nging them into a dimly lit, narrow corridor t
ence. The sharp clack of her stilettos against the concrete floor echoed loudly in the empty space. She kept her eyes fixed
t Iris's bare shoulders, snapping her completely out of the adrenaline-
d she j
ence had terrified Angus into running away. And she had practically demanded he kiss her. Her pace began to slow down involuntarily. She hugged her arms, trying to put more distan
steel fire door. The man stepped past
arking garage. A fleet of identical, pitch-bla
brated sharply in th
together in a slight frown as he pulled out
" he co
an, reporting a sudden fluctuation
lit second. His hand, which had been hovering ne
She acted on pure
wn, and bolted. She sprinted toward the green exit sign glowing at
tic clicking of her sh
take a single step to chase her. He just stood there, watching her
nto the phone, his eyes never leaving th
pocket and pulled out the gold-embossed in
aced the cursive letters pri
Sul
across his face. It was a
anhattan sidewalk. She flagged down a passing yellow cab
out, her chest heaving as she struggle
street remained empty. The terrifying man hadn't followed her. She slumped ba
lips had claimed hers with such brutal authority. She pressed her fingers to her mouth, then yanked them away as if burned. S
up to the massive wrought-iron gates
ipstick off her face, and smoothed down her hair. The reflection staring back at her looked diffe
through the side gate and walked quickly down the gravel g
en the heavy
of the massive Swarovski cry
ad called them an hour ago, furious that she had vanished from the gala, forcing them to abandon the event early ju
key glass down on the glass coffee ta
age! We had to leave the most important networking event of the year b
the obedient daughter. "I had a sudden, severe migraine,"
cking laugh. She stood up a
Iris. If you ruin this merger with your little tantrums, I will personally see to it that your trust
ke ice water poured dir
in kept her face perfectly blank. She nodded slowl
ightly. He waved his hand in disgust. "Go to your roo
ked toward the gran
cond floor, she stopped. Her expression s
heard the hushed voices of t
The biggest deal of the night didn't even sho
car crash messed up his head as much as his legs. They say he's completely paralyz
breath
ad been seated behind a massive mahogany desk, speaking about global market expansion with a quiet, measured eloquence. Exceptionally polished. Almost painfully courteous. The kind of man w
was paralyzed. Confined to a wheel
he image of that poised, articulate man reduced to a bitter hermit was unex
he masked stranger who had kissed her senseless and then dissected her inexperience with surgical precision. Whoever he w
and locked the door. She th
up to unclasp her necklace, her fingers brushed against something caught in the delicate lace trim of her
ilver, set with a single, flawless onyx stone. The metal was cold and weighty in her palm, clearly custom-made. On the
lapels to pull him into the kiss, her fingers had scrabbled against his cuffs. She must have snag
The serpent and dagger-she didn't recognize the insignia, but it
. And she had just kissed him, r
into her palm. She swore to herself she would find out exactly who that
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