees this side of me." Miles huffed out a dry laugh. "But I get a front-row seat?" Something about it scraped at him the wrong way. She wasn't even bothering to put on a performance for him. 'What, am I worse than Shawn now?' he thought. She rolled the words around for a beat. "Wait. Are you actually jealous?" His mouth twisted. "Of you?" Scarlett brushed it off with a smile. Obviously this wasn't jealousy. This was textbook male ego, the kind that hated coming in second. His pedigree, his bank account, his face, every one of them outranked Shawn's by miles, and getting treated like the runner-up clearly didn't sit well. "I think you're just so down-to-earth and easygoing, Mr. Gilmore," she went on sweetly. "Not like those old-money snobs who look down their noses at people like me. That's the only reason I feel safe enough to just be myself around you." Miles's eyes narrowed to slits. "Watch your tone." She blinked at him, the picture of innocence. "Huh? What's wrong? Don't tell me you actually see yourself as one of those stuck-up, look-down-on-people types, Mr. Gilmore?" This time, Miles didn't take the bait. Working his way through the bowl at his own unhurried pace, he felt the ache in his stomach finally start to settle. He pulled a wet wipe out and cleaned off his mouth and hands. Then he looked up at her. "Whatever Shawn's paying you, I'll double it." Scarlett caught the subtext loud and clear and went still for a beat. The proposition caught her completely off guard. The idea of climbing into bed with Miles Gilmore had never once crossed her mind. Sure, she wanted the money, but messing around with a man from his world was a different kind of risk. If his family ever got wind of it, she could end up behind bars without so much as a hearing. Miles arched a brow. "What, not interested?" She kept her smile light and easy. "I wouldn't dare." A flat laugh slipped out of him. "Right. The only thing you're good for is being a hole for me to fuck." Ugly as the line was, it barely landed on Scarlett. She'd heard worse, more times than she could count. Fair was fair. As far as Scarlett was concerned, Miles was nothing more than a gorgeous fuck toy who paid out big and had the bedroom skills to match. ***** A few days after that night, Scarlett was back in Northgate. For the next two weeks plus, she didn't lay eyes on Miles or Shawn. Shawn was buried in some energy project out in the Northwest, traveling nonstop. With Shawn out of reach, her plan to get knocked up was on ice, and the cash had dried up right along with it. Scarlett was stewing over all of it when Miles got in touch. He fired over an address with zero preamble. She opened it up, and it read: [Morningside Manor, Northgate.] It was the top of the heap. Money alone wouldn't get one through the gate. She was still running the numbers on her asking price when Miles cut to the chase and rang. Scarlett picked up, and his voice came through low and clipped. "Across the street. Get in the car." Three minutes later, she was sliding into Miles's G-Wagon. The seatbelt had barely clicked when Miles drawled, "You're fast. What, running low on cash?" Scarlett leaned across the console, brushed a kiss against his cheek, then dropped her lips to his ear. "I've been missing you, Mr. Gilmore, missing the way you fuck me," she breathed. ***** That little tease in the car came with a price. The second they were through the door, Miles had her pinned, and he fucked her until she couldn't string two thoughts together. Miles hadn't known his sex drive ran this heavy until Scarlett came along. Before her, intimacy had never held much appeal. For reasons of his own, he'd steered clear of it on purpose. But one look at her, and something feral took the wheel. He hated the way that felt. ***** Wiped out from the sex, Scarlett dropped into bed, dragged the covers up over her head, and was out cold. Right as she started drifting off, she heard Miles pick up his phone. "Hey Shawn." Her ears perked up before she could stop them. "You need something?" Miles asked. Shawn went quiet for a beat on the other end. "You in for the night already?" "Not yet." He crossed to the bed, sat down on the edge, took in Scarlett curled up under the covers, and let out a quiet scoff. Then, with a wicked little smirk, he ripped the blanket off her body and dug his fingers right into the spot on her ribs where she was most ticklish. For Scarlett, that was a kill shot. She lost it. Two ugly, undignified bursts of laughter tore out of her before she could choke them back, and she smacked his hand twice, hard. She wanted to murder him on the spot. Miles didn't even get pissed. If anything, the corner of his mouth pulled into a slow, satisfied grin. The second Scarlett caught the wicked glint in his eyes, it hit her. She'd walked straight into his trap. Her jaw clenched so hard her teeth ached. On the other end of the line, Shawn had clearly picked up on the woman's voice and the kind of background noises that left nothing to the imagination. The silence dropped between them again. He let it stretch for a few long seconds before he finally got the words out. "Um, are you busy?" Miles answered with a low, lazy hum, then flipped the question right back on him. "That voice ought to sound familiar, don't you think?" Chapter 5 Staying with Me Scarlett's scalp prickled the second she heard Miles say that. The man was out of his goddamn mind. He just kept asking, like he was scared shitless Shawn wouldn't connect the dots and figure out it was her on the other end of that bed. While she was still grinding her teeth in silent fury, Miles yanked the blanket off her a second time. He tossed the phone onto the mattress, fisted his hands into her shoulders, and dragged his mouth down to her collarbone. ***** Once it was over, Scarlett rolled across the sheets a few times, every shitty thing Miles had just pulled clawing its way back to the surface. She usually kept her voice soft and controlled with Shawn. With Miles it was a completely different sound, raw and uncontained. Either way, there was still a real chance Shawn had caught something that gave her away. Her head pounded, and a hot, restless knot twisted up in her chest. Right on cue, Miles strolled out of the bathroom, fresh from his shower. He crossed to the edge of the bed, sat down, and gave her waist a quick, possessive pinch. The move was flippant, smug, and completely out of line, like gasoline on a fire. Scarlett snapped. She shot upright like a coiled spring and sank her teeth into the side of his throat, right over the artery. Skin split open under her bite. The hot, copper taste of blood hit the tip of her tongue almost instantly. Miles's face went dark. "Looks like I didn't fuck the attitude out of you hard enough last time." The words had barely cleared his mouth when a sharp slap landed across his cheek with a ringing crack. Scarlett just slapped his face, hard. A sharp ringing started up in his ears, and the whole side of his face burned hot. He stared at her for a few stunned seconds, then threw his head back and laughed, loud and unhinged, while his hand shot out and clamped down hard on her throat. Survival instinct took over. Scarlett stopped thinking and started fighting like an animal. First she lunged in and sank her teeth into his wrist. The second his grip slackened from the pain, she drove her foot up hard into his stomach. The moment Miles let go, she scrambled across the bed toward the far side. Miles grabbed her by both legs and yanked her back. His voice came out level, no anger in it. "Enough. What the hell set you off?" Scarlett shut her eyes. "Shawn never hung up earlier. You did that on purpose, didn't you?" "Yeah. So?" His calm didn't crack. "You seemed to be enjoying yourself plenty." Scarlett had no comeback. "You're that scared of him?" Miles raised an eyebrow. "He's my husband." Scarlett gritted her teeth. "He doesn't have to be." Scarlett went quiet. Miles flipped her onto her back and pinned her with his gaze. "I've got more money than Shawn." Scarlett got the message. But Miles was way out of her league, and she wasn't stupid enough to chase a man at his level. His family was a minefield she couldn't afford to step into. Even landing Shawn had been a stretch. "You actually think popping out a kid is gonna land you a seat at the Taylor table?" Miles pressed. Scarlett shook her head. "I know what their plan is. Take the baby, dump the mother." Miles's jaw tightened, his eyes going dark. "So you're trading your own kid for a payout." Scarlett didn't back down. "One baby, and I will never have to worry about money again. The math works for me." Miles let out a sharp, cold laugh. "Fucking idiot." Scarlett didn't bother arguing back. To people in his world, dignity came with a price tag. Of course they'd write her off as a fool. For her, though, that kind of money could change everything. It could save a lot of people. "Though," Miles murmured, his hand trailing down her stomach, "fucking you with him on the line? That was fun. Since you're staying with Shawn, we can keep playing this game." Scarlett's voice went cold. "If you're fine sharing me with another man, Mr. Gilmore, I'm fine too. Just keep the money coming." "Yeah? Then next time," Miles brought his mouth to her ear, "I want Shawn watching while you soak my cock and scream my name." Scarlett shoved him off. "You sick fuck." Miles smirked, full of contempt. "Thought money was the only thing you cared about?" ***** Meanwhile, at Taylor Manor... Shawn took in the shattered glass and wreckage spread across the floor, rubbed at the bridge of his nose, and signaled his staff to come clean it up. Shawn walked over to Simone and took hold of her arm. "Come on. Let's take this to the study." They retreated behind closed doors and sat down. Simone sucked in a sharp breath, her delicate features warping with disgust. "Who the hell is that little slut? She actually had the audacity to call him—" The pet name echoed back in her head, too humiliating to even repeat out loud. "How the hell did Miles end up touching trash like that?" "Who she is doesn't matter. He slept with her, end of story. It was just a fling." Shawn gave her shoulder a steady squeeze. "Trust me on Miles. The guy doesn't slum it. He doesn't lay a finger on anyone outside his own circle." He pointed to himself as the perfect example. "Outside girls are just for fun. That's the whole point. None of us are walking one down the aisle." Shawn's reasoning took some of the heat out of Simone, and her shoulders eased down a notch. She drew in a steadying breath. "Shawn, please. I need you to help me. I want to know every move Miles makes. I can't keep standing back and watching one woman after another get close to him. "The cheap little sluts he picks up, whatever, I can live with that. But what if Jane Grant comes back? I'm not going to sit here and watch him end up with somebody else." Shawn turned it over in his mind for a long beat, and a plan started clicking together. He gave a slow nod. "Get some rest. I'll set something up with him tomorrow and feel things out." ***** Scarlett ended up spending the night at Miles's place. When her eyes finally cracked open the next morning, his hand was still locked around her waist. She inched away, and he hauled her right back against him without missing a beat. She tried to wriggle free of his arm. "Let's settle up. I really need to get goi—" The words were barely out of her mouth before Miles pinned her down and bent to kiss her neck. 'God, the testosterone on this man. Where does he even get the energy?' Scarlett thought, rolling her eyes. A heartbeat later, his mouth moved down to her collarbone, and any thought of getting up went out the window. ***** Seven o'clock that evening, Scarlett walked into the Core Club on Shawn's arm to find the private room already half full. When she spotted Miles, the soreness in her lower back came roaring back to life. Miles didn't even glance her way. Yosef and one of their friends, Xavier Stimson, were parked on either side of him, and the three of them were mid-conversation. The whole get-together was a small one. Only a handful of names had made the invite list. Scarlett dropped into the seat right next to Shawn. Phone in hand, Miles slid back the empty chair beside her and moved to sit down. Yosef elbowed him. "Miles, watch where you're going, man!" Miles slid his gaze over to Scarlett and Shawn. "You mind?" "Course not." Shawn grinned. "Perfect timing, actually. I've got some work stuff I want to run by you." Miles grunted his acknowledgment and dropped into the seat right next to Scarlett. Scarlett poured water for each of them, just like she always did. Miles glanced at her, then hit Shawn with a question out of left field. "What's your wife do for work?" The question threw Shawn for a second, but he answered easily. "Nothing much. She just tags along and helps me out here and there." He used the opening to pivot. "Actually, perfect timing. I can't stay on the Westridge case. Want me to put someone under you to keep it moving?" Miles took a slow, deliberate sip of his water. "Sure. Have your wife stick with me, then." Scarlett's breath caught. Yosef and Xavier both whipped their heads around at the same time. Even Shawn blanked for a beat. "Huh?" Miles let an easy smile settle on his face. "Your wife knows how to wait on a man. I happen to need somebody around for exactly that." Yosef cracked up. "Yeah, no shit. Waiting on a man is 100 percent her wheelhouse." The laugh killed whatever suspicion had been brewing in Shawn's head. It made sense, too. Scarlett read a room well and knew how to take care of people. Playing personal assistant to Miles wasn't a stretch. Shawn clapped Scarlett on the shoulder. "Alright. You're sticking with Miles from here on out." Scarlett didn't say a word, but her stomach dropped clean through the floor. 'What's Shawn thinking? Is this some kind of test?' Chapter 6 A Mission Scarlett wisely kept her mouth shut. She needed to figure out what was actually going on first. But her silence dragged on too long, and Miles spoke up again. "If you're not into it, forget I asked. I don't make people do things they don't want to do." Scarlett almost choked on a laugh. 'Bro, what game are you running right now? You're literally the asshole who pulled out an audio recording and strong-armed me into your bed,' she thought. He was a master-class hypocrite. Anyone who knew Miles could read it off that one line. He was pissed. Shawn's eyes hardened, and he shot Scarlett a warning look. Scarlett didn't miss a beat. She turned to Miles and pulled out her sharpest professional smile. "Of course not! Getting to learn from you would be an honor, Mr. Gilmore. I was so flattered just now I couldn't get the words out." She extended a hand to him. "If you're really willing to take me on, Mr. Gilmore, I'm thrilled. I've actually been looking for a job lately, so I'll be counting on you to show me the ropes." Miles fixed her with a flat, unimpressed stare. Scarlett's hand hung in the dead air for a long 30 seconds before she finally gave up and pulled it back. Yosef snickered and leaned in toward Xavier. "Can you believe her? Trying to shake hands with Miles like she belongs in his world." Xavier shot Scarlett a quick glance and lowered his voice. "Knock it off." Yosef cocked a brow at him. "Even Shawn isn't saying anything. Why are you sticking up for her? Don't tell me she's gotten to you too." Xavier didn't dignify it with a response. ***** The white-knuckle little episode finally blew over. Scarlett had milked the airhead routine for all it was worth, and Miles finally let it go. Not long after, the waiter came around with their plates, and the conversation at the table drifted to other things. Scarlett sat off to the side, picking at her food in tiny bites, perfectly content to keep her mouth shut. Out of the corner of his eye, Miles caught the way she ate. She worked her way through a single piece of meat in seven or eight little nibbles, each one barely bigger than a grain of rice. His mind flashed back to the way she'd inhaled that bowl of noodles the other day, demolishing it like she hadn't eaten in a week. Miles let out a low, cynical laugh. She'd really pulled out every trick in the book to land Shawn, and the whole act was airtight from start to finish. Whatever Shawn told her to do, she did. Even on things she clearly wanted no part of, one look from him was enough to bring her to heel. After a few beats of small talk, Shawn turned to Miles. "Hey, by the way. How come you didn't bring your girlfriend along tonight?" "What?" Yosef sat up, blindsided. Xavier looked just as caught off guard, his fork pausing midair. "Miles, you're actually seeing someone?" Miles flicked another glance at Scarlett. She was dabbing at her lips, completely unbothered. 'Decent poker face.' He'd give her that. Under the table, his hand drifted over and settled high on her thigh. With every eye on him, he gave a small, easy shake of his head. Shawn's brow furrowed. "Then last night—" "Just a fling." Miles set his glass down. "Just scratching an itch. Nothing more." Shawn caught the dismissive note in his voice and exhaled, the tension sliding out of his shoulders. Exactly what he'd figured. Yosef and Xavier traded a glance. Neither one of them had anything to add to that. Scarlett's lips pressed flat before she could stop them, and her eyes flicked toward Shawn on pure reflex. Shawn's attention was zeroed in on Miles. "Yeah, makes sense. Ever since your family made you break things off with Jane, you haven't gone near another woman. I always figured you never really got over her." Miles raised an eyebrow. "Who's Jane?" Shawn nearly choked on his drink, his mouth working soundlessly for a beat. Yosef gaped at him. "Dude, your fucking ex-girlfriend!" "Oh. Right, her." Miles took a slow sip of his water. "And who exactly fed you the line that my family forced me to call it off?" Shawn blinked at him. "They didn't? Jane was—" "If I actually wanted to be with a woman, there's not a force on earth that could pry me away from her." Miles's voice stayed flat. "And for the record, I never once said I was dating her." Shawn and Xavier both stared at him, speechless. Yosef let out a low whistle and shook his head. "Holy shit, dude. You are a dog." Miles pushed back from the table. "I'm gonna go wash up." Scarlett watched him walk off and let out a long, slow breath. 'What a psychopath.' She knew Miles didn't give a single shit whether Shawn found out about the two of them. She also knew Shawn wouldn't actually fall out with her over Miles. If anything, he'd hand her over on a silver platter the second Miles asked. But the day Miles got bored with her, Shawn wouldn't let her walk, and Miles sure as hell wouldn't lift a finger to keep her safe. The thought alone made her temples throb. Juggling two men like that was way above her pay grade. Neither one of them was somebody she had any business poking at. 'Time to bail, I guess,' she told herself. ***** Dinner ended, and Scarlett headed back to the villa with Shawn. The second they stepped through the door, Shawn pulled her down onto the couch beside him and fixed her with a long, searching stare. She touched her cheek, suddenly self-conscious. "Honey, do I have something on my face?" Shawn shook his head. "You upset about me sending you off with Miles?" "I'm just stressed, that's all," Scarlett said. "What if I screw this up and tank your deal—" "You won't," Shawn said. "I trust you." She didn't know what to say. A few seconds dragged by before Shawn spoke again. "Truth is, I had another reason for putting you on him." "Yeah?" she asked. "Simone's got a thing for Miles. You already knew that, right?" Scarlett nodded. "I want you to keep an eye on things for her. If any suspicious women start sniffing around Miles, you bring it straight back to her." He ran a thumb along her cheek. "I know it's a pain, baby. I'll throw a little something extra your way for the trouble." The knot in Scarlett's chest finally loosened. So that was what this whole song and dance was about. Shawn wasn't testing her. He was turning her into Simone's pair of eyes. She tipped her chin up at him, playful all of a sudden. "Hmm. So what happens if I turn out to be one of those suspicious women?" A low laugh slipped out of Shawn at the look on her face, but his gaze went heavy, dropping to her mouth. He leaned in for the kiss. Their lips had barely grazed when his phone went off. His mother, Chloe Taylor, was on the other end. Whatever she needed had Shawn off the couch and out the door inside a minute. The front door clicked shut behind him, and Scarlett sagged back against the cushions with a long, shaky exhale. It was the first time in her life she'd been genuinely glad to hear Chloe's voice on a phone line. No way in hell she could fuck Shawn tonight. Her body was a goddamn map of bite marks and bruises, every last one of them put there by Miles. Bone-tired, she dragged herself into the shower and called it an early night. Out of habit, Scarlett pulled up her phone before bed and spotted a new message from a few minutes back. It was a video. The clip opened on an elderly woman in a thin care home gown, white hair pinned back from her face. She smiled into the camera. "Scarlett, sweetheart, work been keeping you busy? Don't you worry yourself about me, I'm doing just fine. You go focus on that job of yours, and you take care of yourself, you hear me?" The video cut out after barely a minute. Scarlett held her breath, squeezed her eyes shut, and sat frozen in the dark for what felt like forever. Then she tapped the voice-record key. "Grandma, work's been incredible, my boss just bumped me up again. "When I get vacation, I'm hopping on a plane home, and I'm bringing all your favorite snacks with me. Be good and wait for me, all right?" After hitting send, she lay there gripping her phone, eyes locked on the ceiling. A few tears slid sideways into her ears. She had no idea how long she'd been lying there when the phone buzzed again. Scarlett snatched it up, only to realize the new message wasn't a reply at all. It was from Miles. Miles: [You're coming with me on a business trip Monday. Don't let Shawn lay a finger on you.] Scarlett: [Pay up. 150K and I keep his hands off me.] The second Scarlett hit send, she realized how ridiculous she sounded. She had to be out of her mind, blurting out a number like that. Miles was going to tear into her again the moment he read it, no question. But before that mockery could land, her banking app pinged with a notification. [Miles Gilmore has transferred 300 thousand dollars to your account.] Right behind it came his next message. Miles: [Try playing me, and I'll fuck you right in front of him.] Just like that, every complicated feeling she'd been carrying vanished into thin air. And honestly, it made sense. Money was nothing to Miles. He wanted her body right now, and buying it was no different than picking something up off a shelf. If Miles kept playing this generous, then maybe she could milk it for everything it was worth while he was still hot for her. At 300 thousand dollars a round, a dozen of them would cover everything she needed. By then, Miles would be sick of her anyway, and they'd just drift apart. Miles and Shawn would stay tight, and everyone would walk away clean. She'd barely finished mapping it out when Miles's next message landed, like he could read her mind in real time. Miles: [Don't think for a second I don't know exactly what's going through your head.] Miles: [I can keep Shawn from finding out about us. But you keep those legs closed and your mouth shut around him. Don't let him in again. You're mine now.] The words were humiliating, but Scarlett didn't care, wasn't angry, and even felt a small wave of relief. Miles's possessiveness was the perfect lever to pry more money out of him. Scarlett's reply was the same as it always was: [Just pay me.] ***** Over in his bedroom, Miles read her reply and let out a sharp, humorless laugh. He'd taken his cruelest shot at her, and somehow all she'd zeroed in on was the goddamn money. 'What does she even need that kind of cash for?' he wondered. His mind went back to the bargain-bin coffee she always ordered. Someone that tight-fisted with her own money sure as hell wasn't blowing those big transfers on herself. A thought struck him, and his eyes narrowed. He pulled up Shawn's chat and fired off a message: [Send me everything you've got on your girl.] Chapter 7 Money Obsession Shawn opened the message and frowned on instinct. 'Miles asking for Scarlett's file? Was he onto something?' he wondered. After turning the question over in his head, he typed back: [Yeah, I'll get my assistant on her file. Why the sudden curiosity?] Miles: [What, scared I'm gonna poach her from you?] Miles: [Anyone I keep on my arm, I want on file.] Shawn smirked. He knew damn well Miles wasn't going to make a move on Scarlett. The man had zero patience for gold diggers like her. Miles was arrogant straight down to the bone, and frankly, he'd earned every ounce of it. The Taylor family carried serious weight in this town, and Simone had been throwing herself at Miles for years, yet he still couldn't be bothered to spare her a glance. A girl like Scarlett barely registered as a thing to a man like that. Shawn fired back, half-teasing: [Honestly, I'm more worried about her being dumb enough to seduce you.] Miles: [She wouldn't have the nerve.] Shawn: [She'll do anything for money. Trust me.] Miles: [She that broke?] Shawn: [Her family is.] Shawn: [I had her checked out top to bottom before I picked her to carry the baby for me and Gianna.] Once he'd taken Miles's temperature on the whole thing, Shawn forwarded the full file over. ***** Just as Miles had figured, Shawn had Scarlett dug up from every angle. The report went so deep it even covered what her parents did for a living back when they were in their twenties. Scarlett Lane, 26 years old, born in a small town outside Aurestus. She'd graduated from Northgate University with a bachelor's in Linguistics, with no work experience. Miles huffed a laugh. 'Knew it. The woman doesn't believe in honest work,' he thought. 'Why job-hunt when you can land a sugar daddy straight out of college?' He kept scrolling, and the family section came up next. The report listed three immediate relatives—a father, a mother, and one younger brother. Her parents were ordinary working folks, the kind who'd started out putting in shifts at a small-town factory before scraping together enough to run a little business of their own and pull in a modest income. Then her old man caught the gambling bug and burned through every dollar they had. To this day, he still spent most of his afternoons parked at a card table in the local gambling hall. The brother, Connor Lane, was nine years younger than her, currently a junior in high school. Apparently, he was a constant troublemaker. Skipping class and ducking out early were practically routine, and he'd done time for getting into fights. Miles's eyes lingered on that line, and out of nowhere, the words Scarlett had thrown at him that day in the stable came roaring back. "Deadbeat gambling dad, scheming mom who tried to pawn me off to some sleazy old creep, little shit of a brother who knocks me around for fun. Whole town whispering behind my back." At the time, Miles had figured she was just running her mouth, but it turned out every word had been the truth. No wonder Shawn had locked onto her as the woman to carry his and Gianna's baby. She was full of soft spots. Playing her was going to be cake. Miles rubbed his temples and reached for the next stack of papers. The documents in front of him covered every transaction across both bank cards in Scarlett's name over the past six months. One card was packed with big outgoing transfers, every cent of it spent in Aurestus. The other card showed nothing but small everyday purchases, almost all of them in Northgate. His eyes caught on a Stellar Coffee charge for three dollars, and her line from that night came roaring back. "Get over yourself." A second later, he hurled the documents down with a sharp crack and let out a cold laugh. "Goddamn idiot." Those two sets of bank records spelled the whole story out. Scarlett was out here whoring herself for cash, and almost every cent of it was going to keep the bloodsuckers back home fed. And honestly, that motivation didn't earn her any sympathy. If anything, it made her more of a joke than a straight-up gold digger. She couldn't hold back from cussing him out a few times right to his face, but the second she stepped through her own front door, she let those leeches bleed her dry. 'Spineless little fool,' he thought. ***** Scarlett finally managed to carve out enough time the next morning to slip away and grab a meal with Quinn. They met at a small restaurant near the university, going in off-peak so the place was empty aside from the staff. Once they'd climbed up to the second floor and dropped into a booth, Quinn cut straight to the chase and asked how the breeding plan was coming along. Scarlett popped a piece of fried chicken into her mouth and shook her head. Quinn raised an eyebrow. "What happened, did Shawn's dick suddenly stop working?" Scarlett damn near choked, grabbed her glass, and chased the food down with a long swallow. "Something came up." She took a second to figure out how to lay it out, then walked Quinn through the whole sordid mess she'd landed herself in with Miles. This time, it was Quinn's turn to be shocked. Pressing a napkin to her mouth, Quinn coughed for nearly two solid minutes before she could speak, still wide-eyed with disbelief. "Miles... as in, the Miles I'm thinking of?" Scarlett nodded. "Girl, you hit the goddamn jackpot!" Quinn leaned in across the table. "How's he treating you?" Scarlett didn't quite know how to answer that one. Good or bad didn't really matter to her. What mattered was the cash. "The money's serious." Across the table, she tilted her phone screen toward Quinn to flash the transfer that had come through the night before. Quinn's eyebrows shot up. "So I'm thinking I want to change the plan," Scarlett said. Quinn smirked. "What, switching gears to reel in the Gilmore guy instead?" "Nope." Scarlett shook her head. "I just want to keep things exactly the way they are right now." "And Miles is on board with that?" "As long as Shawn keeps his hands off me." Quinn snorted. "And how the hell is that going to work? You don't get to decide what Shawn does." "No, but Miles does."