The Network

Chapter 1

ARIA

"You're not wearing that to the airport."

I glanced down at my outfit a simple black crop top and high-waisted jeans, then back at my older brother Mason through my phone screen. "What's wrong with what I'm wearing?"

"Everything." Mason's face filled my screen, his jaw tight with that overprotective-brother look I knew too well. "Aria, he's going to be there. At the house. Living with us for the next six months."

My stomach flipped. He. We both knew exactly who Mason meant.

"So?" I tried to sound casual, checking my reflection in my apartment's hallway mirror one more time. "It's been five years, Mason. I'm sure Damien won't even remember me."

Mason snorted. "Right. Because guys forget the girl who"

"Don't." I cut him off, heat flooding my cheeks. "That was a stupid mistake. I was eighteen and drunk at your graduation party. Can we please never speak of it again?"

"I'm just saying, maybe don't dress like you're trying to"

"I'm twenty-three years old!" I grabbed my purse and headed for the door. "I'll dress however I want. Besides, I'm not interested in your best friend. Not anymore."

The lie tasted bitter on my tongue.

ARIA

"My Uber's here. Love you, bye!"

I ended the call before Mason could lecture me further, my heart hammering against my ribs. Five years. It had been five years since I'd last seen Damien Cross, and I'd spent every single day trying to forget the way his dark eyes had looked at me that night, the way his hands had felt on my waist before Mason had walked in and everything had exploded.

The memory still made me cringe. I'd thrown myself at Damien, confessed my massive crush, and tried to kiss him. He'd gently pushed me away, but not before Mason had seen. The fight that followed had been legendary. I'd been shipped off to California for college the next day, and Damien and Mason's friendship had been icy for months.

But apparently, they'd worked it out. Hence why Damien was now staying at our family home while he worked on some major business deal in Seattle.

And hence why I was stupid enough to move back home after finishing my master's degree, knowing he'd be there.

Get it together, Aria. You're not that desperate eighteen-year-old anymore.

---

Two hours later, I stood in the driveway of my childhood home, staring up at the sprawling modern house. My hands trembled slightly as I pulled my suitcase from the trunk.

"Need help with that?"

The voice deep, smooth, achingly familiar sent electricity down my spine.

I turned slowly.

Damien Cross stood on the front porch, looking like every fantasy I'd tried to bury had come to life and gotten even better. He'd always been handsome, but five years had transformed him from attractive to absolutely devastating. His dark hair was styled perfectly, his jaw sharper, his shoulders broader beneath a crisp white button-down with the sleeves rolled up. But those eyes, those intense, almost-black eyes were exactly the same.

And they were fixed directly on me.

"I've got it," I managed, hating how breathless I sounded.

Damien descended the porch steps with the easy confidence of a man who owned every room he walked into. "Don't be stubborn. Let me help."

He reached for my suitcase, his fingers brushing mine.

The contact lasted maybe half a second, but it felt like touching a live wire. I jerked my hand back.

"Careful," Damien said, his lips quirking into a half-smile that made my knees weak. "We wouldn't want a repeat of last time."

My face burst into flames. "That was five years ago."

"I remember."

The way he said it, low and intimate made me wonder exactly what he remembered. The embarrassment? The way I'd pressed against him? The exact words of my mortifying confession?

"Well, I've moved on," I lied, lifting my chin. "Completely forgot about it, actually."

"Is that right?" He stepped closer, and I caught his scent, something expensive and masculine that made my head spin. "So you're telling me you don't still have that crush on me?"

My jaw dropped. "You're … that's … I don't …"

"Relax, Aria." His smile widened, showing perfect white teeth. "I'm just messing with you."

But was he?

Before I could formulate a response that didn't make me sound like an i***t, the front door burst open.

"ARIA!"

My best friend Zoe came running out, squealing, her blonde hair flying behind her. She crashed into me with a hug that nearly knocked me over.

"Oh my God, I missed you so much! California is way too far. Promise me you're staying this time."

"I'm staying," I laughed, hugging her back and desperately grateful for the interruption. "I got the job at Morrison & Associates. I'm officially a Seattle resident again."

"Yes!" Zoe pulled back, her green eyes sparkling. Then she noticed Damien. "Oh. Hey, Damien."

Something in her tone made me look between them. Zoe's smile had gone tight, and Damien's expression had cooled.

"Zoe," he said curtly.

Okay, there was definitely tension there. Since when did Zoe and Damien not get along? They'd always been friendly before.

"Where's Mason?" I asked, trying to break the awkward silence.

"Emergency at the office," Damien said, grabbing my other suitcase like it weighed nothing. "He'll be back tonight. Your mom's inside she's been cooking for hours."

As Damien headed toward the house, Zoe leaned close and whispered, "We need to talk. Alone. There's something you need to know about him."

My pulse quickened. "What do you mean?"

"Not here." Zoe glanced at Damien's retreating back. "But Aria, seriously. Be careful around him. He's not... just stay away from him, okay?"

Before I could ask what the hell that meant, my mother appeared in the doorway.

"Aria, sweetheart! Come in, come in! I made all your favorites!"

I let myself be swept into my mother's warm embrace, but my mind was racing. What had Zoe meant? What didn't I know about Damien?

And why did the warning make me want to get closer to him instead of staying away?

---

Dinner was torture.

Not because the food wasn't amazing, Mom had outdone herself with pot roast, garlic mashed potatoes, and my favorite cherry pie for dessert. No, it was torture because Damien sat directly across from me, and I could feel his eyes on me constantly.

Every time I looked up, he was watching me. Not obviously, not in a creepy way, but with an intensity that made my skin prickle with awareness.

"So, Aria," Dad said, pulling my attention away from Damien's hypnotic gaze. "Tell us about this new job. Corporate law, right?"

"Yeah." I forced myself to focus on my father. "I'll be working on mergers and acquisitions, mostly. It's a great firm with a lot of opportunities for…"

"Boring," Mason's voice interrupted as he walked into the dining room, still in his suit from work. He dropped a kiss on Mom's head before sliding into the seat next to me. "My baby sister, the corporate sellout."

"Says the investment banker," I shot back.

Mason grinned and ruffled my hair like I was still twelve. I swatted his hand away.

"It's good to have you home, Ari." His expression softened. "I missed you."

"Missed you too, even though you're annoying."

"That's what big brothers are for." Mason grabbed a roll from the basket. "So, I assume Damien's already given you the tour of the house?"

I nearly choked on my water. "What? No. I just got here."

"Oh." Mason looked between Damien and me, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Well, Damien, why don't you show Aria the new home gym Dad built? She'll want to know where the equipment is."

"Sure," Damien said smoothly. "After dinner?"

"Actually…" I started to protest, but Mason cut me off.

"Perfect. Aria needs to know where everything is anyway since you two will be here alone a lot. Mom and Dad are leaving for their Europe trip next week, and I'm barely home."

My heart stopped. "Wait, what? You're leaving?"

Mom nodded. "We've had this trip planned for months, honey. Two months touring Europe. It's our fortieth anniversary gift to ourselves."

Two months. With Damien. Mostly alone.

Oh God.

"And I'm closing a major deal," Mason added. "I'll probably be sleeping at the office more than here. But don't worry, Damien will be around if you need anything."

I met Damien's eyes across the table. He was smiling, but there was something dark and promising in his expression that made my pulse race.

"I'll take very good care of your sister," Damien said, his voice like silk. "She won't want for anything."

The double meaning wasn't lost on me. Or on Zoe, who had gone rigid beside me.

Mason, oblivious, just nodded. "Good. Aria, don't be a hermit, okay? Get out, have fun. You've been buried in books for five years."

"I had a social life in California," I protested.

"Did you?" Mason raised an eyebrow. "When was your last relationship?"

My face heated. "That's none of your business."

"That's what I thought." Mason turned to Damien. "She's been single for like three years. Can you believe that? Look at her, she's gorgeous, smart, funny when she wants to be…"

"Mason!" I kicked him under the table. "Stop it."

"...and she just buries herself in work. Maybe you could…"

"Maybe I could what?" I demanded. "Mason, I swear to God…"

"I was going to say maybe Damien could introduce you to some of his colleagues," Mason finished innocently. "Why? What did you think I was going to say?"

Damien's lips twitched with amusement. "I'd be happy to introduce Aria to anyone she'd like to meet."

The way he said it made it clear that was the last thing he wanted to do.

Zoe's phone buzzed. She glanced at it, then stood abruptly. "I have to go. Work emergency. Aria, walk me out?"

I practically leaped from my chair, desperate to escape the suffocating tension.

At Zoe's car, she grabbed my arm. "Okay, I'm just going to say this. Damien is bad news."

"What are you talking about?"

"He's seeing someone. Multiple someones, actually." Zoe's expression was serious. "I've seen him around town with different women. He has a reputation, Aria. He uses people and throws them away. I know you used to have feelings for him, but…"

"I don't anymore," I said automatically.

"Good. Keep it that way." Zoe hugged me. "I just don't want to see you get hurt. He's charming and gorgeous, but he's also dangerous. Especially for someone with a history like yours with him."

After Zoe left, I stood in the driveway, processing her words. Damien was a player. That shouldn't surprise me, of course he was. Men who looked like that always were.

It shouldn't matter to me either.

But the sharp twist of disappointment in my chest suggested otherwise.

"Your friend doesn't like me very much."

I spun around. Damien stood in the doorway, backlit by the warm glow of the house.

"Can you blame her?" I crossed my arms. "Apparently you have quite the reputation."

"Do I?" He descended the steps slowly, predatory. "And what reputation is that?"

"You know exactly what I'm talking about."

Damien stopped inches from me. Too close. Close enough that I had to tilt my head back to meet his eyes.

"Let me guess, Zoe told you I'm a player who goes through women like tissues. That I'm heartless and only care about myself. That you should stay far away from me."

His accuracy was unnerving. "Something like that."

"And are you going to listen to her?"

My breath caught. "I should."

"But you won't." It wasn't a question. Damien reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, his fingers lingering against my cheek. "Want to know what I think?"

I couldn't speak, could barely breathe.

"I think you're still that girl who threw herself at me five years ago. I think you still want me just as much as you did then. Maybe more." His thumb traced my bottom lip. "And I think that scares the hell out of you."

"You're wrong," I whispered.

"Am I?" He leaned closer, his lips nearly touching mine. "Then why is your heart racing? Why are you trembling? Why haven't you pulled away?"

Because I couldn't. Because my body had betrayed me completely. Because every cell in my being was screaming at me to close the distance and kiss him.

"Damien…"

"There you two are!" Mason's voice shattered the moment. "Damien, we need to go over those contracts before tomorrow. Aria, Mom wants to show you the new guest room setup."

Damien stepped back smoothly, the heat in his eyes replaced by cool politeness. "Of course. We'll do that tour another time, Aria."

He walked past me, leaving me standing there with my heart in my throat and my world tilted on its axis.

What the hell had just happened?

And why did I have the terrible, thrilling feeling that the next six months were going to change everything?