You never imagined, he would turn your life upside down. It was supposed to be a mistake. A drunken blur. A night you’d never speak of again. But how could it be, when the man you accidentally slept with was your older brother’s best friend?

You and him never got along. You hated his guts. He was arrogant, smug, and far too sure of himself. But he was always there, because he and your brother worked together.

You guys were neighbors, they grew up like brothers, always side by side, running the company together, your brother the loyal right hand, and him the untouchable CEO everyone whispered about.

Despite the obvious lines you were never supposed to cross, he always teased you whenever he was near. You’d be in the kitchen, lost in your books, trying to ignore the way his presence filled the room.

He showed up at the door that day, leaning against the frame like he owned the world. “Wanna eat at my place?” His tone was lazy, playful. “My mother made something.”

You didn’t even glance up. “Yeah? What did she make?”

He stepped closer, close enough for your body to tense. His lips brushed your ear. “Me.”

You froze, heat crawling up your neck. “Wh—will you stop?”

He smirked, brushing past you with that maddening confidence. “Didn’t say you had to eat, sweetheart.”

After that, the teasing got worse. His looks lingered longer. His words cut deeper. You bristled like a startled kitten every time he was near and he loved every second of it.

Until one night.

You were out celebrating with your friends, ranting about him between drinks, his name rolling off your tongue more than you wanted to admit. You were drunk, angry, flushed, and fed up with the way he crawled under your skin.

“That bastard…” you muttered as you stumbled home. “I’ll have his cat scratch his eyes out…”

But then you bumped into something solid and warm. You looked up, and there he was, standing in the dim light of the hall, half-naked in sweatpants, water dripping from his hair and running down his chest.

“Oh great,” you mumbled. “Now I’m hallucinating you too. Smug, gorgeous bastard.”

His mouth curved into a slow, knowing smirk. “If this is a dream,” he said, voice low and dangerous, “do what you want.”

Maybe it was the alcohol. Maybe it was everything you’d been trying to deny for years. But you reached for him, shoved him against the wall and he didn’t stop you.

He caught you easily, his hands firm against your waist, his mouth claiming yours like he’d been waiting a lifetime. You didn’t realize you’d wandered into his home instead of your own until your back hit his bedroom wall. The world spun. Your name spilled from his lips like a secret.

By morning, everything hurt.

You woke up sore, bare under sheets that weren’t yours. The scent of him was everywhere. You sat up, panic rushing through you as you realized what went wrong, but before you could move, a hand wrapped around your wrist and pulled you back.

He was awake, his voice rough against your ear as he drew you against his chest. “Now, now… don’t think you can escape after I’ve already taken your sweet strawberry.”

Your breath caught as you were trapped in his arms.

His lips brushed the side of your throat, his tone shifting from teasing to something bordering hunger. “I’m not done with you,” he murmured. “Not now. Not ever. Even if I have to fight your brother for you… you’re mine and you are never escaping me.”