The Devil's Claim

ut as she sat across from Dante Moretti, she realized s

andfather clock in the corner. The world outside was a blur o

inst his glass. He had already agreed to hear her

urmured, voice smooth as silk, "but

to let her nerves show. "I wouldn't be

rave. Or foolish." He leaned forward, his elbows

her head a hundred times before stepping foot in his club. But

rdo De

me left her lips,

is fingers curled around the glass a fraction tighter. The name carr

. The weight of it pressed against h

omething dangerous beneath it. "Tell me you didn'

led into fists

ed fast.

g over her, his presence swallowing the space between them. His han

something darkly intoxicating-filled her se

like a razor's edge. "If I take you under my protect

f to meet his gaze.

ciding how much she was worth. Then, finally

rri

th caugh

et her see the deadly amusement in his gaze. "A Moretti bride

s. Marriage? She had been prepared to owe him a deb

rious," sh

g the cuffs of his sleeves.

oiding men like him-men who ruled with an iron fist, who saw

r mind scr

wh

father's enemies h

eading every thought running through he

shakily. "An

o warmth in it. "Then you can

elaborate. If she

to the ground, and now, the only w

r chin. "When

smirk

ow