ly

rand altar was lined with towering marb

h the fine fabric of his suit, I could fee

doors, a woman stepped out fr

s Van

as entirely too revealing for a

sly ambitious associate connected to

r me before dismis

o Jasper's face with a

at he was beneath t

stare, a triumphant smirk

purred, emphasizing the name Juli

ed a powerful maf

ysical blow, and for a moment, my stomach

e, fully convinced I had chosen th

e always claimed Vanessa was just an uns

tmare had shown me their sick wa

Jasper's identity to run the European car

ided to let them dig their own grave

old, radiant

Vanessa," I

t exactly what

red for a fract

I pulled Jasper toward the grand do

and a somber, liturgical strain of orc

ds of hardened Capos and Soldiers, a sea

he altar displayed the intertwi

name were written i

eeling the weight of a tho

oward the

a were sitting sh

ecting the sacred ceremony

the velvet-lined

began the ancient,

y shielding me from the predatory crowd. His heartbeat beneath my palm was sl

pews, and a sickening flash fr

lobe, whispering that

churned w

t mine from the pews, a prima

as if suddenly remembering he was

his jaw, trying to m

and, her eyes darkening with

is voice echoing as he commanded the groo

room, so profound one co

st to skip the kiss today-he had been disgusted by

uilt on Jasper acting as a

ed out from the pews. It was Vanessa, on her feet,

seal the deal!" Vanessa taunted, her

to holler and instigate, pounding their fists on th

yanked Vanessa ba

but his authority was slipping fa

hroat as he swallowed, a difficult motion that forced a h

to pull away-waiting f

I defied

y lips against his. The room erupted, but all I could hear was the single,