The heat in Seaville was unbearable.
After class, Denise Montgomery went straight home. Her father, Arthur Montgomery, walked up to her holding a glass of orange juice.
"It's scorching outside. Have some orange juice-Vivian saved it for you. We all had some," Arthur said casually.
Denise looked at the juice, suspicion flickering in her eyes. Her dad usually avoided her, and her stepmother never hid her dislike. Why the sudden kindness?
But she didn't overthink it. Maybe he finally grew a conscience. And... she was really thirsty. She took the glass and gulped it down.
Something felt off almost right away.
Her head started spinning, and the room seemed to morph into a bunch of blurry Arthurs waving at her.
"What... what did you put in that drink?" Denise's voice trembled as a wave of realization hit her-she'd been tricked!
Vivian Thornton stepped forward, her tone sharp but calm. "Let's not beat around the bush. Your dad's trying to win over a major client. It's time you did something for this family."
"What are you saying?" Denise's eyes widened in shock.
No matter how terrible they had treated her and her brother, she had never imagined they'd go this far.
"Denise," Arthur said without shame, "Mr. Donovan promised the ET deal-if you spend one night with him."
Denise's face went pale as she staggered back. Her own father? Selling her out like this?
She turned to run, desperate to get out. But her legs gave way. The drug had kicked in.
Night settled over Seaville.
Denise woke up in a luxurious presidential suite. Her wrists were bound behind her, her feet tied together. She was wearing something sheer, completely inappropriate-and completely not of her choosing.
She could feel a strange heat building in her body, like there was a fire burning from the inside out. Her face flushed red. She wasn't naive-whatever they gave her must have been some kind of aphrodisiac.
Damn it. Arthur really had no bottom line!
The room was empty. Denise fought to sit up. Luckily, she was flexible. She bent forward, using her teeth to work at the rope around her ankles. Arthur clearly hadn't expected her to wake up this soon.
Once her feet were free, she managed to rub her wrists against the edge of the coffee table until the knot finally gave way.
She rushed to the door, reaching for the handle-then froze.
Outside, voices.
"Mr. Donovan, I've literally handed over my own daughter to you. I do hope you'll give the ET contract some serious thought," Arthur's oily voice said.
"Yeah yeah, got it. You can leave now," came the impatient response from Anthony.
Denise felt like her chest was about to burst. Her father-no, this monster-was trading her like a bargaining chip. And for what? A deal. Just a deal.
There was no way for her to run now-Anthony Donovan was already at the door.
She spun around quickly, grabbed a glass ashtray from the coffee table, and silently hid behind the door, trying her best to keep the panic at bay.
With a click, the door opened, and Anthony walked in.
"Hey there, pretty girl. Daddy's here..." He peeked in with that greasy grin.
Ew. The fact that he actually said that? Revolting.
In her mind, Denise was tearing him a new one.
The moment he got close, she didn't even hesitate-she swung the ashtray hard at his head.
Smash!
The ashtray hit the floor. Anthony stared at her, blood already dripping down from his scalp. "You little bitch, you actually hit me?!"
Without missing a beat, Denise darted out the door.
Anthony staggered to the door, holding his head and yelling for help.
Denise had no idea where she was headed, she just kept running.
But his bodyguards soon caught on and started chasing. The sound of footsteps closing in made her tremble. At the sight of a nearby room, she quickly yanked the door open, slipped inside, and locked it.
Finally able to breathe, she slumped for a second-until a man's face suddenly popped into view.
She nearly screamed.
"Who the hell are you?! You scared the hell out of me!" Denise clutched her chest, trying to calm down.
The man gave her a once-over with narrowed eyes, his voice low and calm. "More like, who are you? Want me to toss you out right now?"
Only then did she realize she'd barged into someone else's room. But the drug in her system was kicking in hard-sweat collected on her forehead, and her throat felt like it was on fire.
Suddenly, she reached out and grabbed the front of the man's pristine white shirt. "Please... please help me..."
"Why should I?" Jason Harrington had a pretty good guess of what was going on just from experience-someone was clearly after her.
"I'll do anything, just help me," she begged, the fear of Mr. Donovan catching her overriding all else.
Pounding started on the door, loud and urgent.
"Please, I'm begging you, don't let them take me!" she pleaded, voice shaking.
Without waiting for his answer, she dashed into the bedroom.
Her body felt weaker by the second. She tried making it to the bathroom to splash some cold water on herself, but before she got far, she collapsed to the floor. The heat inside her was unbearable.
"So hot... it's too hot..." Her mind was a blur. She kept tugging at her sheer nightgown, trying to cool down.
After Jason dealt with whoever was outside, he walked back in and froze.
There she was, lying on the carpet, her clothes half-scrambled. The way her body showed through the fabric... it was impossible to ignore.
"Hey! This isn't a hotel. Get the hell out!" Jason barked, thinking this was just another attention-seeking stunt.
But no matter how many times he called her, Denise didn't respond. He reached out to touch her forehead-burning hot.
She's been drugged!
That would explain why she clung to him like that, her whole demeanor completely changed, full of sultry desperation.
"Please... don't leave..." she murmured, slipping into a dream where her mother was walking away from her.
Jason might come off as cold, but he's still got principles. He hadn't planned on taking advantage of anyone, but the way Denise was dressed-and the fact that she was all over him-he was still a guy at the end of the day.
A wild, out-of-line thought popped into his head. Without thinking, he lifted Denise onto the bed, unbuttoned his shirt, and tossed it aside.
Under the soft light, he noticed for the first time-this woman was actually quite the looker. Her face was full of youth, and her figure... let's just say it didn't leave much to the imagination. Every inch of her seemed to scream temptation.
As his eyes landed on her tempting lips, he instinctively leaned in, ready to kiss her. But just as quickly, his sharp mind pulled him back. He shoved her off with a grunt, got up, dug a camera out of the drawer, set it at the perfect angle facing the bed, and hit record.
"When you wake up tomorrow, don't go blaming me. You climbed into my bed all on your own," Jason smirked wickedly at the woman sprawled on his bed before diving back in.
In the glowing night lights of Seaville, what happened on that bed was anything but calm.
The next morning.
Denise groggily opened her eyes, her whole body sore. How long had she been out? Was she going to be late for class?
What was this hard thing next to her?
She looked down... and saw a shirtless man lying beside her.
"AHHHH!!" her scream pierced the air of the presidential suite.
Jason groaned awake from the noise, and when he saw who it was, he frowned, clearly annoyed. "What are you screaming for this early? You're gonna wake the entire city."
"Who... who the hell are you? Why are you here?!" Denise stared at him in disbelief.
"You're asking me? This is my suite, and you stormed in begging me to sleep with you last night. Don't make it sound like I forced anything."
Denise's brain short-circuited. She couldn't process any of it. Wrapping herself in the blanket, she stared at him in shock.
"What are you covering up for? I already saw and touched everything," Jason shrugged, the corner of his mouth quirked up, clearly finding the situation amusing.
"You pervert! I'm calling the cops-I'm reporting you for assault!" she shouted.
Jason simply chuckled, "Go ahead. I've got plenty of evidence to back me up." He got up casually, wearing only boxers, his toned abs and strong build on full display.
He grabbed the camera's card, plugged it into the TV, and hit play. In an instant, the screen lit up with intimate scenes, along with some very unmistakable sounds. Denise was just about to cuss him out as a lunatic, but then she suddenly froze-
That woman on the screen... was her.
No way. That couldn't be. She couldn't have done something that shameless.
And then it all started coming back. She remembered being drugged-she'd escaped that creep Mr. Donovan's room and, by accident, ended up in this man's room.
She hadn't escaped after all. She just swapped one man for another.
Her fists clenched tight. All the resentment she'd buried-toward Arthur, Vivian-came bubbling up.
Then her eyes landed on Jason again. Honestly... he was good-looking. Tall, defined face, sharp features, and-okay, fine-a killer six-pack.
Compared to Mr. Donovan's greasy, aging fifty-something self... well, maybe this wasn't such a bad deal after all.
"So, what now? Wanna take this video to court and sue me or what?" Jason raised an eyebrow at her with a teasing grin.