And now that's all going to vanish.

Well, unless I married Nix Halloway.

How could I marry anyone, let alone her?

She'd made it clear, she wanted nothing to do with me. It didn't seem to matter that I'd made her squeal and whimper as she came. This woman had 'standards' and she didn't think I met them.

My father really expects me to not only marry her, but to get her pregnant?

Did he not know me at all?

“Abram.”

Looking up, I spotted Corin heading my way. I'd left soon after Nix had, stealing into an alley behind the building. The cigarette between my fingers glowed like a beacon.

I didn't smoke often, just when I was super pissed. “You still call me that,” I said, flicking ash away. “You know I hate that name. I guess it shouldn't surprise me that you insist on using it.”

“You're angry,” he started, “I get it—”

“Angry?” I chuckled. “Not at all, why would I be? You've just blackmailed me into knocking up a woman I barely know.” A woman with a fiery mouth and a killer ass.

Thinking about her positively was bad, it didn't help me one bit.

He stood an arm's length away, hands folded across the front of his suit. “I don't see why this is such a big deal. Last I heard, you've been busy sleeping with anything that'd give you the time.”

“That doesn't mean I'm okay with being forced into it.” Tossing the cigarette, I crushed it under my shoe. “Tell me why you're doing this. What's the goal? You already own their company, this song and dance with marriage is pointless bullshit.”

“My reasons are my own.”

“That's classic you, right fucking there.”

Staring me down, he turned partially away. “You're going to get the girl to marry you, Abram. Do you understand that?”

“You want a grandkid that bad and this is the only way to get me to do the deed for you, huh?”

“Never mind what I want. If you want to keep being a playboy, running around without worrying who's responsible for paying your bills, you'll get this ring on her finger.” He slid a small box from his pocket, shoving it into my chest.

I clutched it, caught off guard. Cracking the lid, I saw the diamond wedding band inside. “Wait. You want me to marry her, but you also want me to keep fucking other women?” Laughing without humor, I resisted chucking the box back at him. “Okay, I'm officially confused. This isn't some attempt to get me to settle down?”

He watched me without any emotion, eyes as flat as dusty glass. “This isn't about punishing you, it's about punishing her.”

“Nix? What the hell did she do?”

“No. Not her.”

Confused, I looked on as he strode away. Once he'd rounded the corner, I slammed my forearm against the brick wall. My father and I had never gotten along, suddenly he wanted me to do something for him?

I understood when I was being used.

Still, I thought, rubbing my tingling skin. What he's asking me to do... Could I really marry Nix, but still keep up my lifestyle? She'd be my wife on paper, but I'd be free to run around, banging who I wanted, spending money on whatever I desired.

She'd get to keep access to her family's company, too.

Honestly, this was starting to look like a win win. I didn't want to be married, the idea of it didn't match who I was. If it was the only way to maintain the fun wave I'd been riding for years, though, what choice did I have?

Lifting the velvet box, I frowned. If my father seriously doesn't care if I'm loyal to this girl once the papers are stamped, then he isn't out to hurt me. He also said he wasn't punishing Nix.

What is he trying to accomplish?

I had no clue what was going on behind the scenes, but I did know this:

If I wanted to keep my cash, I had to coerce Nix Halloway into tying the knot.

Thinking of that woman filled me with mixed emotions. She'd been delicious in bed, then cold and distant when she woke up. I hadn't really expected to see her again, but when I had, she'd turned into a stuck up bitch who hated my guts.

Clenching my fist, I breathed in deep. The way she rolled her hips under me, how her pussy hugged my cock... So what if she hated me?

You don't need to like someone to fuck them.

No. We didn't need to like each other at all for this to work.

Stuffing the ring deep in my jacket pocket, I saw the plan forming in my mind.

I was going to marry Nix.

I'd make her long for me, like I had last night. I'd force her to scream and moan. Then, once she was addicted to what I could do to her body, Nix would be begging me to marry her.

She was going to be mine in every possible way a woman could be.

I just had to do the one thing I was good at.

- Chapter Four -

Nix

I was fucking furious.

Rounding the hallway, I spotted my half-brother at the end. He looked up at the sound of my stomping heels. I started to veer towards him, ready to seek comfort—to cry and berate our parents—when something stopped me.

Gram's eyes were glistening with guilt.

For a moment my knees locked up. No. It can't be. But I was sure it was true. He wore his emotions on his sleeve.

Snatching the fabric of his jacket, I yanked him into en empty office and slammed the door behind us. “You knew something bad was going to happen in there!” The words tumbled free. “How could you not warn me?”

His hands went up in defense. “Nicky, please, what could I have said?”

“I don't know!” Palming my forehead, I breathed through my nose loudly. All the fight went out of me; I was too exhausted. “Sorry. I don't mean to get upset at you, it's not like you did anything wrong. I just... a heads up that I was walking into an ambush would have been nice.”

“I didn't realize it was an ambush, just something strange, what with my dad and Gabby and Mr. Birch sitting inside all alone, waiting for you.”

“Something strange is putting it mildly.”

He put a hand on the back of his skull. “So, what did they say, what happened?”

Sticking the heels of my palms against my eyeballs, I laughed sarcastically. “Well, nothing too huge. They just expect me to marry a stranger who's known for sleeping around, and if I don't, everyone here loses their jobs. Oh! And I'm supposed to give the Birch family a grandkid!”

Gram was silent. I pulled my hands away to find him staring at me in horror.

I smiled sadly and said, “Yeah. That's the face I made, too.”

“Nicky. That's... how can they do that?”

Pacing the room, my voice grew tense. “They're blackmailing me, that's how. Legally I can't be made to do shit. But if I don't, I'll never become CEO! Everything I worked for, just... just gone! Over with!”

“Being forced into a marriage like this isn't worth any level of job status.”

“It's not just the status. It's time. Energy.” Running my fingers through my hair, I gave a manic grin. “I killed myself for this company. How can I walk away from it? Lose everything that was waiting for me? I had the potential to be something! Taking that away isn't right! And what about my promise to you?”

His smile was stale. “Oh, Nicky, that doesn't matter.”

“No.” Stepping forward, I grabbed his shoulders. I needed him to see the severity in my expression. I took my promises seriously, and the one I'd made to Gram years ago—when I'd stumbled in on him crying after my mother had berated him over being useless—had been the most serious of all.

I loved my brother dearly, and he deserved some karma for everything he'd gone through.

“I told you,” I said firmly, “When I become CEO, you can stop scraping your nose on the ground around our parents. I'll be in charge, you won't have to feel so... so uncomfortable here.”