Chapter 1

To get my revenge on the phony heiress, I take the one thing she wants most: Edward Sterling, the man she has been secretly in love with for years. And I make him my plaything.

Every time she pulls one of her stunts, I will make him pay for it twice over.

His bloodshot glares are my favorite kind of foreplay. The angrier he gets, the more I want to pin him down again and again, consuming him until there is absolutely nothing left.

But one day, right in the middle of our twisted little game, a string of blindingly bright comments flashes in front of my eyes.

[Keep it up, side chick. You're just digging your own grave.]

[Edward is the lost heir of the Sterling family, the most powerful family in Silverthorne. The day he goes home is the day you'll wish you were never born.]

My heart hammers against my ribs. I stumble, collapsing right on top of him.

A muffled groan escapes him, and his eyes, blazing with fury, locks onto mine.

Panic seizes me. I scramble for my clothes, yanking them on as I bolt from the room without a backward glance, leaving him tangled in the sheets and my mess.

Years later, I am back in the country for an arranged marriage when he corners me, with his stunning features hardened into a cold glare.

There is a flicker of something dark and dangerous in his gaze as he hisses, gritting his teeth, "Tired of your toy, so you just ran off? We'll see how far you get this time."

*****

I was lounging against the headboard, idly tracing the roadmap of red marks I had left on Edward Sterling's skin. A satisfied smile played on my lips. He was my own private masterpiece of bruises and bites.

I leaned in, my lips ghosting over the shell of his ear. "What do you think Charlotte Grant would do," I whispered, "if she knew the man she worships from afar has already been completely and utterly ruined by me?"

I let the last words hang in the air with a venomous caress.

His eyes squeezed shut, humiliated, his long lashes trembling.

I wasn't annoyed. In fact, his shame was an aphrodisiac.

My fingers trailed from his collarbone, down the tense, sculpted planes of his chest, stopping to tap a hard line of his abs. "God, I'd love for Charlotte to see you like this. So perfectly obedient."

"Isn't this enough for you?" he snapped, his eyes flying open. They were bloodshot and raw with a mix of fury and humiliation. "Olivia Grant, I'm warning you. Don't push it."

That look sent a jolt of heat straight through me. My grin turned wicked. I leaned down and sank my teeth into the side of his neck, leaving a deep mark. "You were being bad," I murmured against his skin. "That's your punishment."

I licked my lips, savoring the way his brows knotted in pain.

But a second later, something in his eyes shifted. The anger was still there, but it was buried under something darker, something I couldn't read.

Just as I was about to do something more drastic to get his attention back, the air in front of me shimmered and a series of comments popped into view.

[Damn, I'm so jealous. I can't believe even the side character scored big time.]

[Jealous of what? The girl is literally speed-running her own demise.]

[For real. She has no idea the guy she's messing with is the lost heir of the Sterling family, the most powerful family in Silverthorne. The second he gets his memory and power back, she's toast.]

My knees gave out, and I fell right on top of him.

Edward grunted in pain, his face contorting as he glared at me, hissing through clenched teeth, "What the hell are you doing now?"

I glanced down at his wickedly handsome face and looked up at the stream of comments hovering in front of my eyes.

Maybe I had only gotten with Edward to piss off Charlotte, but I wasn't blind. The guy was totally my type.

With sharp features and cold pride, he looked beautifully broken, even in anger.

But none of that was worth my life.

Ignoring the fire in his eyes, I snatched a dress shirt from the floor and tossed it over his face. In the split second he took to shove it off, I had my clothes on and was halfway out the door.

Wind from the open hallway window whipped my hair across my face.

Behind me, I thought I heard a choked, furious voice call my name. "Olivia!"

It really is a small world.

I had just gotten out of my last class, backpack on and dreaming of a victory meal at the cafeteria, when I ran straight into Edward and Charlotte.

They were walking together, laughing about something, the afternoon sun catching them in a golden haze. They looked like a picture-perfect couple.

Then his eyes met mine. The warmth on his handsome face instantly froze over, and his gaze turned so cold that I felt it in my bones.

I just arched an eyebrow, unimpressed.