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?

Read Chapter 1

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.”