Chapter 1 Prologue

• There's a certain power in knowing with certainty who you are and what you want in life-especially as a woman living in a world that does so much to define it otherwise. My name is Jasmine. And I am a Masseuse and an Escort. Not the kind of escort you'd expect from a clichéd movie, dripping in sleaze and desperation. No, I'm a high-end, exclusive, meticulously curated companion for the rich and restless, the lonely and lustful. My clients are the wheelers and dealers, the men and sometimes women who run the world by day and need someone to help them forget that at night. I am their escape, their fantasy, their most expensive secret. And I wouldn't trade it for anything.
• You might think I'm something damaged, broken in some way, that makes me crave validation from those men slipping me cash for a few hours of pleasure. But that's not it. I love the control. I love the power trip, and no, I'm not ashamed to admit it, at being that girl they want, that girl they can't quite keep. I call the shots; I set the rules. And the most important rule? No strings attached. I do not need saving a soul, nor do I particularly need any saving myself.
• I like my relationships to be open and uncomplicated by the weight of expectations or the heaviness of commitment. There's freedom in it-a freedom I've carefully curated since I first discovered that I'd rather be the one doing the leaving than the one left behind. So when Ethan walked into my life, it wasn't love at first sight. It was something else entirely. A proposition. A challenge. An opportunity to bend the rules without breaking them.
• We met at a charity gala-one of those glittering affairs where everyone played at having a bleeding heart when in reality, it's all free champagne and rubbing elbows with the elite. Ethan was charming, with a so-easy charisma drawing people in and keeping them hooked. But I wasn't just anyone. I saw through the polished veneer, the tailored suit, the easy smile that promised just enough to make one lean in. We'd talked, flirted, danced around the edges of what we knew we both wanted. And when he finally leaned in close, his voice low and confident, if I'd be interested in something different, different didn't think twice. Laid it all out for me there would be no strings, no expectations, just a mutually beneficial arrangement. Open. Honest. Free. It was perfect.
• Ethan didn't want a girlfriend; he wanted an adventure. Somebody not to question his late nights or his other women. And I didn't want a boyfriend; I wanted the thrill without complications. Somebody not to mind if I had my clients, my own life. It was a match made in heaven or maybe hell but either way, it was ours.
• The terms of our deal were simple: We'd see each other when it suited us, share moments passionate and fleeting, and never, ever ask for more than the other was willing to give.
• We'd keep things fun, light, and always just shy of serious. I didn't care if he was seeing someone else, and he didn't care about my clients. It was all part of the game. No jealousy. No possessiveness. Just the kind of messy, intoxicating freedom that came hand in hand with being perfectly unattached. But of course, things can never stay quite so simple.
• Not when there's chemistry that burns too hot, not when lines between business and pleasure start to blur. And not when someone like Mia shows up, with her sweet smile and her innocent act, which never quite fooled me. Ethan started devoting more and more time to her, and I could feel that delicate balance start to shift. What at one time had been so skillfully choreographed began to tilt precariously out of sync. And here I am in the thick of it, trying to keep my head above water as everything I thought I could handle starts to unravel.
• I'm Jasmine-a woman who lives for the thrill, the control, the ability to walk away whenever I want. But this time, walking away isn't as easy as it used to be. Because Ethan was never supposed to matter. None of them were. But he does, and that scares me more than I'd ever admit. I have always been good at playing this game, but the stakes are higher now, and the rules are no longer clear. And as much as I am loathed to admit it, I am not sure I'm winning anymore.