The Night Before I Knew Him

I let a stranger destroy me in a hotel room.

Two days later, I walked into my internship and found him sitting behind the CEO's desk.

Now I fetch coffee for the man who made me moan, and he acts like I’m the one who crossed a line.

***

It started with a dare. It ended with the one man she should never want.

June Alexander didn’t plan to sleep with a stranger. But on the night she celebrates landing her dream internship, a wild dare leads her into the arms of a mysterious man. He’s intense, quiet, and unforgettable.

She thought she’d never see him again.

Until she walks into her first day at work—

And finds out he’s her new boss.

The CEO.

Now June has to work under the man she shared one reckless night with. Hermes Grande is powerful, cold, and completely off-limits. But the tension between them won’t go away.

The closer they get, the harder it becomes to keep her heart and their secrets safe.

The Dare

June

There’s something about cheap tequila and half a degree of confidence that makes me think I can get away with anything.

"Okay, June, your turn." Leila waves her phone in my face. "Truth or dare?"

I lean back against the velvet bar booth, head buzzing from the last round of drinks. We’re four girls deep into celebration, lipstick smudged, heels lost, and so drunk. So so drunk.

"I pick dare," I say, because of course I do.

Leila’s eyes light up. "See that guy at the bar? The one in the dark gray suit, second stool from the end?"

I glance — and almost regret it.

Second stool from the end. Jacket undone, tie missing, shirt collar open just enough to see a sliver of chest. He’s got one hand wrapped around a tumbler of something dark, the other twitching on his knee like he’s trying to hold still. But his stillness is loud. Charged. Like a switch waiting to flip.

"Are you trying to get me killed?" I ask, my brows furrowing.

Leila snorts. “He’s hot. And definitely older. You said you wanted to be bold tonight."

"I also said I wanted to survive the night."

"It’s just a number, June. Not a marriage proposal." Kayla laughs, reapplying her lipstick.

I glance again.

His face is unreadable. Sharp jaw, cold mouth, eyes that don’t seem to be focused on anything at all. There’s something coiled in him, something fierce. Or maybe something barely held back.

Still, I can’t run away from a challenge. Especially not on a night like this, when I’ve just landed an internship at the biggest business enterprise in Las Vegas. When I feel electric and drunk and slightly untouchable.

"Fine," I agree, standing. "But if he arrests me with his eyes, you better post bail."

I walk up slowly, pretending my legs don’t feel like jelly and my stomach isn’t turning somersaults.

I slide into the seat next to him like