s of the penthouse living room, laying her down gently on t

nd the Manhattan skyline glittered li

He pulled off his suit jacket, tossing it over an armchai

ked off her heels entirely, groaning

oice barely a whisper. "Plea

s of room-temperature mineral water from a crystal car

der her neck, lifting her

fingers. She gulped greedily, but her coordination was shot. Half the water missed her mouth, spilling over

breath

ntly translucent, clingin

kin from the side table. "I told you to drink slowly," he scolded quie

nst her damp collarb

thick fog of alcohol in her b

e he

gold in his dark eyes, the faint white scar over his eye

nn

nquer. The man who had made he

up inside her, mixing with a strange, di

you?" Daphne slurred, her voice dr

in still pressed again

s hands

t, digging her fingers into the fabric, and y

shing her, he threw his hands out, his palms slapping

part. She could feel the h

nd dangerously tight. "Look at me. Look at

ng sound. Her eyes were bright, f

spered, her gaze dropping to his mout

rged u

dn't k

bit

hard angle of his jawline, biting hard enoug

ripped through Ben

ic restraint he had built over thirty-two years of ruthles

l growl tore f

ed itself violently in her thick, dark hair, a

sk. He didn

is mouth dow

s lips were hard, hot, and tasted of vintage bourbon. His tongue invaded her mouth

muffled whimper

mouth, the weight of his body pressing her into the sofa, and t

into his thick, dark hair, pulling h

ights outs

ed across the hardwood flo

pitch, consuming them both until the cold, c

the quiet, brutal v

ough the gap in the heavy velvet drapes,

he pounding headache that felt like a sledgehamme

rotest. Her hips ached, her thighs felt bruised, and ther

alized she c

was draped over her bare wais

eyes snap

nia-king bed wrapped in five-thousand

g to hammer like a trapped

her, facing h

ing the sharp, terrifying angles of his face. The white duvet covered him only

ath caught i

t as a trickle, bu

y. The car

ting h

k. Her own voice crying out his name over and over again agains

ow, clapping both hands over her mouth to

he was complete

ooded her veins, temporarily o

orearm off her waist. Bennet didn't wake, only letting o

feet hitting the cold floor. She had to grip the

d around

in a shredded heap by the doorway, the sk

ldn't w

or. She snatched it, threw it on, and cinched the belt tightly around her waist. It swallo

he just needed to

ving room. Her clutch was on the floor by the sofa. She scooped it up, sl

ed around the brass handle.

y so soon, M

om the shadowed h

with sleep, and enti

on last night, I thought