e soles of Aislinn's heels and settling deep in her chest. The air was thick with the scent of e

over the music, thrusting a ma

nst Harper's. "To never answer

y down, but there was an odd, metallic aftertaste she didn't recognize. She

he threw her head back, letting her dark hair cascade down her bare back. She felt eyes on her-hungry, appr

't looking at the crowd; he was looking at the woman in the green dress. He signaled a waiter, slipping a folded bil

sofa, his head in his hands. The room was dark, lit only by the amber glow of the ci

his voice rough. "G

ance is ins

ing up. The room tilted dangerously. "I said clear t

retreated, closing

k with Vance earlier-a scotch that tasted slightly off-and now he felt like he had been hit by a tr

n stumbled. The ro

ed, steadying her. "One martini

er tongue felt thick, too big

ome wit

away gently. "Stay. Dan

s seemed to stretch and warp like a funhouse mirror. She turned

ccess

ted. She punched in a code on the keypad. 1-0-2-4-9-8. It was the universal override code for all

ed green. The

ck wall. The elevator shot upward, bypassing the

nto a room that smelled of cedar and exp

ed out, but her vo

r heel caught on the edge o

ht her before sh

hard, warm chest. The scent hit her instantly-not cologne, but som

ale voice growled, deep and

send up, but as his hands gripped her bare arms, his brain short-circuited. Her skin was

his features. Her drugged mind supplied an image from a ma

ands sliding up his chest, feeling

e sudden, overwhelming sensory overload of her touch, snapped the last

e whispered, but his mouth

gasped, opening to him, and he groaned, a sound of pure, starving n

ilding. Inside, there was only the sound

ips. The way he moved-dominant, demanding, yet terrifyingly focused on her. Aislinn had never felt this kind

arp tug as they moved, the delicate gold chain snapped. The necklace slid un

t that seemed to drug him further. "Mine," he gritte

n and the heat. For tonight, she wasn't Rose

c, overcome by the sedative Vance had slipped him earlier, fell in

in her system was metabolizing fast, leaving behin

ltered through the blinds

rned h

ing next to her. The sharp jawline. The dark, b

r

ble speed. She scrambled backward, falling off th

ex-husband. On the

he woke up-if he saw her-everything she had built, every secret sh

y she could barely pull the zipper up. She didn't look for her

heavy fire exit door. She sprinted down the concrete stairs, fli

ater, the ele

ibed a housekeeper for, intending to stage a "morning after" phot

scattered. And on the sofa, Eric Koch was asleep

saw the empty space beside him. Sh

rkled in the gap of

y, antique gold locket with a massive emerald. She t

he unclasped the broken chain, tied it in a knot

ffled her hair to look like she'd been s