Chapter 1
The Collision
Amber Jameson wasn't used to places like this. Velvet ropes. Glimmering chandeliers. Men in sharp suits with darker eyes. She stepped into the club, the low pulse of music thrumming against her chest like a second heartbeat. Her best friend had insisted it was time she lived—but this? This was another world.
She smoothed her trembling fingers down her borrowed black dress, the hem scandalously short against her thighs. It wasn't her. But tonight, maybe… just for a little while, she could pretend.
"Looking for someone?" a voice purred behind her.
Amber turned—and froze.
He leaned against the bar like he owned it, dark hair falling slightly over one brow, suit jacket slung over one shoulder. His eyes were pure fire—rich, cocky, and devastating. The kind of man mothers warned daughters about. The kind of man who didn't ask. He took.
Nathan Cross.
Amber had no idea who he was. But the moment their eyes locked, she knew one thing for certain.
Her quiet world would never be the same.
He moved toward her like a shadow slipping into light—calm, confident, dangerous. Amber couldn't look away. She wasn't sure she even wanted to.
"You don't belong here," he said, his voice a low rasp that settled deep in her chest. His eyes dipped briefly, lingering on the soft swell of her lips. "Too sweet. Too untouched."
The way he said it—untouched—made her breath catch. As if he knew. As if he could see it.
"I'm fine," she replied, trying to hold her ground, even as her knees threatened to betray her. "I'm just… here with a friend."
Nathan's smirk curved slowly. "Your friend left with a guy ten minutes ago."
Amber blinked. "She what?"
He nodded toward the exit, then glanced back at her. "You're alone now, sweetheart. Not the safest thing. Not in this world."
He said it like a warning—but it felt like a promise.
Amber's heart thudded faster. She should leave. She should definitely not be talking to this man. But when he extended a hand toward her, palm open, his eyes daring her to trust him, something inside her caved.
Maybe for once, she didn't want to be safe.
She placed her hand in his.
"Come on," he said, voice rough and low. "Let me get you out of here."
And just like that, Amber stepped out of her comfort zone—and straight into the fire.