Craving Forbidden Pleasures

every creak of the floorboards underfoot making her jump. She couldn't escape the buzzing in her pocket, though she had tried. Julian had told

lace, his shirt sleeves rolled up, hands tucked into his pockets, jaw tight. The fireligh

he said, voice low, alm

re-taken from a different angle, showing her and Julian leaving the guesthouse late at ni

how bold they are

They're insane. And they know e

, though the words sounded

e doesn't see you. Not really. Not the you I've been wanting for years. That'

ened. She swallo

ted, his voice sharp, slicing through her defense. "I

g herself sink onto the co

unding, and maddening all at once. "We take control," he said. "We make them reveal th

e jumped. "S

rs entwining with a possessiveness that made her shiver. "I'm not

husband. The man who had always been steady, predictable. And yet... invisible in ways that Julian

snatched it up. Another message. This one wa

Decide whose side you're on.

had shifted gears. It was no longer

s," she whispered, panic rising. "

ng you to betray him. Not yet. But you need leverage.

had once been pure temptation, now felt complicated by fear, guilt, and an ever-pres

d resting against hers. "You'

wanted him. Needed him. But the blackmailer loomed

stantly alert, hand brushing to the small pistol he kept in the kit

dropped. "Max?

unreadable. "I don't kn

utside, a figure crouched, slipping something through the mail slot. Julian's instincts flared.

's fists clenched, and he swore under his breath. Elena peeked out, heart

d been dropped. Inside, more pi

secrets won't sta

k violently. "He's

e handle this, everything changes. But if we move

what she had done, of what she was about to do. She had invited danger into he

very access point in the house. They were meticulous, methodical, yet the tension was

ed endless, her phone buzzed

unknow

you've been distant.

. Sensing something. And she had been blind, distracted, caught in Julian's orbi

rounding. "We'll protect you," he said.

ling between them-desire, fear, guilt, ne

r mind, a cold, insis

And when he does... noth