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After taking a sip, I closed my eyes, envisioning a night of raw, unbridled passion. It was crazy to think that if I met the man responsible, the experience would be something I wanted.
Or needed.
But my instinct told me that this was just the beginning.
And that our connection would be explosive.
After putting the glass on the table, I pulled the red ribbon, slowly releasing the contents. The gold tissue was the same, the card positioned in the center. This time, the bold statement left no room for imagination.
Only your submission can ease the pain, providing a pure moment of ecstasy. And when that happens, only then can we be free of the torment, the burning need. The time is near…
I’d once believed that I’d already met my Prince Charming and that one day he’d come to take me to his castle. Was it possible he’d found me? Or was it the devil posing as my knight in shining armor?
I held my breath as I peeled away the tissue, exposing the contents beneath. Three crystal roses, the light overhead creating a spectrum of colors dancing through the glass. As I reread the card, there was no doubt in my mind that he was coming.
And my life would never be the same.
CHAPTER2
Three months later
Eden
“Hello, Carmella.”
Nightmares always seemed more relevant at night, the time when shadows were allowed to roam the earth, grizzly monsters seeking their prey for the evening.
Soulless, violent, angry monsters.
I’d always been afraid of the dark, the temptation to fall into an abyss of my own making, allowing the savage creatures to feast with wild abandon terrifying.
But not nearly as much as this moment. Only this wasn’t a nightmare. This was real.
The man who’d sent the roses, who’d left me hungering for more had swept into my life days before. I’d ignored the warning signs, preferring to bask in the anonymity as well as the intoxicating excitement of our game. I’d known somewhere inside that I’d been playing with fire, but the dance between us had been far too delicious. Only now I knew his intentions hadn’t been worthy, only a reminder that there’d been no place to hide.
I turned around slowly, noticing the gun in his hand. Everything came rushing to me.
The horrific scene.
The blood.
My parents’ bodies.
Time stopped abruptly, as if the last several years of my life had been swept away. A sick feeling pooled inside as his voice scattered around me, dark and dangerous just like I’d suspected him of being only days before. But I’d let my guard down, pretending as if our twisted game was innocent, inviting him into a realm I’d locked away.
As if his cruel method of seduction had been about the intense attraction we’d felt from the minute we’d met. But it had all been a lie, a pretense to ensure my trust. He’d known who I was all along. He’d hunted me, playing me for a fool. Then he’d become determined to enjoy the win, feasting on his prize.
And I’d allowed it to happen.
The man I’d started to adore and to trust was here to kill me. My masked man. My Zorro. There was no other answer. Maybe Cruz was my uncle’s assassin. That didn’t seem right. He was far too powerful, a man of importance.
Another mafia organization. A rival of the Rosario family. If only I’d asked more questions about him all those years ago.
As if I had any family left.
Had Cruz seen to that?
Was he the man responsible for gunning them down in cold blood, which is exactly what my uncle wanted me to believe?
