AllFreeNovel
Share Us
While the woman was considered just another enemy due to her choice of professions, what little I’d taken the time to find out about her left no indication she was a real threat, at least in the immediate timeframe. She simply had poor taste in men. The thought gave me a smile since I was evil personified. At least that’s what I’d been told on more than one occasion. Her mouth twisted as my words settled in, a demand that she would never be allowed to ignore.
“What does that mean?” she dared to ask, as if she didn’t have a full understanding of my intentions.
“Quiet, my lioness.”
I hadn’t expected her, an unassuming beauty with cornflower blue eyes that had managed to drill straight into my blackened soul. I’d stood there, watching her pretend as if the fact her fiancé had failed to show up for the most important day in her life hadn’t bothered her. The only slight indication she was troubled in the least was the way she had chewed on her lower lip, removing a portion of her rose petal pink lipstick, a color that didn’t suit her.
After that, I’d been forced to consider the fact she’d grown weary of the pompous man who’d treated her like shit. Women were to be savored in all their glory, their greatest fantasies brought to life, if only for a few hours. I’d been surprised she’d answered my question so willingly, allowing me to catch a glimpse of the woman she’d prefer to be. The change of attire as well as her sensual selection had been another clear indication there was a depth to the woman. That had solidified my need for her, a desire so strong my cock had remained hard the entire time I’d spent at the hotel.
Red was her color, vibrant and bold, just like the flash of her eyes when annoyed or aroused, both emotions I’d been privy to only two hours before inside the ballroom.
But her defiance at the church had drawn me in.
That was the very moment I’d wanted nothing more than to storm the altar, ripping aside the prim and proper dress in order to expose the temptations she offered in a single smile or the way she brushed her hand through her hair.
The draw to her was as powerful as an illegal drug, the need surpassing any sense of rationality. My thoughts of keeping her for the long term should be discarded, shoved aside like trash.
In my world, an addiction meant a direct pathway to the kind of hell that included merciless torture. Of the mind. Of the heart. Of the body. The level of despair all depended on the type of dependence. The personal weakness was always exposed, whether by accident or as a method of power.
It was something I couldn’t afford. Unlike my younger brother, the thought of being in any kind of relationship had never been allowed in my mind. Yet when I’d walked into the church, the dazzling woman had awakened a part of me I’d considered dead for a good portion of my life. That had been by choice, not circumstance. I had enough money and power I could indulge and fulfill my needs with a single phone call, partaking in the kind of proclivities that shock most people.
Stephanie Morgan wasn’t that kind of woman.
She was a rare flower, a creature who refused to succumb to her fears, no matter what adversity she’d faced. She was still considered an enemy, a woman whose prosecution record mirrored Gregory’s, yet she’d never attempted to destroy my family or my organization.
However, I’d been determined to destroy her, if only to teach Gregory a lesson he would never forget. My current intentions were entirely different.
I would make her mine.
Mine to taste.
Mine to fuck.
Mine to possess.
This was just the beginning.
Her bare skin called to me, the softness adding to the treachery of the moment. If she only knew what I’d originally had planned.
She’d spoken to the two hundred guests summoned to attend her wedding without emotion, inviting everyone, including Gregory’s family members to a blowout party. Her words. There’d been a determined look in her eyes, her expression a clear representation of her resolve.
Perhaps no one else had caught the inflection in her voice, the hint of anger that had fueled her ability to address the crowd.
But I had.
I’d been the mysterious stranger in the back, separate from the dozens of guests who’d been horrified at Gregory’s actions, the quiet time allowing me to determine how I’d wanted to handle dealing with her.
My intentions at the time had been deadly, taking something from Gregory to remind him that going against the Kozlov family had repercussions. While I wasn’t in the habit of killing a woman, especially one as beautiful as Stephanie, I’d felt it necessary at the time in order to keep Gregory on a short chain.
Then I’d walked into the ballroom of the hotel, and everything had changed. The scent of her perfume. The dress she’d changed into. Even the way she’d remained to herself had called to needs I’d shoved aside, the intense, dark cravings that few women could tolerate. While my purposes were no less damning, my plans had changed.
I wanted her all to myself.
And my intentions were anything but honorable.
I’d gotten too close, allowing my desires to interfere, shoving aside my usual methods of operation because of her. While there was nothing fragile about her, a part of me knew that at some point I’d be required to protect her against a world full of monsters.
However, I’d already shoved the realities aside.
