ed from her brain. She clawed at the brass chain lock, tryi

that radiated outward, making her skin feel too tight. She tu

g through the heavy velvet curtains. It illuminated dust motes

d water.

umbled forward, her hands outstretched, groping the air. The sil

with something h

quiet room. She pitched forward, c

t o

l grinding together. It wasn't a question. It was a command, vi

age. She tried to speak, to apologize, to explain she was hiding, but her thr

on the armrest she was holding flickered to life, casting a g

dark circles under his eyes, and the sheer, unadulterated rage etched into his features

iah S

Broken King. The man who had disap

ice dropping an octave. "Did O'Connell

e was a prost

ck away, but her legs gave out. She collapsed ont

c of his dress socks, she could feel the c

ched. He hated the reminder of the limbs that no longer obeyed him. He rea

ng with you?

body trembled uncontrollably. He smelled it then-the cloying sweetness o

he stated. It wasn't

ical ache, a demanding, throbbing need that the drug had artificially induced. She le

arted on the door s

A muffled voice sho

her knuckles white. She looked up at him, her eyes

e woman clinging to his paralyzed legs. He s

ed a red button. The sound of heavy deadbolts sliding into plac

at the door. "Unless you wan

topped. Footst

the room had shifted. It was thicker

She felt like she was burning from the inside out. S

egan to tear at the bodice of

didiah warned,

dress down, exposing her shoulders, her ches

, her movements clumsy and desperate. She didn't know who he was a

e felt nothing in his lower body, but his mind... his mind was screaming. It had been thre

ed, grabbing her

r lips were soft, tasting of that bitter chemical and swe

den desire. He released her wrists and tangled his hands in her hair, pulling her head back to deepe

hroat, a soft mewl that v

reclining until it was level with the bed beside them.

s swallowed