Chapter 1

Chapter One

LUCY

“S nowball!” I shout across my backyard. It extends along a tree line into a large wooded area. It’s freezing out here, and the wind is cutting right through me.

Snow stands at the edge of it, peering into the woods, not listening to me. He is usually good with commands, but he’s been off lately. Once this blizzard breaks, I’ll see about taking him to the vet.

“Come on! It’s freezing. No one is out there.” He lets out a whine before turning and running toward me. The whine, which he emits when he wants to play, lessens my concern. If he truly believed there was danger nearby, he would have been growling instead. The tone of that growl is much deeper.

I step out of the way of the open door so he won’t slam into me. His big ass always forgets he’s not a lap dog but a 150-pound pure white shepherd and will knock me down if he stops too late. As anticipated, he skitters into the house, bringing some snow along with him.

“You’re a menace,” I tell him and toss him a treat. Then I sweep the snow back outside and lock my door.

I'd gotten Snowball because my home was kind of empty, and I was alone out here. My brother Nolan lives on the other side of the property, but it's not as though we can see each other's houses. Although we wanted to be close, both of us still wanted some privacy.

In fact, it is a bit of a walk, which is why I use the gator to drive over to his place. Which can be pretty often. The man is a lifelong bachelor, and as much as I want that to change for him, I don't see it happening any time soon. I have never even seen or heard of him dating anyone. Not that I’m any better.

We lived together for a few months after Mom passed away. It was a tough time, but after a while, I think we started to get on each other's nerves. My brother owns a very successful snowplowing business and a lumber company too. He’s always busy and never slows down.

I turned into a bit of a mother hen with him, which I still do at times. Even today, before the storm kicked up, I went over and left food in his oven and fridge, so he'd only have to heat it up. I still keep up his house, or god knows what would happen to it. Hence why he needs a woman.

Plus, he pays too much attention to my love life and not his own. I think he believes it’s his job since our father skipped out on us as kids. Anytime a man would get close or think of trying to talk to me, he’d run them off. Not that I want to date someone that would so easily be scared off, but it still irritated me. So we decided, or maybe I did, that it was time for some space. I like having my own home, but it’s still kind of lonely out here. Especially at night when I get scared. That’s why I got Snowball. I have an alarm system and keep my doors locked, but his presence adds an extra layer of security.

“Come on, boy. Why don’t we get your dinner going?” I tell him, and he follows me into the kitchen. My eyes bounce over to my phone, but I make myself leave it on the table.

Hollis hasn’t texted me today, which isn’t normal for him. I hate when he texts me, so why do I want to check? To avoid thinking about him, I prepare Snowball's dinner.

As soon as I set Snowball's food down, I quickly grab my phone and check it. I go straight to my texts, but there is nothing new. Only Hollis’ last messages, telling me to go to sleep and to have wet dreams about him.

I roll my eyes again. The ego of that man is truly unbelievable. I huff, putting my phone back down. Thank God he doesn’t know that I do have dirty dreams about him. How can I not, with all the things he makes me do?

Even standing alone in my kitchen, I feel my cheeks warm thinking about the last dirty picture he made me send to him. Each of them is dirtier than the last. He’s really getting off on blackmailing me. In more ways than one.

I don’t understand why he’s doing it, and it leaves my head a mess. Not to mention my heart, as well as my vagina. I will never figure him out. He’s filthy rich and freaking sexy as hell. Why does he need to blackmail me for dirty pictures? It doesn’t make sense. I continue to ask myself that question on a daily basis, and I still have no freaking clue! The man could date models, and he probably does. I may have googled him, but I didn't find any information about his social life.

My search revealed that he’s some tech god who created all kinds of things I don’t understand. It was mainly involving security. Though I read he doesn’t come from money.

Him being a tech genius along with growing up in foster care is not something I would have guessed the day I literally ran right into him. The second my SUV backed into his fancy Bugatti, I knew I was screwed, and I think Hollis is trying to make sure that, too, is literal.

When I scrambled out of my SUV to see what I’d hit, my stomach dropped when I saw the sports car. I could tell it was expensive and I didn’t even know what a Bugatti was. Cars aren’t my thing. After my last accident, my brother convinced me to get a large SUV. He was worried I was going to really hurt myself.

Sure, it was like my fifth fender bender, but whatever. Gah, I really am the worst driver. I swear that Bugatti thingy came out of nowhere!

My stomach had already been in knots, and when Hollis stepped out of the car, it got worse. I might be stereotyping, but I was sure he was some famous football player between the car and how big he was.

The man was built like the guys my brother would watch on Sunday, except he wasn't in a uniform. He was in a suit that looked expensive and fit like it was made for him. Which it probably was. He towered over me, initially seeming concerned about my well-being.

I thought maybe there was a ray of hope that I could talk him into not filing a claim with insurance. I was hoping I might be able to arrange some form of payment plan. I didn’t want my brother finding out, and my insurance company warned me that one more accident and they were going to drop me.

Hollis was charming and assured me that we could work something out, so I gave him my number. When he invited me to dinner, I declined. I was overwhelmed by everything that happened, and being in his proximity made me too fidgety. He was extremely attractive, and I was taken aback when he asked me out.

I believe I still harbor PTSD from the time Mitch Bradford asked me out during my junior year of high school. My brother was long gone from school, so I thought maybe this was why someone was finally taking a chance. I was overly excited, and I blurted out yes before giving it much thought. Turned out Mitch was a jerk. As soon as I agreed, he laughed loudly enough for everyone to hear before revealing that it was a joke. He was surprised that I believed he would actually ask a chubby dork out. I felt ashamed of myself because, frankly, I had no desire to date Mitch. He’d slept with half the girls in school.

However, the moment I declined Hollis’ request, everything changed. The method in which he wanted to be paid for the damage to his multimillion-dollar car wasn’t in money. No, he had more than enough of that. That’s how I ended up making my payments in dirty pictures. Now Hollis has his own private OnlyFans account with me.

Still, I don’t understand why. Does he have a humiliation kink? That’s a thing, right? Did I hurt his ego? For some reason, I really don’t think that’s it. I could call him cocky, but I think he has a reason to be, with everything I’ve read about him. It’s odd because I don’t get the feeling he’s egotistical.

My phone starts to vibrate, and I shamelessly rush over to it. To my disappointment it’s an alert to let me know a vehicle is coming down the driveway. It sends a picture of it, and I see it’s one of my brother’s company trucks with the logo across the door.

Grabbing a cookie tin of sweets, I go to the front of the house. There are snowmen on the lid of this one. I make them every year and give them out starting right after Thanksgiving.

After I turn off the alarm, I put on my coat and shove my feet into my boots. As soon as I step on the porch, Christmas lights illuminate the snow, creating a rainbow-like effect. I love this time of year. Though it does make me miss my mom and wonder when I might one day have a family of my own.

“Hey, Lucy.” Sam waves to me as he jumps out of the truck.

“Hey,” I call back.

“You stay put,” he says when he sees me about to come down the porch stairs.

“I can help,” I offer.

“I like my job,” he calls back with a laugh, grabbing the wood from the back of the truck.

“Nolan won’t know.”

“Unless you hurt yourself.” Sam heads toward me with his arms filled with logs.

“I won’t get hurt,” I huff, but he laughs.

“Right.”

I press my lips together, feeling a touch embarrassed. I guess it’s no secret that I’m a bit clumsy.

He makes a few more trips, stacking the wood next to my front door, so it’s easy for me to get to. I already have a pile by my fireplace. Even if I lose power, there is a generator, but I enjoy keeping a fire going. I often fall asleep on the couch in the living room because I like being next to it.

“Anything else you need before I head home?”

“I’m good, but these are for you.” I give him the tin filled with brownies and cookies, and Sam’s smile widens. “Thanks.” He winks at me before heading back to his truck.

Once he’s gone, I go back in the house and lock the front door. As soon as I’ve hung up my coat, I hear the voice.

“Are you giving my sweets away to other men?”

I let out a scream before spinning around to see Hollis sitting on my couch. His legs are outstretched as if he owns the place. For a second, I have the ridiculous thought that the couch looks small with him sitting on it.

Snowball sits beside him, as though he’s known the man for years and they are best friends. Traitor.

“Answer me,” Hollis orders before getting to his feet. “You know how I hate to be kept waiting.”