a's

the person

two Thorne siste

ow lengthening under the club's

owed to the scent of him-expensive bourbon, ced

scent will be gone

ht of it made

ce low, cutting through

eavy, rhythmic, his long eyelashes

angel, beautiful

urself his w

g but his over

nd you, and you

ted. The people aro

en hand-delivering TEA to Silas for three years. Like a

arriage license," another added, foll

to Celine Thorne. She sat there like a que

d, my voice projecting w

Fine Arts Institute-how much do you even make

y slipping for a fraction of a second. "What the

was already baring her teeth. "How much do you pull f

ashing a dangerous amber. "It's no

I said, a cold, jagged

a lowly 'nanny.' Because Silas pays me a million a month just to exist. An

ughter died in their throats, replac

e's eyes-the realization that the "human fluke" had b

, who was hovering nervous

vintage labels. Drink up, everyone. If the bill is under a m

the money; it was Silas's anyway, and I was done b

ul now that I'd probably spent more in one night than they made

d silence. Once inside the marble foyer, I heaved

ed hand throbbing with a

it the cushions, Sila

eplaced by a human frost so cold it cou

t suggested he hadn't lost a single

been awake for every insult, every mocking la

me down just to see

mmering against my ribs like a trappe

wist. "I thought you said you were done playing servant, Lana.

er Tea," I said flatly, igno

called it "human slud

tering the slow-acting silver poison from his blood-a toxin meant

onth to save his lineage, a secret

on of my own accumulated savings at an undergro

, mending the final fractures in his DNA,

owled. He stood up, looming over me, his Alpha aura expan

omesticity and silence? You're li

catch my breath. "You saw the message. 10:00 AM tomorrow. Don't l

ned, his pupils blowing wide until

ee years," I whispered, the pain finally bre

with it one more night, Silas. The

ped into my personal space, his voice a

you're looking for a higher bidder, aren't you? A human who sells her soul for a mo

randfather's cancer treatments and the rare herbs that made Silas the powerful A

e, Silas, I won't stop you. " I tu

done wi

nt, effortless tug, he pulled me back onto the sofa, pinning me beneath the crushing

ars, and you haven't fulfilled a single 'marital' duty. Not once. Did you really think the Vane family was a goddamn cha

im that he was the one who had refused to touc

was a claim. It was

at his shoulders, my injured hand screaming in

in. If this happened, the transfer would finally be

dom,

n ex-luna, no f

waist like he owned me. His b

ing to wake something in me, "Lan

st let him press

ck. My sense of

rk me, to sink his

three years of longing. Even if

hands grabbed my nipples with a slow, possessive

resistance finally started to mel

and low, almost intimate enough to feel

on't div

artbeat,