Chapter 1

~LEXI~

I shouldn't be listening.

But. . .I couldn't stop.

The moan drifted through the open balcony doors of my guest room like an open invitation. High-pitched, desperate, and dripping with pleasure.

"Enzo. . .yes, fuck, right there!"

My heart pounded so hard I thought it might explode.

I was alone in the Rivera mansion again. My brothers had ditched me an hour ago—something about last-minute practice drills or whatever excuse they used to leave me "safe" under Enzo's roof. They still treated me like I was fifteen instead of nineteen, turning twenty in a month. Their innocent little sister who needed babysitting.

If only they knew how far from innocent my thoughts were right now.

I clutched the edge of the bed, thighs pressed together, but the ache between them only grew worse. Another moan tore through the night, followed by the unmistakable sound of skin slapping skin. Wet. Rhythmic. Erotic.

Don't do it, Lexi. Stay in here.

My feet moved anyway. Bare against the cool ground, I walked toward the balcony doors, drawn like a stupid, lovesick moth to the flame that had burned me for five whole freaking years.

I peeked out.

There he was.

Enzo Rivera.

My brothers' best friend. The star linebacker who owned every inch of my heart since the day they first brought him home.

Shirtless under the pool lights, his tanned, muscular body glistening with sweat. Those powerful shoulders flexed as he gripped the woman's hips, driving into her from behind on the wide lounge chair by the pool. His curly dark hair was messy, falling over his forehead the way it did after workouts. Well, surely, this was a workout for someone like Enzo. One of his regular workouts.

Tattoos moved across his arms and chest with every brutal thrust.

And his cock—sigh, his cock. Thick, long, and glistening as it slid in and out of her, stretching her, claiming her.

"Oh fuck, Enzo! You're so big—don't stop!" the woman screamed, her fake tits bouncing wildly with each powerful stroke. She was bent over, ass up, taking everything he gave her like she was made for it.

Jealousy forced its way up my chest. Hot. Sharp. Suffocating.

That should be me.

I wanted to be the one bent over for him. The one screaming his name while he ruined me.

I'd been in love with Enzo since I was fifteen, it was a quiet, hopeless, all-consuming love that only got worse every time I stayed in this house.

Every time I heard him with someone else through these thin walls. Every time he smiled at me like I was just his best friends' little sister.

My brothers had made it crystal clear: Enzo was off-limits. "He touches you, we end him, Lexi. You're not one of his whores."

But I didn't want to be protected. I wanted to be his.

Enzo flipped the woman onto her back like she weighed nothing, spreading her legs wide and slamming back inside her with one hard thrust. Her scream of pleasure echoed across the pool deck. Truthfully, she was doing too much.

I bit my lip so hard I tasted blood, my hand sliding down my stomach without permission, pressing against the throbbing heat between my thighs.

He was so deep. So rough. So perfect. His hand wrapped around her throat, squeezing just enough to make her eyes flutter as he pounded into her. "Take every fucking inch," he growled.

I shuddered. I wished he would say those words to me instead.

The woman came apart under him, screaming his name loud enough for the entire mansion to hear. Luckily, no one was home to hear it. . .except me. I guess that's why he chose the pool today. Since no one could hear them. And apparently, he didn't care that I could.

Enzo's hips moved faster, his abs flexing, muscles glistening. With a deep groan that made my knees weak, he pulled out of her.

I couldn't breathe. My pussy clenched, soaked and aching. I wanted that. I wanted him to look at me like that. To lose control with me.

For a terrifying second, Enzo's head lifted, dark eyes scanning toward the house.

I jerked back from the balcony doors, pressing myself against the wall, heart pounding.

He didn't see me. Please, tell me he didn't see me. I would hate for him to know that I was watching him fuck the random model he'd brought home for his pleasure.

But, was it my fault for looking? He was the one who'd chosen to do it out in the open.

I rushed back inside, closing the doors quietly, my body on fire and my heart in broken pieces. Every time I saw him with another woman, it freaking hurt.

I shouldn't care.

Enzo Rivera was my brothers' best friend.

Completely off-limits.

And the only man I had ever wanted to destroy me.