LOGINSage POV Six Months LaterThe warm Mediterranean sun kissed my skin as I stood on the private terrace of our villa in Santorini. The Aegean Sea stretched out below us like a sparkling blue jewel. Whitewashed walls and bougainvillea surrounded me, and the gentle breeze carried the scent of salt and wildflowers.I wore a simple white sundress that barely reached mid-thigh. Underneath, I wore nothing at all — just like Mark had ordered this morning.Strong arms wrapped around me from behind. Mark’s bare chest pressed against my back, his lips brushing the shell of my ear.“You look beautiful, Mrs. Arthur,” he murmured, voice low and rough in that way that still made my knees weak.I leaned back into him, smiling. “I still can’t believe you made me take your last name so fast.”His hands slid down my sides, possessively cupping my breasts through the thin fabric. “I waited long enough. Six months was my limit. You’re mine in every way now.”I turned in his arms and looked up at him. He l
Mark POV“Sage! No—Sage!”My voice cracked as I dropped to my knees beside her. Blood poured from the gunshot wound in her side, soaking my hands as I pressed down hard.“Little bird… stay with me. Please, baby, stay with me.”Her eyes fluttered, unfocused, but she managed a weak smile.“I love you… Daddy…” she whispered.Then her head lolled to the side, and her body went limp.Terror, as I had never known, slammed into me.“No! Sage!” I roared, scooping her up in my arms despite the screaming pain in my own wounds. “Hector! Medic! Now!”Hector was already shouting into his comms. “Medical team to the east wing! Gunshot wound, critical bleeding! Move!”I ran through the smoke-filled hallway, Sage’s blood dripping onto the floor with every step. Her body felt too light, too still in my arms.The medical team met us halfway, wheeling a stretcher. They tried to take her from me.I snarled, refusing to let go until the last second.“Save her,” I ordered, voice breaking. “If she dies, eve
Sage POVTwenty minutes.That was all we had before Vincent DeLuca arrived with everything he had left — men, weapons, and a burning desire to destroy the man I loved.The villa had turned into a fortress in record time. Hector’s team barricaded every entrance, set up sniper positions on the roof, and armed every available person. Mark moved through the chaos like a general, issuing orders despite the fresh blood seeping through his bandages.I stayed right beside him, pistol holstered at my hip, my heart pounding so hard it felt like it might burst.Mark pulled me into a side room for a moment of privacy. His hands gripped my face roughly, green eyes blazing with intensity.“Listen to me, little bird,” he said, voice low and commanding. “When Vincent gets here, chaos is going to break out. You do not leave my side. If I fall, you run to Hector. Do you understand?”I shook my head, tears stinging my eyes. “I’m not running. I’m fighting with you. We promised—”His mouth crashed down on
Sage POVThe helicopter blades thundered above us as we raced through the night sky. Mark was slumped against me, his blood soaking through my shirt and his own. The bullet wound in his chest was bleeding heavily, and his face had gone pale beneath the soot and sweat.“Stay with me, Daddy,” I whispered urgently, pressing harder against the wound with both hands. “Don’t you dare close your eyes.”Mark’s green eyes fluttered open, locking onto mine with that fierce, possessive intensity even now. His hand weakly covered mine.“Not… going anywhere,” he rasped. “Not when my little bird still needs me to fuck her properly.”A broken laugh escaped me through the tears. “Save your strength for that promise.”The pilot shouted over the comms, “Landing zone in ninety seconds! We’ve got a medical team waiting at the secondary safe house!”Hector was on the other side, applying pressure to another wound while Beth frantically worked on her laptop, trying to jam any tracking signals Vincent might
Mark POVThe timer on the screen counted down with merciless precision.Vincent’s voice echoed through the speakers one last time before cutting off:“Fifty-eight minutes, Arthur. Transfer the company or watch your new toy burn with the rest of you.”The line went dead.I kept Sage pressed tight against my chest, my hand tangled in her hair. Her heart hammered against me. She was trembling, but not from fear — from pure, burning adrenaline.“We’re not dying here,” I growled. “Not today.”Hector burst into the server room, breathing hard, blood on his cheek from a graze. “East and west wings are compromised. They’ve got at least fifteen men inside. Explosives are confirmed on the lower levels — Vincent isn’t bluffing about leveling the place.”Beth was already moving, yanking cables and drives from the servers. “I can’t stop the detonation from here. The trigger is remote and hardened. We have to get out before it hits critical mass.”Sage pulled back just enough to look up at me, her
Sage POVThe sniper photo on the screen felt like a knife pressed to my throat.A red dot danced across the safe house entrance in the live feed. Someone was out there, watching, waiting for the perfect moment.My stomach twisted, but I refused to let fear win. I stood taller beside Mark, my hand still gripped tightly in his.“He’s trying to scare us,” I said, voice steadier than I felt. “Don’t let him.”Mark’s jaw was clenched so hard the muscle jumped. His green eyes were dark with barely controlled rage. “He’s not scaring me. He’s signing his own death warrant.”Hector moved fast, barking orders into his comms. “All teams, go dark. Shut down exterior lights. Activate full blackout protocol. Snipers on the roof — find that spotter and neutralize.”Beth was already typing furiously. “I’m spoofing our location feeds. He’ll see ghosts for the next twenty minutes. But that won’t hold forever.”Mark turned to me, his bloody, bandaged hand cupping my face with surprising gentleness.“Litt
MARKMy wrists burned from the rope biting into my skin. The room was quiet, too quiet, except for the faint hum of the wind outside. My shoulder throbbed where Alice had shot me, but the pain wasn’t the worst part—it was being here. Trapped. Helpless.She sat across from me in an old wooden chair,
MARKThe ropes fell away from my wrists, leaving my skin raw and burning. My shoulder throbbed where she’d dug out the bullet, but I barely felt it. All I could think about was getting out—getting free.Alice stood in front of me, watching with that maddening, unreadable smile. She was too calm. To
I wanted to deny it. I wanted to tell her that nothing about this felt good—but my body was already betraying me. I was too far gone. The sound of ger ass slapping against my laps suddenly felt like music to my earsHer fingers traced down my chest, slow and teasing, as she ground against me. Every
Mark’s POVMark’s POVThe cell was quiet, but my mind was a war zone. I sat on the edge of the cold bench, elbows resting on my knees, fingers laced as I stared at the ground. I had counted every crack on the floor, memorized every shadow on the walls. And still, no answer.Until the cell door open







