The Sterling Scandal: Married To The Uncle

ng before Elena eve

iers of the Sterling estate blur into streaks of aggressive light. She gripped the edg

ok pale

k. Elena's future mother-in-law stood too close, her hand resting on Elena's

o say. Her tongue felt thick, heavy in

her eyes remained cold, calculating. She signaled a passing waiter with a sharp flick of her wrist.

to pull away, but her legs betrayed her.

lank as a slate, took her arm. His

the warmth, down a corridor that grew quieter and colder with every step. The plush carpet swallowed the sou

The part of the estate Rya

d, dragging her fe

oak door at the end of the hall. He opened it, the hing

ees hitting the thick

alled out int

ng behind her was the loude

the haze of the drug. She scrambled to her feet, swaying,

voice was weak, absorbed by th

utside the floor-to-ceiling windows, illumi

hen she

ows. He wasn't Ryan. This man was broader, darker. He was seate

n Ste

e man the family whispered about

ak. He just watched her with

heat; it was a disorienting vertigo that made the world tilt on its axis. She couldn't think. She couldn't breath

bled tow

tears blurring her visi

rs was cool against her burning palms. She could feel the rigid metal of his

y, but he didn't help her either. He sat the

ing through the darkness. It wasn't the voice of a weak man. It was t

arable. She tugged at the neckline of her dre

arp intake of

to the empty air, his v

a faint blue light. "Lock down the wing. No one

lap. The scent of him-sandalwood, tobacco, and something uniquely m

sigh that sounded like resignation, his fingers brushed against he

he comman

ization that the legs beneath her cheek felt as cold