Chapter 1

I downed a drink and my body started burning up. Someone must have drugged me.

I stumbled around looking for my boyfriend Ethan Smith, but at the bar I overheard his conversation with someone else.

"I don't believe in 'well-matched families'—I only believe in myself. Yara, I swear I'll make you the future Mrs. Smith."

"As for Lila, after tonight, videos of her acting like a slut will spread all over the internet. From then on, I'll have her wrapped around my finger."

Everything went black. This was the man I'd loved for three years.

With nowhere else to turn, I shakily dialed my uncle Lucas Brown's number.

"Lucas, I've been drugged. I feel terrible..."

There was a moment of silence on the other end, then his deep, magnetic voice came through.

"Send me your location... Stay where you are. I'm coming to get you."

Under the dizzying lights, I was roughly shoved onto a soft couch.

My head was spinning, my mouth was dry.

It felt like a wildfire burning inside my body.

Without thinking, I started tearing at the neckline of my dress, desperate for a breeze to cool my burning skin.

I longed to press against someone's cool skin to ease this unbearable heat.

"Well, well, little slut, can't wait anymore?"

"I'll take care of you right now..."

A stranger's voice exploded in my ear, instantly shocking me back to my senses.

Something was wrong.

I'd been drugged!

Today was my twentieth birthday—who would want to destroy me like this?!

A strange man pressed down on me, shamelessly tearing at my dress.

I bit my lip hard until I tasted blood, which brought me a moment of clarity.

Grabbing a bottle opener from the table, I used all my strength to smash it against his forehead!

A muffled groan.

The man clutched his head as blood seeped through his fingers.

I shoved him away and fled, clutching my torn dress.

Call the police? No—in my current state, they'd just think I was some girl whose hookup got out of hand. I'd never be able to explain.

Go home? Even worse. It would only make my parents worry and break down.

The drug's effects were getting stronger. I steadied myself against the wall and staggered out of the bar.

The cold air made me shiver, but the fire inside me burned even fiercer.

Right now, I had only one option.

My uncle Lucas, who'd just returned from a mission.

Lucas's place wasn't far from here.

He was Dad's closest comrade-in-arms, ten years older than me.

But... he'd just returned from an overseas mission. We hadn't seen each other in almost a year.

And he was such a disciplined man, filled with that steely military bearing.

If he saw me like this...

Behind me, Ethan's cursing and footsteps faintly approached.

He'd figured out my intentions from the private room.

"Think you can run? Yara, quick, don't let her get away! The phone's still recording!"

Yara—the girl I'd always thought was my best friend—sounded thrilled.

I couldn't worry about anything else. Gritting my teeth, I plunged into the night.

With trembling hands, I pressed the doorbell.

Almost instantly, the door opened.

His unique scent hit me—clean and crisp like a pine forest after snow.

I stood at the door, nervously watching the tall, imposing figure before me.

After a year, Lucas's features were even sharper than I remembered, devastatingly handsome with an aggressive edge. High nose bridge, thin lips pressed tight.

The moment our eyes met, I couldn't help but shudder.

My blood ignited like gasoline, exploding with a rush. A tingling itch seeped through my entire body.

Every inch of me felt like it was being gnawed by ants.

I clutched at my damaged dress in agony. When I spoke, my voice was so soft it could drip water: "Lucas, I feel terrible, so hot..."

Lucas, usually cold as an iceberg, stared at me intently. His dark pupils reflected my current disheveled state.

Flushed face, misty eyes, clothes in disarray.

Utterly... debauched.

The door slammed shut.

He pulled me into the room with one motion.

The instant our skin touched, the cool sensation of his arm made me release a satisfied sigh.

My strength drained away as I hung onto him.

Instinctively, I nuzzled against him, desperately seeking that precious coolness.

Outside the door, I heard Ethan's pursuit: "Strange, where is she? I just saw her run into this building!"

Lucas held me with one arm while picking up his phone with the other, his voice cold as ice: "Hello, police? Someone's causing a disturbance in the military family residential area."

Up close, I could hear the suppressed tremor in his throat.

After a few sentences, he hung up.

Soon, sirens sounded below, and Ethan's voice disappeared.

The danger had passed.

But I was still in Lucas's arms, clutching the front of his combat uniform, burrowing into his embrace.

Greedily absorbing his coolness.

His toned waist from years of training held a fatal attraction.

And lower...

A suppressed groan.

My hand was firmly pressed down by his burning palm.