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𝗢𝗥𝗔𝗡:
𝙇𝙞𝙣𝙖 𝙎𝙘𝙝𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙯𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙖 𝙥𝙖𝙬𝙣.
𝘼 𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙮 𝙥𝙞𝙚𝙘𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙘 𝙄’𝙡𝙡 𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙢𝙮 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙣 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙚.
I’ll seduce her. Claim her.
Then flaunt my acquisition in front of her ex, Lawrence Wellington—
The man I plan to destroy.
𝗢𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗺𝘆 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗲, 𝗜’𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗮 𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴.
She’ll be the easiest and most … 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 part of my vengeance.
Charming her away from a man old enough to be her father won’t be an issue.
And if it comes down to it, I’m not above using force.
𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗔:
𝙊𝙧𝙖𝙣 𝘽𝙮𝙧𝙣𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙢𝙖𝙙𝙚 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙘𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙧—
𝙃𝙚’𝙡𝙡 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙥 𝙖𝙩 𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙢𝙚.
But he’s just like every other rich, entitled asshole.
He doesn't know me.
All he sees is a pretty object to be possessed and discarded.
𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗺𝗲.
I’ve come back to the Olympus Club for a reason,
And I won’t let anything stop me,
Least of all a smooth-talking criminal with arsenic on his tongue.
𝙄𝙛 𝙊𝙧𝙖𝙣 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙨 𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙛𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙣 𝙖𝙧𝙢𝙨,
𝙃𝙚’𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙖 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩.
𝘼 𝙉𝙊𝙏𝙀 𝙁𝙍𝙊𝙈 𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝘼𝙐𝙏𝙃𝙊𝙍: 𝘙𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘖𝘳𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘓𝘪𝘯𝘢’𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺. 𝘉𝘰𝘭𝘥, 𝘥𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘨𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥-𝘵𝘰-𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘭𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺. 𝘎𝘦𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘹𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘢𝘨𝘦!
𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦, 𝘐 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐'𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 "𝘮𝘢𝘧𝘪𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘦." 𝘔𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘰𝘧𝘵 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘵𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘳𝘶𝘦𝘭𝘵𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴. 𝘌𝘯𝘫𝘰𝘺!
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My Review
I was too pissed to play Prince Charming. Fuck that. I’d sooner throw her over my shoulder and lock her away than let that geriatric bastard see her in what should have been meant for me.
Jesus, I didn’t know where these thoughts were coming from.
I was out of control and couldn’t find it in me to care.
She started to answer, and I could tell by the fire in her eyes that I wouldn’t like what she was going to say. I cut her off before she got the chance to say a word. Clutching her wrist, I hauled her around to the alley on the side of the building. It wasn’t particularly private, but it was better than having it out with her on the goddamn sidewalk.
“Is Wellington taking you to the club for dinner tonight?” Just saying the words made my jaw ache with strain.
“Yes.” Defiance. So much bloody defiance.
“You don’t want to be with him, I know it. You came to Bastion for a reason. I didn’t make you—you came on your own. So why the fuck are you still going to see him?”
“I told you, it’s complicated.”
“Nothing’s that fucking complicated.”
“Maybe for you,” she shot back angrily.
My mind raced as I stared her down. I needed to handle this carefully, but my frustration tinged my vision with red, making it hard to see anything but my need to gain her submission.
The lighter was in my hand before I knew it, and I flicked it open.
“Can you swear on your life he’ll never see it?”
“You wouldn’t.” She gaped at me.
“Baby, you have no idea the lengths I’d go to.”
She crossed her arms over her chest and narrowed angry blue eyes at me. “Fine, I swear no other man will see the lingerie.”
My smile was slow and lupine as it crept across my face.
“Wrong answer.”
She could try to sass me, but it wouldn’t get her far. The small flame barely kissed the thin black tissue before the hungry flame devoured the paper.
Lina’s jaw plummeted, her eyes going wide with horror. And was that … a touch of … sorrow mixed in?
Shit, I didn’t want to hurt her. I’d been trying to prevent that. Being near Wellington, clothed or not, was dangerous for her in so many ways.
I tossed the smoking bag away from us and caged her in against the stone wall, forcing her watery gaze to mine. “Look at me, Lina.”
Questions and uncertainty spun in her eyes like little blue whirlpools of chaos. “Why, Oran? Why are you doing this?”
Only an inch separated us, and my body screamed with the need to close the gap, so much so that my breath grew choppy and shallow.
“Because you need me to. You need my help, whether you want it or not.”
It should have been a lie—a line I fed to her to win her over—but instead, it rang with sincerity even to my own ears. Where she was concerned, my actions were no longer purely motivated by revenge. I didn’t know what that meant for me and didn’t want to think about it.
I lowered my face to hers, drawn by an invisible force impossible to ignore. My lips ghosted over her skin—her temple, her cheeks, her lips. I never touched her, though. I made sure of that. My body vibrated inside with restraint, but I kept control of myself.
Lina trembled beneath me.
Her lips parted a fraction, and I felt her warmth as her chest lifted and strained closer to mine. We lingered in a timeless moment of suspense, all the while the whisper of my words from the club echoing in the air around us.
Kiss me.
Kiss me.
Kiss me.
Like a needle to a balloon, chaos exploded when Lina launched herself at me, her lips colliding with mine and arms tugging me close.
Thank Christ.
I responded with equal abandon. Pulling her luscious body against mine and devouring her kiss. The sweep of her tongue along mine turned my cock to solid stone. It pressed so hard against my zipper I worried it would leave a permanent mark. My physical reaction to her was undeniable. What amazed me even more was my emotional response. The second her body melted into mine, I went feral with the need to own her. To possess her so thoroughly she forgot any other man had ever existed.
Her submission to the desire pulsing between us was a sign that I was making progress.
It made me ravenous for more.
The small glimpse of what it would be like to have her for myself had my world tilting on its axis. The breathless moan that snuck past her lips. The tug of her fingers in my hair. The nip of her teeth on my bottom lip.
How could kissing anyone else ever compare to this?
It was impossible.
She’d decimated my prior standards and permanently altered my perceptions. She’d marked me in a way that couldn’t be seen, but I knew it was there, and I’d be damned if I didn’t find a way to return the favor.
I hated how much I wanted her.
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Jill is a Texan, born and raised. She manages the hectic social calendars for her three active children and occasionally spends an evening with her dashing husband. Aside from being an author and a mom, she's a travel junkie and loves to read when she is not lost in her own stories.
With Jill’s books, you can count on confident heroines, plenty of steamy tension, and deliciously assertive leading men. There are no guarantees in life, but with her books, you know everything will work out in the end. However, a perfect ending would not be nearly as satisfying without a seemingly insurmountable challenge. Jill loves to add plenty of adversity in her stories, creating unforgettably dynamic characters and sneaky plot twists you will never see coming.
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