Aurora woke before him.
The morning sun had barely risen, but she lay there… tangled in expensive sheets, her body still aching from everything they'd done last night.
Her thighs trembled with the memory of how hard he'd taken her in the car. On the kitchen counter. Against the hallway wall.
Xander Blackwood didn't make love. He claimed. Over and over.
And she let him.
Worse—she wanted it.
Even now, lying beside his sleeping form, her lips were swollen from his kisses. Her breasts were marked by his mouth. Her soul was bruised from how close she'd let him get.
She sat up slowly, pulling on one of his black dress shirts.
She shouldn't be here.
Not after what she saw on his laptop.
He'd found Paris.
He was getting too close.
Her fingers brushed over the scar beneath her collarbone — a memory carved into her skin from a life she pretended never existed.
If he found out the truth... about who she used to be...
He wouldn't look at her with fire anymore.
Only betrayal.
But just as she stood up to leave, his voice rumbled low behind her.
"You leave again, and I will hunt you."
She froze.
Xander sat up, shirtless, every inch of his body radiating power and hunger.
His eyes dragged over her legs, stopping where his shirt barely covered her.
"I wasn't leaving," she lied softly.
"Don't insult me."
He rose, crossed the room, and trapped her against the window.
His hand gripped her throat lightly — not choking, just possessive.
"Do you think I don't notice how you flinch every time I ask your name?"
"You know my name."
"No," he said. "I know what you gave me. Not what you are."
Aurora's breath hitched.
He pressed a kiss under her jaw, his voice a growl against her skin.
"What are you hiding, Aurora?"
She tried to deflect — reaching down to palm him, feeling him harden instantly.
"Still so easy to distract," she murmured.
His hand slammed against the glass beside her head, making her jump.
"Don't," he snarled. "Don't use sex to run."
She stared up at him — furious, aroused, terrified.
Then, quietly, she whispered a name.
"Valen."
Xander blinked. "What?"
"That was my name before."
He stepped back like she'd slapped him.
Aurora wrapped her arms around herself. Her voice shook.
"I was part of something. Years ago. Something I wasn't supposed to survive."
Xander's body was coiled, deadly still.
"Valen," he repeated. "Why does that name sound like—"
"Because it's on a kill list," she interrupted. "I'm supposed to be dead, Xander. Officially, I died in a facility fire. Only two people survived."
His breath caught.
"Who was the other?"
She met his eyes, pain slicing through her gaze.
"My twin brother."
And then she whispered the name that shattered everything:
"Silas Knight."
Xander's blood ran cold.
Silas Knight — a phantom. A billionaire ghost. The mastermind of half the cybercrime in Europe. Ruthless. Brilliant. Untouchable.
And now he knew: Aurora wasn't just beautiful.
She was his sister.
And suddenly, everything made sense.
Why she never stayed.
Why she had no record.
Why Elijah warned him not to dig too deep.
"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked, voice raw.
"Because the people who want Silas dead... want me more," she whispered. "Because I'm the only one who knows what he built. And who he betrayed."
Xander's chest heaved.
He should've been furious.
But instead, all he felt was the need to protect her. To claim her more completely than ever.
"You think this changes anything?" he rasped.
"I don't expect you to want me anymore."
"Oh, I want you," he snarled.
He ripped open the shirt she wore — his shirt — exposing her naked body.
"You think I can walk away now? That I care who your brother is?"
He lifted her, slammed her against the glass.
Her breath left in a gasp as he thrust into her, deep and merciless.
She cried out — pain and pleasure blurring.
"I'm going to fuck you," he growled, "until you forget every reason you thought I'd leave."
His mouth captured hers in a savage kiss as he pounded into her, rough and raw, her breasts bouncing with every thrust.
Aurora clung to him like a lifeline, tears mixing with moans.
She broke apart first, her scream echoing against the windows.
Xander came with a roar, biting her shoulder as he poured into her.
They collapsed together, bodies shaking, breathing ragged.
But the truth still hung heavy between them.
Aurora buried her face in his neck.
"I didn't want this to happen," she whispered. "But I couldn't stay away."
Xander held her tighter.
"Then don't," he said. "Stay. Fight this with me."
"But Silas—"
"I don't give a fuck about Silas. He'll come. Let him."
He tilted her face up, eyes burning into hers.
"Let them all come. Because you're mine now. And I don't let go."
Her lips trembled.
"You'll regret this."
He kissed her softly.
"No," he said. "But they will."