She kept his son a secret to escape his savage reputation. Now he’s found them, and he’s demanding a marriage that’s anything but business.

Elaine fled San Francisco three years ago, leaving behind the wreckage of her father’s company and the memory of the man who ruined it: Saverio “Sav” Dawes. She built a quiet life in Denver, focusing on her struggling clothing brand and raising her two-year-old son, Dino. She never planned to tell the “Savage Dawes” that his son has his eyes.

But Sav is a man who owns the city and its secrets. When Elaine returns to settle her father’s estate, a background check reveals the truth she tried to bury. Sav doesn’t just want his son; he wants Elaine back in his life—permanently. He offers an ultimatum: a billionaire lifestyle for Dino, an exclusive marriage for Elaine, or a custody battle she can’t possibly win.

From steamy nights on a million-dollar yacht to a heated encounter in a private jet, the lines between a calculated deal and fated desire begin to blur. But in a world of judging photographers and dark family legacies, can Elaine trust a man who claims to know nothing about love? Or is this second chance just Sav’s latest hostile takeover?

Elaine

The air smelled like the ocean in San Francisco. I’d missed the scent of home, but the mountains I usually faced were a different kind of magnificent, and I needed little reminders from nature to tell me that I would be fine no matter what happened. I’d left to avoid Sav, and I would never tell the man I should have hated that I had his son.

I checked into the busy hotel with my small bag and rushed to my room.

My stomach rumbled. I needed to eat but didn’t dare go out into the streets and risk bumping into the one man I swore to avoid, Saverio Dawes. The hotel had a restaurant, though, and I couldn’t imagine a reason for Sav to show up there when he owned half the city. I could have ordered room service, but I felt lonely without my son and needed the sounds of other people to soothe my nerves, so I left my room and took the elevator down to the restaurant.

He’d taken everything from me.

Once my father lost his company, my mother bolted to God-knew-where. Not that it mattered to Sav.

Goose bumps grew on my arms as I entered the restaurant and scanned the booths and tables. He wasn’t there. I’m on edge, and that’s why my body feels electrified. It’s not because Sav is here. I sat at a table and looked at the menu.

My father had died and left me an estate. I was no longer penniless the way I was when I’d fled the city and Sav, so if I wanted a thirty-dollar burger, I could afford it. For one night, I could afford it.

If I lived like that forever, I would go bankrupt quickly, but I was in San Francisco to settle my father’s estate and figured it wouldn’t hurt to treat myself. Once the estate was settled, I planned to get back in my Subaru and head home to Denver and my son, Dino. My aunt was watching him so I could take the trip.

I stared at the Golden Gate Bridge and stopped thinking.

A warm rush of adrenaline poured through me, but I didn’t know why. Finally, my burger came, and I ate.

Despite the price, it hit the spot. I’d gone all day without eating.

As I took my last bite, a shadow startled me from behind. I glanced up and saw the one man I never wanted to see, staring down at me.

I pivoted in my chair, my hair flying behind me, and asked, “Sav, how did you find me?”

He came closer, and I knew why I’d felt the surge of adrenaline. He said, “I own the hotel.”

Half the city and the businesses weren’t enough for him then. I swallowed the thought and shook my head. “Of course you do. What don’t you own?”

He came closer, and I smelled his two-thousand-dollar-a-bottle cologne that mixed woodsy and floral and royal into an expensive bottle used by monarchs for centuries, which was good enough for Sav.

I licked my lips, and they tingled

He said, “You.”

I lifted my chin. He was right. He didn’t possess me anymore. I swallowed and nodded. “Exactly. Now leave.”