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It was the first thing she felt. The second was heat, a suffocatin
sent from a brain that felt like it was submerged in syrup. The room was black,
A wave of nausea rolled in her stomach. She reached a hand to her face, and
sn't he
consciousness, a high-speed collis
ge of town. Her brother, Ricky, told her to
hazy, like a poorly
sharper than a shard of i
specialist. Expert in infiltration
a soul being torn in two. She was Eliza, a girl who weighed over 180 pounds and dreamed of
, and it was
rough her veins. It wasn't just confusion. It was a drug. Her train
oss the room. Th
an instinct that the soft flesh
the room. A silhouette stood there, tall and broad-shouldere
re, the economy of movement even
low growl, thick with the same drugged h
The name surfaced from Eliza's murky me
pupils blown wide. He was fighting the drug, she
x-it all melted away, leaving only a primal, desperate need. It wasn't about pleasur
ark, a frantic, graceless struggle dr
the sound of a door sp
acophony of clicks and flashes erupted, a machine-gun
harp, cold fury. He moved with lightning speed, grabbing the silk sheet and wrapping it around her, shield
hrieked.
ce a mask of horror and disgust. Beside her, his father, Harri
tide of reporters. Eliza's parents. Her mother, Brenda, had a hand over her mo
ily. His eyes, clear and sharp now, were filled with a murderous rage. He
general, the patriarch of the Malone clan. He surveyed the scene,
eclared, his eyes locking onto Julian. "For
d a trembling finger at Eliza. "We will not have that... th
h, just loud enough for her to hear, "God, Eliza... I told you this
analyst processing a catastrophic intelligence failure. The body of E
ir cameras still flashing. He was trapped. A scandal of this magnitude would derail his milit
on. The cold, hard ma
as pure, undiluted loathing. He wasn't looking at a woman. He
he word sharp enough
nged. "Lawyers will draft the prenuptial
, pulling a robe around Eliza's shoulders, her hands shaking. She guided h
ly, tears tracing paths down her worn cheeks. She reached
d," she whisper
er hand, saw the genuine fear and love in her eyes. But inside, where Nyx resided, the
forced marriage. A pow
sion wa
rv
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