Page 60 of A Sinful Gravity

That frenzied, punishing sex hadn't filled the black hole inside me. If anything, the emptiness afterward cut deeper.

She'd pushed me away. Said she never wanted to see me again.

I closed my eyes, head back against the seat.

Chloe was right. This would only drive her further away.

"Luna..." I murmured.

Knowing was one thing. Doing was another. I couldn't control myself around her. I saw her and had to touch her. The thought of her with someone else made me want to kill.

I sat in the car for a long time. Long enough for my clenched knuckles to ache.

Then I got out, went upstairs, and threw myself into the bathroom.

The bathroom still looked the way Luna had arranged it. When the diffusers ran out, I'd bought identical replacements.

As if she were still here.

But now, when I closed my eyes, all I saw was her cold, disgusted stare in that run-down apartment.

Six years ago, she'd looked at me with hesitation, with eagerness to please, with love.

Not anymore.

Now her eyes held only resolve and indifference.

I didn't know which hurt more. Her old eagerness to please, or her current coldness.

I let the hot water drown me.

When I came out, I checked my phone. One message stood out—from Charlie.

"Mr. King, got some results from London. Should have partial findings by morning. Want me to send them over?"

"Send it." My fingers trembled as I typed.

I was desperate to know what her years had been like.

Then I couldn't sleep.

I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. Eyes closed, I saw her. Eyes open, I saw her.

At three, I got up for a drink. Didn't help. At four, I paced the living room. Still nothing.

Finally, I gave up, sat by the floor-to-ceiling windows, and watched the sky lighten degree by degree.

My phone buzzed.

Charlie's investigation report. The file was incomplete. Luna had deliberately covered her tracks in London. But most of it focused on her time at the Royal Ballet after she'd become known.

I took a deep breath and opened the attachment. A brief summary sat at the top.

"Luna Crawford, current principal dancer with the Royal Ballet, London. Began performing with the company three years ago; previously taught at a subsidiary troupe."

"Investigation shows Crawford arrived in London six years ago. Early life extremely difficult. Besides Royal Ballet work, she held three part-time teaching positions at different dance studios while working at a café."

"Records gap in the middle, but three years ago she started in the corps. Small performances at first, then her talent was recognized. Fast-tracked to soloist, then rapidly promoted to principal dancer."