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PROLOGUE
Sedona
“Drop the knife,mon amour.”
His gruff voice had once enticed me, setting not only my body but my world on fire. It seemed like yesterday that I could look into his eyes, allowing myself to fall prey to his darkness.
And the danger he offered.
No more.
The man was a brutal killer and nothing more, a monster in expensive clothes, designer Italian shoes, and a muscular body. “Not a chance.”
“Then you will die and it will not be by my hands. Do you understand me?”
“I’ll take my chances.”
“I can’t allow you to do that,cherie. That would weigh heavily on my conscience.”
I laughed bitterly even as a single tear slipped past my lashes because I knew he didn’t have any.
Just like he had no soul.
As he took a step forward, I swung the implement, the sharp blade close enough I could tell I’d put the fear of God into the man. He jumped back several feet, hissing under his breath. The single light in the room barely illuminated the anger sweeping across his chiseled features, the piercing look in his eyes reflecting his frustration.
He glanced down at his shirt, noticing the red stain from the way the blade had nicked his skin. I followed his gaze, laughing softly.
“Then so be it.” I swayed as I advanced. As a clap of thunder rolled in the distance, I took a scattered breath, shifting the ancient knife from one hand to the other. My grandfather had used the old tool as a boy when he’d worked in sugarcane fields in Hawaii, the beautiful state I’d been lucky enough to grow up in. He’d given it to me as a treasured gift, something to remember him by after he’d gone.
I’d kept it wrapped in the same special cloth, sharpening the blade every so often as memories of scouring the beaches where we lived replaced those of my everyday life. The powerful man had used the instrument to save my life once upon a time, wielding it with mastery, protecting me at the cost of an intruder’s life.
Now I would do the same, refusing to allow the savage standing in front of me to take everything away. My career. My soul. My heart.
It didn’t matter if the man I’d once hungered for took my life.
But not before I destroyed his.
“You’re in danger,cherie. Allow me to take care of you,” he said, his eyes never leaving mine.
“That’s not going to happen.”
“You belong to me. You know that.”
I laughed, the sound as bitter as his tone had been before. “Not any longer. I’ve seen images of your world, the violence and bloodshed, and I want no part of it. This is my home. My life. What happened was a mistake.” I took another step closer, and he refused to back away. When I pressed the tip of the blade against his chest, he peered down briefly, then threw his arms back.
“Then do it, Sedona. End my life. If that’s going to make yours easier, remove the need we have for each other. Do it.”
The challenge was real, the smile on his face repulsive. I’d fallen into his trap, losing my mind in the process. He’d already taken everything from me. My freedom. My soul. Now he wanted to claim my heart. As tears slipped past my lashes, I reared back my arm, prepared to strike. I’d learned to become the same kind of hunter that he’d been all his life.
“I hate you,” I said through clenched teeth. But that wasn’t the truth.
He cocked his head, a moment of sadness failing his usual controlled expression. “And I adore you,mon amour. Together, we will find our destiny. You will become mine until the end of time.”
Suddenly, panic rushed into my system, crippling all rational thought.
As I swung the blade, the tears continued to fall. Light sparkled in vivid colors around my periphery of vision, images of the first time we’d kissed floating in front of my mind in a beautiful haze. As others swept through me, it was as if my life had begun the moment he’d drifted into my world.
Moments of passion and excitement.
