Chapter 4

Kash lifted her without breaking the kiss, carrying her down the hallway. He kicked open a door and threw her onto the massive bed.

The mattress dipped under her weight. Before she could catch her breath, he was over her, his heavy body pinning her down. He yanked at her jacket, pulling it off her shoulders, his hands rough and impatient.

His mouth moved down her neck, hot and demanding. Davina's body betrayed her, a traitorous heat pooling in her stomach. Her back arched off the bed, her fingers digging into the sheets.

It was too much. It was too fast.

Daisy's face flashed in her mind. Pale. Fragile. Waiting.

"Kash, wait." She grabbed his wrist, her fingers tight around his tendons. "Stop."

He froze, his breath coming in heavy pants. His eyes, dark with desire, narrowed in frustration. "What now?"

She swallowed, the lump in her throat painful. She forced the words out, her voice barely a whisper. "I need an advance. Fifty thousand dollars."

The change was instant. The heat in his eyes vanished, replaced by a cold fury that made her flinch. He pulled back, staring at her like she was something filthy.

"Fifty thousand?" he repeated, his voice low and deadly. "Now? While we're in bed?"

"It's for Daisy," she pleaded, sitting up and clutching her shirt closed. "Her surgery."

"Don't," Kash snarled, cutting her off. He scrambled off the bed, putting distance between them as if she were contagious. "Don't feed me that bullshit."

"It's the truth!" Davina cried out, tears streaming down her face. "The hospital called this morning. She needs the money by three."

"I said shut up!" he roared. He paced the room, his hands clenching into fists. "You planned this. You waited until I was vulnerable to extort me."

"No, I didn't."

"You're worse than I thought." He stopped pacing, his chest heaving. He looked at her with pure disgust. "Using sex as a weapon. Using a sick kid as a prop. You make me sick."

He stalked over to the nightstand, yanking open a drawer. He pulled out his wallet, flipping it open.

He pulled out a sleek black credit card. He walked back to the bed and hurled it at her.

The card struck her cheek with a sharp sting before falling onto the blanket. The humiliation of the act was worse than any physical pain. She gasped, her hand flying to her face, feeling the heat of the welt rising on her skin.

"Take it," Kash said, his voice devoid of any emotion. "Take the money and get out."

Davina stared at him through a blur of tears. The man she had forced herself to touch, to kiss, was looking at her like she was a cockroach he wanted to crush.

"Kash, please listen to me."

"Get out!" he shouted, pointing at the door. "Before I call security and have you thrown out."

He turned his back on her, walking over to the window. He stared out at the city, his shoulders rigid.

Davina sat on the bed, her body numb. The card lay on the blanket, resting near her trembling fingers. She picked it up, her fingers closing around the hard plastic.

It was done. She had the money. Daisy would live.

But the cost was a piece of her soul.

She buttoned her shirt with shaking hands, grabbed her jacket, and ran. She didn't look back as she fled the apartment, the elevator ride down a blur of tears and pain.

Up in the apartment, Kash stood at the window, watching her tiny figure run out of the building and into the street. He pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and lit one, the smoke curling around his face.

"Fifty thousand," he muttered, his eyes cold. "Just the appetizer."

He pulled out his phone, his thumb moving swiftly across the screen as he set up real-time transaction alerts for the supplementary card. "I'll be watching every notification," he muttered, his eyes cold. "Every store, every penny. I'll know exactly where that money goes."

He pocketed the phone, a grim smile on his face. He thought he had her figured out. He thought he knew exactly what kind of woman she was.

He had no idea he had just destroyed the only chance he had at the truth.