Marked by You

like a wild halo, her brown eyes glassy and puffy from crying. She had dressed in the wine-red lace bodysuit Edward once said he liked back when he still p

ng to hide it. He had brought the woman home with him thin, busty, legs for days. A stripper, he had said. A real woman. The words had landed

that evening, his voice laced with disdain. "I'm a man with nee

is absences, his endless criticisms. She had hoped he'd change. She thought her love would be enough. But now, with the sound of

ation was

get out. She couldn't breathe in that apartment a second longer. The city lights blurred behind her tears as s

a high-end nightclub on the city's elite strip. "The Crimson Room", the sign read in glowing red script. It pulsed with

e her way to the bar and ordered the strongest thing they had. One drink turned into two, then three. The room spun deliciously. For the first t

usion didn'

y by the looks of his watch and shoes, but slimy in the way he grinned at her like she was

trying to stand, but her

, sweetheart. You've been eyeing me

n, but before she could scream or

a low, commandi

man

all black, his presence like a storm wrapped in silk. The man who had touched he

sta

ly tousled, and his tailored coat hugged a body built from dominance. But it was his energ

lone," he said, his voic

t the alcohol hit her in a fina