THE LIES BETWEEN US

His mouth claimed mine, fierce and unrelenting, stealing the breath from my lungs. My palms slammed against his chest, but instead of pushing him away, I found myself clutching at the hard lines of muscle beneath his shirt. “You taste like sin,” he murmured against my lips before dragging his mouth down the curve of my throat. “Damien—” “Look at you, trembling for a man you swore you hated.” His fingers traced higher, stroking where I ached most, and I gasped, nails digging into his shoulders. “Say my name again. Say it like you need me” Heat pooled low in my belly, my protest tangled with a moan. His fingers teased the hem of my silk slip, pushing higher until his hand found bare skin. I shook my head, the word caught in my throat as he pressed harder, drawing a desperate whimper from me. I shouldn’t crave him. I hated him. Our engagement wasn’t real,nothing but a transaction, a lie born of blackmail and secrets… And still, when his lips crashed against mine, my body betrayed me with the one truth I could never speak aloud. I wanted him. ***** Damien Moretti doesn’t believe in marriage. Not for love. Not for convenience. But when a buried family secret puts everything his family built at risk, he’s forced to say yes to one thing he swore he never would: An arranged marriage. Brielle Lancaster is his last resort. The polished, proud daughter of the man holding the blackmail. He doesn’t want her. He doesn’t trust her. And yet, the longer she’s in his home, the more dangerous she becomes.. not to his empire, but to his control. Because falling for her was never part of the plan. But now that he’s started... he doesn’t know how to stop. Brielle Lancaster has played her role for twenty-four years .. the perfect daughter, the quiet writer, the good girl. But when she’s forced into an engagement with the cold, calculating Damien Moretti, everything unravels. She doesn’t want the penthouse. She doesn’t want the title. And she certainly doesn’t want the man who looks at her like she’s a complication. But behind his walls, she sees cracks. And beneath the surface, she finds a man fighting demons no one else sees. She wasn’t supposed to care. But now she does. And she’s not sure if it will save her or destroy them both.