hed as heavily as the crystal glass above our heads. I glimpsed myself in the polished s

lness and my own voice and glass shattering. "Twent

question mark. My mother's knuckles had turned white around her fork, my ten-year-old niece and ne

d between us like a g

The most powerful CEO I'd looked up to all my life was gon

be some other way for you to pay off your debt to Blackwood. Legal channels. Restruc

up watertight contracts that would drown what's left of Monroe Industries in litigation for the next fifty years." He pushed his

led, burning beneath every syllable. "A signature on bankruptcy

aucer. "Reginald, this is barbaric. S

s bankrupt. Completely. Three generations of Monroe legacy - erased. Ju

The company that was my birthright, my future - gone.

betrayal lining the lines around her e

zabe

ng fight with the skill of a sur

spine, a cold, resolute sense crystall

crumpled. "Ade

ble wrinkles in my clothing. "This family has been 

flowers and tulle configured in arrangements of m

st like a breastplate. "Ms. Monroe? I'm Rachael. Mr. Blackwood exte

ng like ash. "He can't even look at t

ssional smile s

me - something feral and backed into a corner. "Now, Rachael. I

ith her tablet, initiating the call. The ringing see

important Rachael. T

ce little. "Your... fian

off with br

n toward me, apology all over her

that was different than the rest - midnight black, the kind of silh

e, normally bl

tartling sharp as a blade. "Tell

black against my skin. I questioned my reflection

" I said, emerging from

ou have the fl

clear-I'm not seeing someone else today. My future husband" - the word dripped venom - "hasn't bothered w

alth and power that reached to the heart of the clouds themselves. My heart thudd

d directly onto a wide o

n Bla

with broad shoulders that filled out his custom suit to perfection. Sharp jawline. They have storm-g

ogant bastard," I

I heard with horror th

say?" His voice w

oposes marriage to a woman without even talking to her about it? Without even knowing her name? You wan

walked slowly, stopping within inches of me, close enough that I c

ent is business, nothing more. Make no mistake, this is no other thing... You're a bill of goo

flattering. You really sure know how to make

care how

. "You didn't even have the decency to

was tight but not painful, yanking me toward him. My free hand moved instinctively to pres

on the edge of his desk, fingers retreating i

ice dangerously low. "The trappings

slid it onto my finger without breaking eye contact. His fingers trailed down my spine;

th close to my face. "Now be a

ing life from my momentary trance. I tilted forward, our n

But don't be fooled-this good girl has fangs. And I guarante

urprise, maybe. Or respect. But it was gone befo

rrow I would be Mrs. Julian Blackwood. But the woman who would recite those

nd something much more