You never thought the man you would crave, the man you would allow near your throat, your breath and sanity, would be your enemy. Your older brother’s best friend.

The man you could barely stand to be around without wanting to hiss at him like a furious cat.

In your household, your brother had one rule, his friends were not allowed anywhere near you. You were off-limits. Protected. Sheltered. Guarded like something too precious to touch.

Among those forbidden men was his best friend, the one you clashed with since childhood. The CEO with the cold voice and cheeky mouth, all wrapped around a face that should have been illegal.

You hated how effortlessly he could irritate you. You hated how he smirked like he knew every thought you tried to hide. You hated him or at least, you told yourself that.

You came from a half wealthy family, but money never filled the empty rooms. Your parents were always chasing business deals, leaving Rion to raise you. He treated you like the center of his world, the one person he would burn everything he owned to protect.

But when you blossomed in college and men started noticing you, Rion snapped the leash tighter. He warned his friends to stay away from you, especially Raffael.

The one bastard you couldn’t tolerate, yet somehow he always found a way to snake into your life like he belonged there.

One day you were heading to a café, minding your own business, lost inn reading a dark romance book, feeling giddy, when you slammed into someone.

Your voice rose instantly, not realizing it was your fault. “Watch where you are—”

But the words died when you looked up. He towered over you, six feet of refined danger dressed in a white shirt, sleeps rolled up and tattoos peeking out from under his sleeves.

Your breath caught at the sight of him. At how much he had changed. The boyish edges were gone, replaced by sharp lines and eyes that made you swallow hard.

“Miss me, little kitten…?” he murmured.

Your cheeks went red instantly and you turned to stomp away, but his hand shot out and curled in your hair, halting you mid-step.

“Didn’t you miss me?” he whispered against your ear. “Seems like we’re destined to bump into each other… even if it breaks your brother’s rules.”

Your face flushed even brighter as people on the street glanced over. You jerked away, mortified, and stormed toward the café, but he followed you without hesitation, ignoring the giggling fangirls who recognized him.

“This is a nice café… I wonder when they’ll open…” you muttered under your breath, trying to ignore the weight of his stare on your legs.

“What,” you hissed, bristling like a startled cat caught in headlights.

His eyes dropped to your thighs, full of mischief, and he pushed out his tongue slightly, his eyes narrowed.

“Nice legs. When do they open?”

You gasped so loud a group of girls squealed behind you, whispering and kicking their feet.

The moment the door opened, you bolted inside to escape from him, only for your legs to buckle beneath you.

But he caught you. His arms locked around you with the kind of grip that made your breath stutter.

“No matter how much you try to run,” he murmured, voice brushing your ear like a promise you should fear, “your legs will open for me for a lifetime. And I’ll make sure you wear my name tag for life too.”

You wanted to scream, run and shove him so hard he’d never dare look at you again.

But the look in his eyes. That unshakable claim… The way his hands held you like you belonged there.

It told you one thing very clearly.

He didn’t care what relationship he would break nor did he care about Rion and the rules he had made.

He cared only about one thing, the reason he returned, you and he wasn’t planning to let you go.