PROLOGUE
Lexi
Tonight, I’m someone I barely recognize. A fraud in fake designer heels. A stranger in my own skin.
It’s wild how just a few hours of craziness can flip your entire world upside down.
This morning, had you asked me about my grand plans for the night, I’d have confidently said I was destined for a glamorous evening sprawled on the couch, ready for aMillion Dollar Listingbinge-fest with my little sister, Grace. Decked out in my most tragically holey sweats and the kind of underwear that screams “here to support a full bush, not lure in a lover.”
We’d be shoveling chips into our mouths, while we live vicariously through the disgustingly rich. Pretending just for a moment that we’re the ones rolling in money.
But instead, here I am.
Pinned against a wall in a swanky hotel bathroom by New York’s most notorious playboy. Pulse jackhammering as I straddle the line between sheer panic and twisted arousal.
It’s the kind of questionable decision you make when you’re not thinking straight.
His muscular forearm presses against the wall, right next to my head. The graze of his dark stubble sends shivers down my spine as he claims my mouth ruthlessly.
I taste whiskey on his tongue, inhale his intoxicating masculine scent as he presses the full length of his hard body against me.
His kiss is rough, frenzied, fueled by some inner turmoil.
The kind of fierce lip-lock that electrifies every nerve in my body from lips to toes and all the good bits in between.
For a moment, I forget about wanting to knee him in the balls just minutes ago. Now, I’m struggling to resist as his skilled hands roam dangerously close to my underwear.
A groan rumbles through his chest as he grips my hips possessively, using his muscular thigh to force my legs wider.
Those rock-solid muscles imprint through my flimsy dress, his thick arousal pressing relentlessly against me. His rough hands, with their sexy veins, ignite dangerous levels of tingly heat on me everywhere they touch.
Our heavy breathing echoes off the walls, a hot and filthy soundtrack.
It’s all too intense, too visceral.
He’d ruin me if he knew my true intentions. I’ve caught him in an unguarded moment, a slim chance to get what I need.
There’s no time for guilt, no room for second-guessing. I just need to get in, get what I came for, and get out.
My shaking fingers slip into his pocket while my pounding heart threatens to give me away. Surely, he senses my fear. I’m one gasp from passing out into his sexy mouth.
I wish it weren’t like this. Karma will surely savage me—she always collects her debts.
I’m not a bad person, I swear. Just a girl making questionable life choices in a shit situation. Like a cornered rat, or hopefully something cuter. Maybe a distressed raccoon,scavenging through life’s garbage cans, searching for a decent meal.
My fingers trail his flexing back, distracting him while my other hand digs deeper into his pocket. Tracing those defined muscles . . . searching . . . until at last . . .
Jackpot.
I wrap my fingers around the small prize, prying it free.
I’ve done it.
Breathless, I break the kiss.
Tonight, I’m someone new. Someone I can never come back from.
Because tonight, I’m a brazen thief.
