cus

kind of high-stakes corporate negotiation that usually left me e

than driving out to the suburbs and waking up in a household I was still adjusting to, I had my assistant book the penthouse suite at my usual boutique ho

ay finishing her college semester, purposefully avoiding me from what I could gather. Vanessa spent half her time bragging about me to her social circle and the other

arble floors of the bathroom. I tied a single, dark gray towel securely around my

of the moon cut through the massive glass windows, casting long shadows across the polished floor. I took two heavy, delib

d.

fr

nose first, cutting through the sharp aroma of my san

someone

every ounce of my fatigue. I moved closer to the edge of the mattress,

eep, rosy pink. Even from a few feet away, the heavy, sweet scent of alcohol radiating off her was unmistakable. She was completely, utterly drunk. Near

ironclad. People didn't just wander into a bi

p, gravelly baritone that cut through the quiet room li

open. They were wide, glazed over with a heavy, wine-induced fog, shimmering with a mixture of unshed tears and sheer daze. She stared up at me, her gaze

n't panic. She just stared

who tolerated intruders, no matter how beautiful they were

uise was beginning to bloom across her left cheek-a fresh, violent mark that looked entirely out of place on her soft skin. My e

ng her parted lips. She reached out a trembling, delicate han

hing sorrow that seemed to vibrate right through the air. "It has to be a dream...

emoved immediately. She was clearly out of her mind, drowning in whatever trauma

r the phone on the nightstand. "You're in the wro

sudden, desperate speed. She slid off the edge of the high ma

hite-knuckled intensity. Her touch was like a violent jolt of electricity, sending a sharp shockwave straight up my thigh. "Please... I just want to experience t

gly vulnerable, kneeling before me in the moonlight like a sinner begging a demon for mercy. She had no idea who I was.

chest heaving as her warm

manding edge in my voice had completely vanish

are skin and her intoxicating, drunken desperation. Every logical part of my brain screamed at me

s entirely bet

l hunger to the tight grip of her hands on my knee, to the sight of her flushed lips, and to the heavy, sexual tension that had suddenly tur

ness. I was not in the mood for games, I didn't know this girl, and the lo

, and my personal items were packed away. I was completely unprotected, completely unpre

o grip her wrists-not to push her away, but because the dark, wicked urg