nging them into a dimly lit, narrow corridor t

ence. The sharp clack of her stilettos against the concrete floor echoed loudly in the empty space. She kept her eyes fixed

t Iris's bare shoulders, snapping her completely out of the adrenaline-

d she j

ence had terrified Angus into running away. And she had practically demanded he kiss her. Her pace began to slow down involuntarily. She hugged her arms, trying to put more distan

steel fire door. The man stepped past

arking garage. A fleet of identical, pitch-bla

brated sharply in th

together in a slight frown as he pulled out

" he co

an, reporting a sudden fluctuation

lit second. His hand, which had been hovering ne

She acted on pure

wn, and bolted. She sprinted toward the green exit sign glowing at

tic clicking of her sh

take a single step to chase her. He just stood there, watching her

nto the phone, his eyes never leaving th

pocket and pulled out the gold-embossed in

aced the cursive letters pri

Sul

across his face. It was a

anhattan sidewalk. She flagged down a passing yellow cab

out, her chest heaving as she struggle

street remained empty. The terrifying man hadn't followed her. She slumped ba

lips had claimed hers with such brutal authority. She pressed her fingers to her mouth, then yanked them away as if burned. S

up to the massive wrought-iron gates

ipstick off her face, and smoothed down her hair. The reflection staring back at her looked diffe

through the side gate and walked quickly down the gravel g

en the heavy

of the massive Swarovski cry

ad called them an hour ago, furious that she had vanished from the gala, forcing them to abandon the event early ju

key glass down on the glass coffee ta

age! We had to leave the most important networking event of the year b

the obedient daughter. "I had a sudden, severe migraine,"

cking laugh. She stood up a

Iris. If you ruin this merger with your little tantrums, I will personally see to it that your trust

ke ice water poured dir

in kept her face perfectly blank. She nodded slowl

ightly. He waved his hand in disgust. "Go to your roo

ked toward the gran

cond floor, she stopped. Her expression s

heard the hushed voices of t

The biggest deal of the night didn't even sho

car crash messed up his head as much as his legs. They say he's completely paralyz

breath

ad been seated behind a massive mahogany desk, speaking about global market expansion with a quiet, measured eloquence. Exceptionally polished. Almost painfully courteous. The kind of man w

was paralyzed. Confined to a wheel

he image of that poised, articulate man reduced to a bitter hermit was unex

he masked stranger who had kissed her senseless and then dissected her inexperience with surgical precision. Whoever he w

and locked the door. She th

up to unclasp her necklace, her fingers brushed against something caught in the delicate lace trim of her

ilver, set with a single, flawless onyx stone. The metal was cold and weighty in her palm, clearly custom-made. On the

lapels to pull him into the kiss, her fingers had scrabbled against his cuffs. She must have snag

The serpent and dagger-she didn't recognize the insignia, but it

. And she had just kissed him, r

into her palm. She swore to herself she would find out exactly who that