The pen feels like ice in my trembling fingers. Across the mahogany desk, Dominic Ashford watches me with those storm-gray eyes that have haunted my dreams since I was sixteen. My brother's best friend. The man I was never supposed to want. "Sign it, Isla." His voice is velvet over steel. "Or your father loses everything by morning." The contract sits between us like a living thing. Six months as his contracted fiancée. Public appearances. Private obedience. No questions asked. My father's gambling debts flash through my mind. The foreclosure notice. My mother's tears. I press the pen to paper. "There's one more clause," Dominic says, sliding another page across the desk. "You'll live in my penthouse. Starting tonight." My hand freezes. "That wasn't part of—" "It is now." He leans forward, and I catch his scent—cedar and something darker. "Your brother can never know the real reason you're with me. As far as Kieran's concerned, we fell in love." The lie tastes bitter already. But I sign anyway. Dominic's lips curve into something that isn't quite a smile. He takes the contract, his fingers brushing mine, and electricity shoots up my arm. "Welcome to your new life, Isla Monroe." I've just sold myself to the devil. And the worst part? Some twisted piece of me wanted this. ---