Chapter One - Devil's Bargain
802 Words
The first time I saw Rhys Evander Kain, I knew I had made a deal with the devil.
Not just any devil—a man who could burn the entire world and still not feel the heat.
The room smelled like power. A quiet, suffocating kind of authority that settled into your bones and warned you not to speak unless spoken to. The air was thick with expensive cigars and something sharper, darker. Fear.
I stood at the entrance of the penthouse office, my hands curled into fists at my sides, trying not to let my knees shake. I had been told that Rhys Kain was merciless, cruel, a man with ice in his veins.
But none of the warnings had prepared me for this.
He sat behind a sleek black desk, the city skyline glittering behind him like a kingdom he ruled with an iron fist. He didn’t even look up at first—just flipped through a folder, his long fingers idly skimming the edge of the paper, as if he had all the time in the world.
When he finally lifted his gaze, I felt it like a physical touch. Predatory. Calculating. Unreadable.
“Naomi Laurent.” His voice was deep, smooth, and utterly impassive. “You came.”
Came? I had no choice.
“My father is in trouble,” I said, pushing the words out before my fear swallowed me whole.
Rhys Kain leaned back in his chair, tilting his head slightly. “Your father is beyond trouble, Naomi.”
The way he said my name sent a shiver through me. Slow, deliberate. Like he was testing the weight of it on his tongue.
I swallowed. I needed to stay strong. I needed to do this.
“You own his debts,” I said. “You can make this stop.”
Something flickered in his silver-gray eyes. Amusement? Interest? It was impossible to tell.
“Why would I?” he murmured, standing up. He was tall—too tall, too intimidating, all broad shoulders and sharp elegance. A suit tailored to perfection, black as sin, hugged his frame. A king surveying his kingdom.
“You’re a businessman,” I said, lifting my chin. “I’m here to make you an offer.”
For a moment, the room was silent. A heavy, suffocating pause.
Then Rhys laughed. A low, rich sound that sent a chill down my spine.
“You think you can bargain with me?” he asked, stepping around the desk.
I held my ground as he came closer. Every instinct screamed at me to run.
“I don’t have money,” I admitted. “But I have—”
He cut me off. “You have nothing I want.”
I flinched.
Of course. To a man like Rhys Kain, I was nothing. Just another desperate girl trying to save someone who had already dug his own grave.
But I had one last chance.
I forced myself to meet his gaze. “You need a companion, don’t you?”
Something shifted in his expression. The air in the room grew charged.
Rhys stepped even closer, his towering frame casting me in shadow. “Who told you that?”
“I know things,” I whispered. “You’re powerful, but power comes with loneliness, doesn’t it?”
His jaw tightened. I had touched a nerve.
“You’re proposing,” he said slowly, “that I take you as my… companion?”
The way he said it made my skin prickle.
I forced myself to nod.
“If you agree to erase my father’s debts,” I said, my voice stronger now, “I’ll be yours. For six months.”
I expected anger. Mockery. A refusal.
Instead, Rhys studied me with unnerving stillness.
Then, suddenly, he reached out and tilted my chin up with two fingers.
I sucked in a breath. His touch was ice and fire.
“You don’t even know what you’re offering,” he murmured.
His scent—rich, dark spice—invaded my senses, making my pulse hammer against my ribs.
“I know what I’m doing,” I lied.
Rhys tilted his head. Then, so suddenly I barely had time to react, he leaned in.
His lips brushed my ear as he whispered, “You don’t, but that’s what makes this interesting.”
A shiver ran down my spine.
What had I just done?
Because the way Rhys Kain was looking at me promised ruin. And I had just handed him the keys to my destruction.
“Fine,” he said softly. “Six months, Naomi. And when your time is up… you won’t be able to walk away.”
I should have run. But it was already too late.
I had sold my soul to the devil.
And he was smiling.
- Writer
