ella

ay like a white-hot needle behind my eyes. The throbbing in my temples cam

our fuck

took to deto

my humiliation in bottom-shelf martinis until a dangerous stranger with ice-blue eyes became my terrible decision. Now my skin still

hat shattered what was left of my heart: "Hey Belly

what the treatment cost was. Knew the orphanage's m

count sheets at dawn. Every penny I'd scraped together for grad

scent of stale coffee and lemon cleaner hitting me. My roomm

er eyes dropped to my wrinkled dress, the

d eighteen, I walked out of the Sanchez mansion with nothing but my pride and a determination to stand o

more than a handful of nights under the same roof-Damon had always whisked me away to hi

d kept my name

brushing past her toward my room. She shifted unco

rned to arc

fter last night-he dared to plant himself in my home? T

I'd painstakingly picked out last February-the one he'd claimed to love because

The demand cracked throug

ng pace. Alan needed me. I would

my bicep, spinning me roughly. "Answe

e of his grip, "I seem to recall you forfeiting all boy

when anger simmered beneath his polished surface. "It's a

t. "How fortunate-because you're

s, the marks barely hidden by my collar, the lingering trace of Matteo's bergamot and san

AC

shockwave up my arm. The sound reverberated off the w

Deadly

my hand stark against his golden skin. When he spoke

s fingers digging into my arms hard enough to bruise. My r

breath scalded my lips, whiskey and rage. "Every inch of you belongs

ly, my nails scraping his wrist

all punishment-no tenderness, only possess

it

curse, copper blooming on

ps at the door

ed voice filtered throug

wisted free, scrubbing my mouth with th

s, "and I'll have you arrested before you can say 'pre-nup'." The whis

loud enough to drown out reason. Then came that smirk, the one th

ng his cuffs like he hadn't just assault

shut. My legs f

I slid down, gasping. Copper and salt-the

her hands warm anchors on my s

t. I lurched upright, the room til

es and faded Polaroids until my fingers closed around the navy passbo

28

't-I'd scrimped for years. Th

f-pearl dial. Damon's eyes had lit up when I presented the velvet box last annive

ed before the first ring fi

My voice wasn't my own-all fr

r... initial chemo cycle..." A bea

eyes. Melinda's hand steadie

-two t

three

undred.

kie with me when we were eight-was going to die because