Darkly His: The Billionaire's Fake Fiancée
WARNING ⚠️: This book contains sex scenes and mature contents not fit for readers below 18+.
If you love steamy romances and emotional stories, this book is the one.
By day, Damon follows her rules in the kitchen: chopping, kneading, burning his fingers, and surviving her sharp mouth.
By night, she follows his.
Damon Blackwell is a cold, dangerous billionaire who hates Christmas, women, and anything that smells like joy. Haunted by tragedy and trauma, and memories of the girl he once loved and lost, he lives like a machine: money, control, and pleasure without attachment.
Then his grandparents and three ruthless brothers dare him to do the impossible:
Live like a normal man for 12 days to Christmas: no staff, no luxuries, no protection, no control and no bad temper. He has to change and be easygoing with investors.
Fail, and he loses the biggest business deal of his life.
Indulgence is over for him.
The only place Damon knows he can grab survival? A small-town Christmas cooking competition hosted by that one woman who broke his heart years ago.
Merry Steele never expected to see Damon again. The man she left without a word. The man who haunted her dreams after she broke his heart back now stands in her kitchen offering a deal she can't refuse:
Cook for him. Sleep with him. Pretend to be his fiancée until the end of the year.
The pay is tempting. The temptation is even greater.
Before Christmas, can they resist the heat, desire, and lingering love they once shared and keep it strictly business?
As family obligations, enemies, and a high-profile Christmas ball close in, Damon and Merry must correct old heartbreak, passion, and dangerous feelings.
Will Damon ever forgive his fuckmate?
Can Merry resist the billionaire who once stole her heart... or will old flames burn hotter than ever under the snow, the lights, and the Christmas feelings?
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Chapter 5
Merry, Samantha and Nicki sat with Mr George Steele, Merry's crippled father. She told him about her job's nature minus the sexual side of it and he smiled, hugged her and wished her well.
He told her-happily-that it was a good thing that Damon Blackwell found her because he believed in her and she said it was because it was just business.
Later, Samantha, her bestfriend, was with her in her room, ears pricked up for informations.
"So, what was he like? How hot has he become?"
"Sam! You need to calm down!"
"Come on, girl. We always talk about guys worse than this. Don't be scared. It's just Damon Blackwell."
"Well...." Merry shrugged. "He's hot."
Samantha stared, inquisitive.
"Very hot." Merry added and Samantha's eyes widened.
"Jeezzz. Merry, you'll never regret your decision. You're also gonna be enjoying his dick. DAMON BLACK-WELL'S DICK!!!"
"Sam!"
"Girl. Relax. We're best friends. He's a contract boyfriend, remember? We can harass him.... Except you don't wanna...."
"Yes. He's a contract boyfriend."
"Jesus! I'm jealous of you. You're having that handsome, gorgeous man to yourself. For free."
Merry giggled.
"It's a job. We are enemies also. Let's be discreet and not let anyone hear."
"Sure. This is getting interesting."
"You're always interested, Samantha."
"Hey, don't act like you don't ask for every detail about my weekends with Caleb."
They laughed.
Samantha studied her for a moment. "And you're not doing this because you miss chaos, right? You can't...."
Merry's smile faded just a little. "I'm not letting the past repeat itself."
"Good," Samantha said quietly. Then, lighter, "Cas' I'm not running your kitchen forever."
Merry nudged her. "I'll pay you."
"You will not."
"I can afford it."
Samantha shook her head, smiling. "You're still terrible at letting people help you."
They sat in comfortable silence for a beat.
Then Samantha smirked again. "Still though... contract boyfriend?"
Merry groaned. "Don't."
"I mean," Samantha continued, unapologetic, "it's a sudden, ridiculous setup. You pretending to be engaged to one of the most powerful men in California. A memory."
"It's temporary."
"Everything dangerous is," Samantha said. Then she winked. "Just don't forget why you're there."
Merry nodded. "I won't."
Samantha stood and stretched. "Alright. Go tame your billionaire."
Merry laughed, shaking her head. "You're unbelievable."
They laughed and talked about "how crazy men were", the restaurant and money all through the night.
****
****
Merry arrived at Damon's penthouse in the morning.
She looked serious sitting opposite Damon Blackwell at his regal dining room.
Damon looked unbothered and deep in work on his laptop at first while Merry stared at his facial details, bored.
Then, he looked up.
Their eyes met. Merry didn't back down and smirked when he snapped.
"What?"
"I need your help." Merry replied and he instantly looked interested. Calm. Eyes warning.
"The contract says I'm very important in your life right now and I'll love to use it against you. You'll help me with that." She said and was satisfied when he looked confused and disbelieving.
"What?" He asked.
"I mean I will walk away if you say NO. You'll do the dishes. Now."
She got to her feet and Damon first stared with shock....
Then anger.
"That's your fucking job, Merry Steele!" He growled and got to his feet.
"You're too dramatic, Damon Blackwell. You have a dishwasher."
"So?"
"I'm too important."
He hit the table and leaned closer, his eyes intimidating but Merry stared him down, hands on waist.
"You're irritating me and...." Damon began but he shook with anger, lost for a better threat.
Merry nonchalantly turned and catwalked to the kitchen.
"I won't wait five minutes, Blackwell."
She went straight to making breakfast.
It took some time but Damon grudgingly arrived and went straight to the dishwasher.
Silence.
"Get me sugar, Damon."
He acted like he didn't hear.
She walked up to him, not minding his dangerous glare or how big and dominant he looked over her smaller figure. She poked his rib twice.
"I need sugar. Right now."
He narrowed his eyes and watched as she went back to the frying eggs and vegetables.
"You have to bring the sugar because I can't leave this frying egg for a second."
"Don't fucking talk to me. Do your job. I'm busy with the dishes!" Damon snapped, frustrated. He didn't move.
"If I leave the eggs, it'll explode." Merry said, not looking Damon's way. He didn't mind her but she knew he was threatened.
"It'll burn your kitchen. And both of us."
Instantly, he moved. Fast.
Merry tried not to laugh as he ravaged in the cupboard for sugar.
"Make it snappy."
He walked back to her, his eyes still very angry.
They held eye contact as their fingers brushed lightly.
Merry was angry at herself when her heart kicked. She quickly smirked and put the sugar down.
She realized Damon wasn't going back to the dishwasher but he was watching her intently. She licked her lips, turned off the fire and went back to their staring contest, ready for him.
"You're not done with the dishes."
"Stop smiling like that. We're not having fun." He warned, dangerously.
Merry folded her arms.
"The contract never said you have the right to tell your most important chef...." She ran a lazy hand through her hair. ".... to stop smiling. A contented worker has to smile. And also, Damon. I'm not smiling at you. You-don't-fucking-deserve-it!"
He two deep breaths and went back to work.
****
****
When Merry finished cooking, she sat with Damon who was back to making calls at the table. She was first to eat.
Same time, Damon turned off his laptop.
Suddenly, Merry retched, bile rising in her throat. She nearly vomited on the table and had to spit the food out back.
Silence.
She was vibrating. Anger. Lethal anger. She looked up at Damon who stared, interested.
"What did you do?!" She asked, voice low.
Damon only stared, a little touch of a wicked smile reaching his face. He didn't know what was wrong but he felt pleased that it wasn't good.
"Damon, I asked for sugar!!! Sugar. Not salt. Can't you tell the difference? Now, you've destroyed breakfast. What the fuck is wrong with you?"
Damon leaned back, watching her with abnormal calm.
"You should be more careful who you challenge, Merry Steele. And yes, I can't tell the difference. So, now, you'll do your job without me. Don't come up to my room if you're not done with cooking."
"You're trying to prove you can control everything, huh?!"
"I control everything. That's what I'm made off. Don't play with me."
Merry tried to calm down as his words settled in her head.
She wanted to shout. She wanted to cry. She was annoyed but Damon was saying the truth.
Now, she had to get back to working again. She had to wash the dishes and cook on her own now.
But she couldn't let him feel superior with her. Determined, she narrowed her eyes at his departing form.
****
****
In the evening time, Merry finished her online meeting with Samantha, Nicki and some of her kitchen staffs.
When she looked up, she jumped, squealing and startled at seeing Damon sitting there quietly, watching her.
Waiting for her?
She was chilled then irritated.
Their eyes met again for the umpteenth time in one day.
"How long have you been there?"
"Longer than you can tell. Follow me." Damon simply said and began to go upstairs to his room.
Merry grudgingly kept her things and hurried after him, heels clacking on fine marbles.
From behind him, she silently stared at his broad shoulders and compact buttocks.
Damon Blackwell....
She remembered him so well. Even from how he walked, hip slightly swaying, posture sure and proud, large-sized muscles well toned through his grey shirt.
She was still trying to get used to the fact that he was from a multi billion dollar family and she'd never known in the past.
He was a pretender....
A liar....
A handsome devil.
He'd gotten bigger now. After five years.
But he was colder. In a bad way. Very bad way.
They got in his large, finely made bedroom and he walked to the closet while she sat on the bed, watching him get a handful of mall bags.
He walked back toward her and roughly tumbled out the many clothing they contained.
Merry stared, eyebrows quirked.
Red, black, pink, cream and wine colors were dominant and Merry realized he'd offloaded sexy thongs, lingeries, brazziers, see-through nightgowns and so many sexy silks and satins that even turned her on.
"How did you guess my size?"
Damon pulled her up to her feet, watching her intently. Gently, he wrapped his hands around her buttocks and then ran his hands sensually around her hips, savoring the feel of her sexy curves.
"You're very.... sizable by sight, Merry Steele." He rasped, staring at the intimate curve of her soft, full lips.
"Hm." She hummed. "Put some respect to a woman's body."
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8.6
It was my birthday, but instead of celebrating, I was bleeding on the floor of my own bedroom. My sister Serena had just smashed a champagne bottle over my legs, her eyes filled with a dark madness because our father allowed me to wear the family diamonds.
To escape her, I bolted into a pitch-black guest suite, only to be grabbed by a man who felt like a wall of solid muscle. He was drugged, unstable, and pinned me against the wall, his teeth sinking into my neck in a primal claim that left a permanent mark.
I managed to flee, but the nightmare was just beginning. My father didn't care about my injuries; he only cared that I had "insulted" the man in that room—Delos French, the most powerful CEO in New York. He threatened to stop paying for my mother’s critical care facility unless I went to Delos and begged for his forgiveness.
My brother Julian was even worse, intentionally pouring scalding coffee over my bandaged wounds just to see me flinch. They forced me into a revealing gold dress, treating me like a high-priced commodity to be sold to the highest bidder to save their failing company.
I didn't understand how the people who were supposed to love me could be more predatory than the monster in the dark. I had spent my life fixing their scandals, yet they were ready to throw me to the wolves the moment I became useful as a pawn.
But when I stood before Delos French at his gala, he didn't see a trophy. He recognized my scent, my touch, and the fire in my eyes. He trapped me in his private lounge, kneeling to clean the blood from my injured feet.
"Marry me," he whispered, his voice a low, terrifying growl. "And I will give you the power to burn your family to the ground."
I looked into the eyes of the man who had hunted me and realized he was the only one offering me a weapon to destroy the people who had broken me.
"Okay," I whispered.
8.9
For three years, Alana acted as the sole tactical brain for the Dawnbreaker squad, keeping them alive despite being labeled a useless "Dud" Conduit.
But right before the crucial Ascension Trials, squad leader Cash handed her a corporate sponsorship contract. The condition? She had to become the "private companion" to a greasy corporate heir just so the squad could get high-tier gear.
When she refused, the teammates she had bled for unanimously voted to kick her out.
"You're just window dressing, a liability."
They revoked her safehouse access, burned her belongings, and the academy advisor even tried to force her into a state-sanctioned breeding program. They left her to freeze in the slums, betting she would desperately crawl into the rich man's bed.
What they didn't know was that her inability to summon an Eidolon wasn't a lack of talent. Her teammate Dallin had been secretly sabotaging her rituals for years, crippling her potential just to keep her chained as their free tactician.
Stripped of everything and pushed to the absolute brink, Alana's despair morphed into a deadly resolve.
Using a million-credit black market loan and a forbidden blood matrix, she forcibly anchored an Apex-Tier cosmic wolf disguised as a harmless silver pup.
When her ex-squad tried to publicly humiliate her and burn her new "pet" alive in the cafeteria, a flash of silver light severed Dallin's hand instantly.
Looking at her screaming former teammates, Alana finally smiled.
8.4
Everything in Chris' world changes when he meets Kate.
Chris Cena who is a young billionaire CEO controls one of the most powerful empires built by his late father.
Chris lives under the shadow of his mother, Elisabeth Cena. The ruthless woman who once ruled the empire before handing it to him.
Kate Milmar who is brillant, sensual and emotionally guarded moves confidently among powerful men without ever allowing herself to belong to any of them.
When she publicly challenges a wealthy client, her fearless defiance immediately captures Chris's attention.
Chris offers her a dangerous proposal for her to leave her world and exclusively belong to him.
As their attraction grows slowly, Kate notices strange cracks in the history of the Cena Empire. Chris's father died suddenly years earlier and in the aftermath, Elisabeth took control of the company briefly before passing it to her son.
What once seemed like a normal transition begins to look suspicious as Kate uncovers missing records, hidden documents and a mysterious change in the company's will.
Elisabeth sees Kate as a threat to both her son and the legacy she had built and a silent war begins between the two women .
Chris gets caught between his loyalty to his mother and the growing feelings he has for Kate.
9.3
"Adrian, why would you lie to me? Why would you let her push my mum like that?"
Yvonne's voice trembled, holding back tears.
Adrian smirked. "Wake up, Yvonne. You really thought I wanted you when Tricia was right here?"
That was how Adrian-her first crush, the boy she thought cared-chose to humiliate her in front of everyone as she was the cleaner's adopted daughter.
But fate had other plans.
Because the Diamond Belfort brothers-the heirs everyone adored were coming to their school in search of their missing heiress- baby sister. But the queen bee steals the chance that should have been hers. Then again, secrets don't stay buried forever. With her true identity waiting to explode, Yvonne must decide to rise from the ashes, claim her place, and bring down everyone who tried to destroy her.
Because the real heiress doesn't beg.
She takes rather.
Now, Yvonne is done playing small. It's her time to rise, reclaim her crown, and make everyone regret ever doubting her.
7.9
Eileen Goff was a nobody, scrubbing diner tables to survive while her greedy family bled her dry.
On the eve of her twentieth birthday, the government's mandatory marriage algorithm matched her with a spouse.
It wasn't a plumber or a teacher. It was Harrison Butler, the ruthless, untouchable billionaire king of Butler Industries.
At the registry, Harrison's glamorous intended fiancée threw a half-million-dollar check at her.
"Take the money, get out of here, and never show your face again."
The registry supervisor even offered her a million dollars to sign a cancellation agreement, trying to erase her from the system.
At their first high-society gala, Harrison's stepmother and the fiancée locked Eileen in an empty room, plotting to humiliate her and prove she was just cheap trash.
Eileen was terrified and confused. Men like Harrison Butler didn't just accept federal matches with girls who smelled like fried onions.
But instead of abandoning her, Harrison smashed the door open, publicly banished his own family, and kissed her in front of the entire city's elite.
Why was this billionaire going to such extreme lengths to protect a complete stranger?
Then she overheard his assistant talking about a marriage clause in his grandfather's trust fund.
He didn't love her; he just needed a powerless, state-mandated wife to lock his parasitic family out of his empire.
Realizing she was a highly valuable pawn, Eileen stopped trembling, looked the billionaire in the eye, and spoke.
"I believe we can have more than just a legal relationship. We can have a business arrangement."
7.7
Silas Vane, a billionaire on the edge of ruin, needs his ex-wife's signature to save his tech empire-and June Ashby, his scorned orchard-owning ex, wants only one thing: to make him suffer.
The deal is brutal, simple, and non-negotiable: Silas must move back to their small hometown, trade his silk suits for calloused hands, and work the orchard harvest for six months. Worse? He has to play her doting husband for the press-fake marriage, real contract, no room for error.
What starts as a revenge-fueled game quickly spirals. As the sun dips below the orchard trees, old sparks reignite, and the line between fake and real blurs into something dangerous.
Silas came to town for a patent to save his empire. But he might just walk away with a broken contract-and a heart completely owned by the woman who set out to destroy him.