The Captain's Darkest Sin

la

d at the dark ink, my chest tight. Every word on that paper was a life sentence

a," my father said, his voice smooth and cold. "W

oe to the Volkov Syndicate. You know what people say about Nikolai Volkov. They c

, leaning back in his tall chair. "And Chloe is thrilled. She wants the tit

that contract, she belongs to a family of dark demons who will use her to clean up their reputation. Look at these clauses, Dad. You're giv

ashing behind his dark pupils. The air in the room grew cold, bu

e untamed. No high-born immortal wants a woman who acts like a lawyer and looks at men like she wants to snap their necks. Chl

I said, my voice shaking wi

rip your title at the company tomorrow. You will have nothing. No office, no power, n

ff his face. But he was right about one thing. If I walked away now, I couldn't protect Chloe from t

ed the bottom of the page with a sharp strok

as he gathered the pages. "Go home and chang

the office before I did som

go home.

n. I would have to watch her smile while she walked straight into a trap, totally unaware that

and drove straight

when they wanted to drop their fancy titles and hide in the dark. No soft music, no high-class w

e box, tied it around my eyes, and wa

hrough the crowd of shifters and vampires, ignoring the ey

ey," I told t

oise in my head. My inner vampire was pacing, dark and restless, furious at my father, furious at my own helplessne

tapping the glass

h for the bottle, the heavy fro

g, but the voices around the bar faded. Everyone turned to lo

shoulders blocking out the light from the hallway behind him. He wasn't wearing a fancy suit like th

n energy that felt like a storm brewing right inside the room. His knuckles were bruise

He just leaned his elbows on the counter, buried his face in h

and focused on my own glass. But my inner vampire leaned toward him, d

omeone," I said, my voice carryin

opped, and those glowing blue eyes turned toward me. He l

st in line," his voice was a deep, gravelly ras

ry it. I've had the worst day of my life, so

e heat coming off his skin was intense, al

ed, his blue eyes narrowing behind his mask. "Yo

a slow sip of my second drink. "And I know you're sitting here alo

ough and sharp. "Maybe they just

to know when someone is just th

around him flaring up instead of backing down. He stood up from his stool, taking a

silver mask," he murmured, his voice

t a bar," I said, looking right up into his eyes without flin

ed dark, almost black for a split secon

locked around my pulse point, a sharp shock ran straight up my arm and hit me right in the chest. M

my wrist, my heart ham

re his skin was touching mine, his

d, his grip tightening just

n carrying all day was melting away, replaced by a sudden, terrifying heat that

stepping even closer until his chest

r his thumb. "Are you going to keep standing there hold

d his grip on my wrist, turned around, a

drag me through the narrow hallway toward the private rooms at t

pulled me inside, and le

iet hum. The room was small, lit only

. He came with me, his massive frame trapping me completely. His hands came up to

owled against my ear, his

is chest. I could feel the hard muscle under his shirt, the

repeated, his voice