***---Harper---***
I woke up in a strange bed, in a strange room, with a very strange problem sprawled across me.
Garret Bannen.
CEO of Bannen Media. Boss of bosses. Axiom in the flesh. And currently, human octopus.
His arm was locked across my waist, his leg hooked over mine, his face buried in my shoulder like I was a security blanket and he couldn't live without it.
For one bleary second, I thought maybe I'd dreamed it. The club. The contract. The car. The elevator wall. The bath.
But then I shifted, felt the soreness in my thighs, and yeah. Not a dream.
I flushed, heat crawling under my skin. What the fuck did I do?
I took a shaky breath. Monday.
Monday meant work. Which meant I was already screwed before I even got out of bed.
"Fuck!" I whispered, trying to wiggle out from under him. He grunted in his sleep and pulled me tighter, like a damn boa constrictor in silk sheets.
"Nope, dammit Garret. Why the hell are you so fucking strong?!" I hissed, twisting sideways until I finally slipped free. My bare feet hit carpet that felt more expensive than my entire paycheck. My coat was tossed over a chair. I spotted the glint of my phone beneath it and scooped it up.
The screen lit. My stomach dropped.
Forty-two missed texts.
Almost all from Chloe.
I scrolled.
WHERE ARE YOU.
Answer your damn phone or I'm calling your mom.
I WENT TO YOUR APARTMENT.
Bed was empty. Couch was empty. Where the fuck are you, Harper?
I went back this morning and you still weren't there.
I'm making missing person flyers.
I will put your face on a milk carton.
Panic laced through every message. She'd been to my place last night and again this morning. Which meant I'd been gone a single day and already triggered Defcon-1 Best Friend Mode.
Sprinkled between Chloe's rants were Nadia's calmer texts.
Please answer. Chloe is about to hack Homeland Security.
And one from Paula in HR.
About time you used your vacation. Two weeks starting today. Enjoy Cabo!
"Cabo?" I muttered. I could barely afford gas, much less an actual vacation with a real international destination. Didn't these people know the rent was too damn high?
Heart racing, I slipped into the ensuite bathroom and hit Chloe's number.
She picked up on the first ring. "WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU?"
I winced. "Good morning to you too."
"Don't you dare joke with me, Harper Lane. I went to your place last night and you weren't there. I went back this morning, still nothing. Your phone was off. Do you know how close I was to calling your mom and the cops? Then HR tells me you're in Cabo? CABO?"
"Chloe…"
"No! I thought you'd been abducted by a cult or shoved in a trunk. Do you know what it's like to think your best friend has been murdered by some Tinder creep?"
"Chloe, I'm fine."
"You're fine?" Her voice broke. "I've aged ten years in twenty-four hours, Harper. Nadia has had to physically hold me down so I didn't start hacking into traffic cameras to find you. If you don't explain yourself right now, I'm driving to Cabo myself!"
I closed my eyes, bracing. "Okay. Sit down for this."
"Oh God, you joined a cult." She groaned.
"No." I blurted. "It's Garret. Axiom is Garret."
Dead silence.
"Chloe?"
Nothing. Just faint tapping in the background.
Suspicion crawled up my spine. "What are you doing?"
"Drafting a very polite email to your CEO," she said finally, voice frighteningly calm. "Nadia and I will be stopping by later for a wellness check. Possibly with baked goods. Definitely with knives."
"Chloe, dammit…"
"Don't Chloe me. You've been missing for a day, Harper. HR thinks you're sipping margaritas in Cabo. And now you're telling me you've been screwing your billionaire boss in secret?!"
I swallowed hard. "Not…not just screwing. I signed a contract."
Another long beat of silence.
"You signed a what now?"
I winced. "A contract. At Velour. With him."
"You signed a sex contract with your boss?" Her voice pitched into hysterical territory. "Do you even hear yourself?! This isn't a fucking Hallmark movie, Harper, that's literally the plot of a Lifetime special!"
I groaned. "It's not…"
"It IS!" She snapped. "You signed your life away to Mr. Billionaire Control Issues. He's going to lock you in a glass tower and feed you grapes while you forget how to speak English. Do you want me to start writing your obituary now or later?"
"Chloe, I'm okay. I swear. It's…complicated."
"I bet it is. Nadia's about to faint. We're still coming over later, so if your CEO has a dungeon we're finding it."
"Chloe…"
She hung up.
I stared at my phone, resigned to the fact that my best friends were about to storm the castle.
When I padded back into the bedroom, Garret was awake. He was sprawled on his back, sheets pooled indecently low, phone in hand. His hair was a mess, his chest bare, his body golden in the morning light.
He squinted at his phone, then laughed.
"Your friends are persistent," He chuckled, voice rough with sleep. "Listen to this…'Dear Mr. Bannen, in light of Harper Lane's sudden and suspicious absence, we find ourselves compelled to check in on her well-being. Expect us this afternoon. Sincerely, Chloe and Nadia.'"
He set his phone aside, smug as hell. "A wellness check. Cute."
"Kill me now." I muttered.
He stretched, sheets sliding lower, revealing more of that ridiculous body. My brain short-circuited.
My thighs slicked as I thought of the many different surfaces he'd fucked me on last night. All in the name of being his. Heat flamed across my cheeks and suddenly I was nervous.
I threw him a glance and sighed. Why was I getting so worked up. We fucked. Several times. But still.
This man was my boss. My literal boss. Also…
"Why am I in Cabo?" I asked.