The silence that followed Xander's words was deafening.
Daisy sat up slowly, the sheet slipping down her chest. The air was thick with steam and questions, unspoken truths curling in the corners of the room like smoke from a fire neither of them dared extinguish.
"Then show me," she said, her voice low but firm.
Xander's grip tightened around the flash drive.
He was naked, water still dripping from his hair. The man was carved from power and danger but at that moment, he looked hesitant.
"This changes everything," he warned.
Daisy's eyes didn't flinch. "So did the contract. So did your hands on my body. So did the file."
He studied her like she was both his salvation and his undoing.
And then he walked over to the TV, plugged the flash drive into the port, and turned the screen on.
THE VIDEO
It flickered to life a grainy surveillance video from six months ago.
A man in a tailored gray suit sat across a dark conference table.
Not Xander.
It was Dominic West, Xander's older half-brother and COO of RavenCore International.
Daisy leaned in.
Beside Dominic was a woman, sharp cheekbones, red lips, and cold eyes that screamed manipulation.
Victoria.
Xander's ex.
She felt her stomach clench.
Then the sound kicked in.
"We'll pin it on Xander. He's too obsessed with the girl to see it coming," Dominic was saying.
Victoria laughed softly. "Terminate her father. Frame Xander. Break her down and she'll do anything you want."
Daisy's hand flew to her mouth.
Xander turned to her slowly. "I found that file because I was looking into them. I didn't know your father's name would be there until it was too late."
BETRAYAL AND BLAME
Tears blurred her eyes. "Why didn't you tell me this the moment I saw the file?"
"Because you looked at me like I was the monster," he said quietly. "And a part of me wondered if I was."
She turned her face away. "They used me."
"They tried to. And now I'm using them back."
Daisy stood, the sheet falling completely. She was fully exposed, but she didn't care. Her heart ached with rage and betrayal, not modesty.
"I let you touch me while they were plotting to destroy my family."
He stepped closer, jaw clenched. "You came to me."
"I didn't know!"
"No," he cut in. "You didn't. But you still came. And that means something."
THE BOND
She stared up at him.
There was fury in her veins but also fire.
The kind that only ignited in his presence.
The kind that blurred love and lust until they became indistinguishable.
"Stop looking at me like that," she whispered.
"Like what?"
"Like you own me."
He didn't answer with words.
He backed her into the wall, his hands gripping her hips, mouth descending like a storm.
Daisy didn't resist.
She opened for him like a wound and he kissed her like a promise.
THE MIRROR FANTASY
Xander turned her around to face the large full-length mirror near the bed.
"Look," he whispered, brushing her hair to the side. "Look at what I do to you."
Her reflection moaned as his hand slipped between her thighs.
She watched, trembling, her hands flat on the mirror, his body pressed behind her, hard and hot.
"You're mine," he growled against her neck. "Even if you fight it. Even if you hate me."
He slid into her slowly, and she gasped watching her face twist in helpless pleasure.
Watching him take her like he was writing his name on her soul.
And she let him.
Again and again.
Until she couldn't remember if she loved him or loathed him or why it mattered.
Later, they lay breathless on the bed, her back to his chest, his hand resting protectively on her stomach.
"I want justice," she murmured.
"You'll get it," he said.
"How?"
He reached for his phone, unlocking it.
"I'm giving you access to everything emails, documents, encrypted files. I'm done protecting them."
Daisy turned to face him.
"You'd go to war with your own family for me?"
"No," he said with a wry smile. "I'd go to war for us."
Just as she was about to speak, his phone buzzed again.
A message popped up.
Dominic: She knows. Handle it. Or I will.
Xander's entire body stiffened.
Daisy read it too.
And for the first time since their contract began she felt real fear.