the torn collar of her dress, then to the faint red marks blooming on her pale skin whe

way from his grip. "You have to let me go

slid open beside them, spilling warm light into the hallway. It r

hoed from down the hall. "Get he

slid shut, cutting off the noise and plunging them into a tense,

crash. She could see her reflection-wild-eyed, disheveled, pathetic. "I'm sor

oke into it, his voice a low, cold command. "Mason. Handle the trash on floor four.

ultra-modern penthouse. Floor-to-ceiling windows revealed a breathtaking, panoramic

a massive marble counter with a sharp clatte

ould you care to explain why my legal wife is r

. your wife? No. You don't understand. It was

nd poured two glasses of scotch from a crystal decanter. The amber liq

a high-resolution digital copy of the marriage certificate. Her shaky signature was t

de it hard to breathe. Her hands began to tremble. She was marri

ing panic, she grabbed the glass of scotch and downed it in one burnin

smirk touching the corner of his lips

ng a hot, mortified red. "We n

ey, and something else... something dark and possessive. "An annulment," he stated, his voice flat an

h ravaged by stress, was going straight to her head. She sw

e screen lit up, displaying an unknown number. He walked away from her, t

c, she thought it might be her father, calling to threaten her again. On

the cold gla

ce, purred through the speaker. "Don't tell me you actually went throug

ainst her skin. This had to be Serena Beaumont. The n

ch had been cold before, were now blazing with a sud

is fingers brushing hers, sending a jolt of something like electricity through her.

. "It means nothing. The marriage means not

in her gut. A piece of paper. It means nothing. She wasn't just a mistake. She was a pawn in a game she didn'