Feigned Flames

**Chapter 1: The Deal with the Devil**

Ella Reinhart had always been the kind of girl who slipped through the cracks. At twenty, she was sweet, sharp as a tack, and invisible to most. Her sleeper build—lean but powerful, with a big, curvy backside that could stop traffic if anyone bothered to notice—went unremarked upon as she navigated the college campus with her nose in a book. But today, invisibility wasn’t an option. Today, she had a problem named Caleb Voss.

Caleb, with his infuriating smirk and piercing green eyes, was everything Ella despised: arrogant, entitled, and the campus’s resident bad boy. They’d been at each other’s throats since freshman year, their rivalry a campus legend. So when he cornered her outside the library, leaning against the brick wall like he owned the damn place, Ella’s hackles rose before he even opened his mouth.

“Reinhart,” he drawled, voice dripping with mockery. “You look like you’ve got a stick up that fine ass of yours. What’s got you so tense?”

Ella’s brown eyes narrowed, her grip tightening on her textbook. “Maybe it’s the stench of desperation coming off you, Voss. What do you want? I’ve got better things to do than entertain your bullshit.”

He chuckled, pushing off the wall to step closer, his height looming over her. “Oh, I’ve got a proposition, sweetheart. One that’ll benefit us both.”

“Call me sweetheart again, and I’ll shove this book so far up your—”

“Easy, tiger,” he interrupted, holding up his hands. “Hear me out. My ex is sniffing around, trying to get back in my pants, and I need a fake girlfriend to get her off my back. You need social cred to stop being the campus ghost. We pretend to date, put on a show, and everyone wins.”

Ella blinked, then laughed—a sharp, biting sound. “You must be out of your damn mind if you think I’d play arm candy for you. I’d rather skinny-dip in a piranha tank.”

Caleb’s smirk widened, his gaze dropping to her lips for a split second before returning to her eyes. “Come on, Reinhart. You’ve got fire in you—I’ve seen it. And I’m not asking for much. Just a few public appearances, some hand-holding, maybe a kiss or two to sell it. Unless you’re scared you’ll like it too much.”

Her cheeks flushed, but not from embarrassment. Fury—and something hotter—simmered beneath her skin. “Scared? Of you? Please. I’d chew you up and spit you out before you could blink.”

“Then prove it,” he challenged, stepping even closer, the heat of his body radiating against hers. “Be my fake girl. Show the world you’re not just some wallflower. Or are you all talk and no bite?”

Ella’s jaw clenched, her mind racing. She hated him—hated his cocky attitude, hated how he got under her skin. But damn it, he wasn’t wrong. She was tired of being invisible. And if she could use this to her advantage, rub it in his face while she was at it…

“Fine,” she snapped, poking a finger into his chest. “But let’s get one thing straight, Voss. This is business. You try anything funny, and I’ll make sure you regret it. I’m not some damsel you can paw at.”

His grin was pure sin. “Wouldn’t dream of it, Reinhart. But I gotta warn you—I’m a hell of a good actor. Might be hard to keep your hands off me when I turn on the charm.”

“Keep dreaming, asshole,” she shot back, but her pulse was racing, her body traitorously aware of how close he stood, the scent of his cologne wrapping around her like a dare.

Their first ‘public appearance’ was set for that night at a frat party. Ella showed up in a tight black dress that hugged every curve, her confidence a weapon as much as her glare. Caleb’s eyes darkened when he saw her, his jaw ticking as he approached, a beer in hand.

“Damn, Reinhart,” he murmured, voice low and rough. “You clean up nice. Trying to make this hard for me already?”

She smirked, stepping into his space, her hand brushing his chest as she leaned in. “Just selling the act, Voss. Don’t get any ideas. I’m still picturing ways to knee you in the balls.”

His laugh was a rumble, his free hand sliding to her waist, pulling her closer as partygoers watched. “Keep talking dirty like that, and I might start liking you.”

Her breath hitched, the heat of his touch searing through the thin fabric of her dress. She hated how her body responded, how her skin prickled with something dangerously close to want. “In your dreams,” she hissed, but her voice was softer, edged with something she refused to name.

As the night wore on, the charade grew more intoxicating. His hand lingered on her hip, her fingers brushed his neck, and the tension between them crackled like a live wire. By the time they slipped away from the crowd, finding a dark corner of the house, Ella’s resolve was fraying. His gaze was hungry, her own mirroring it despite herself.

“You’re playing a dangerous game, Reinhart,” he growled, backing her against the wall, his body caging hers. “Keep looking at me like that, and I’m gonna forget this is fake.”

Her lips curled, defiant even as her heart pounded. “Try me, Voss. I dare you.”

His mouth crashed into hers, hot and demanding, and she met him with equal ferocity, her hands fisting in his shirt. The kiss was a battle, all teeth and heat, and as his hands slid down to grip her ass, pulling her against the hard evidence of his desire, Ella knew they were teetering on the edge of something explosive. Her body was already wet, aching, and the night was only just beginning…