eo's

ouse was

Macallan catching the city lights below. New York throbbed with life-a symphony of c

ars at my command. And yet, here I was,

sible heels clicked across marble.

turn. "

Parisian runway, speaks three languages. M

l tumbler chilled my

Long legs, pouty lips, eyes that promised lust. They knew the deal. A ni

r something-a spark, a fli

e syllable shatt

ated. "Shall

und the glass. Somewhere in this godforsaken city, there

th true wealth-low lighting glinting off crystal glasses, murmured conversations worth millions, t

g like a countdown to nothing, when her voice

ON'T! You

urn

orce to make the bartender wince. Wild dark hair tumbled over bare shoulders, her cheeks flushed wit

ightened aro

fool in a knockoff Armani suit thinking h

ng before

grinding beneath my fingers. "The lady

face-until recognition hit. Hi

nough for him to sme

ve.

ambled

t startlingly clear beneath the club's dim lights. Now that

Just smooth skin flushed with honest emotion, lips bitten pink rather tha

the kind of woman who belonged

rebellious dark lock behind one ear. The simple gesture exposed t

led low

y teeth. Wa

with complications

-but not without one last warning. "Litt

muttered retort carried just enough def

blood-red. I didn't look back, but I felt her-the unsteady click of heels, the intox

nt littl

e still following

her voice quieter now but still edged with that irresistible d

ead minutes ago now gazed up at me with eyes like fractured amber. Moonlight caught on the delicate slope of her bare sho

es off her skin. The urge to

ale. "Where's your p

ead. "They all

ex's be

es and wounded hearts-wanted promises written in the stars. The

nd something primal

er than I intended, "you don'

e still burned beneath the hu

ithout humor. "Fo

pped closer, her fingers brush

u

g just enough pressure to make her puls

her breath warm against my jaw. "A

, and years of ironcla

Not since my ex-wife's betrayal had taught me the danger of intimacy. Lips

more for myself than her. My fingers tangle

d my lower lip-a playful challenge that sent fire straight

caped me. So the

rning tomorrow," I murmure

*

ella

madness possessed m

arried switchblades and a grudge against the world. Maybe it was the vodka still burning through my veins, blurring Damon's

s met, lightning a

e my breath, his broad hands gripping my hips hard enough to brand me. I could fe

k t

dled with kid gloves. I was wildfire

nk into his

esh as something dangerous flashed in his gaze. "Careful, little

ighting in the way his bo

matter how desperately my fingers clawed at his belt, he refused to give in. His clever hands br

ed, my voice bre

ked smile that promised bo

deep timbre of his voice vibrating through

with need. When his strong hands tossed me onto the silk sheets,

his powerful frame. My wrists were shackled above my head with one effortless hand,

ding shivers down my spine. "Where are you

ght of forgetting. But the command in his voice, the possess

hip, fingers pressing i

pered, arching agai

e like smoke. "Do you have any i

me..." The words spilled out unbidden,

he

was an inferno. His body claimed mine in a single

ul stroke pushing me toward oblivion. It was punishment and worship, agony a

errifying truth burned brighter than t

*

bed and the sound

n vivid detail-his hands on my skin, my nails scraping down his back, the way I'd begged fo

ng fingers through tang

to a stranger's penthouse and let him ruin her in

The caller ID froze my breath-St. Mary's Orp

o my own ears, my vo

calm had shattered into something

my veins. "W

"The tests came back... It'

is crayons with me during my darkest days, who call

sob I couldn't afford to r