LOGINThe maid nods rapidly, leaning in closer. "Oh, absolutely. And Madame Caroline is either too stupid to notice, or she’s just pretending not to know because she simply doesn't care enough about her husband to waste the energy. Honestly, I think she just uses it as an excuse to yell at him." I let ou
"Are you new? I don't remember hiring a beauty like you." The smooth, oily voice makes my skin instantly crawl. I freeze, keeping my hands wrapped tightly around the damp handle of my mop, forcing my shoulders to drop into a submissive, slouchy posture. I lift my head just enough to look at the ma
When my eyes snap open the next morning, the bright summer sunlight is pouring through the windows, drilling straight into my skull with the force of a hangover. I groan, moving to shift my weight, but my hand brushes against something soft and foreign. I freeze. I slowly turn my head to the other
A blinding, white-hot anger replaces the alcoholic haze in my system. I slowly turn around to face Camille, who is currently smoothing down her white silk nightgown, looking remarkably unbothered by the fact that she just completely obliterated my entire life. "Why didn't you correct me?" I growl,
Her chest hits my chest, her hands moving to my shoulders for support, and suddenly, all the space in the room completely vanishes. We are so close I can feel the heat radiating off her skin through the sheer fabric of her dress. Her scent is different though. She usually smells like vanilla, but
I sit solitary at the grand marble island in the kitchen, the low amber nightlights casting long, depressing shadows across the smooth counter. My fingers trace the rim of my crystal glass as I pour the last round from my now entirely empty bottle of top-shelf scotch. The amber liquid hits the gla
The hallway of the Newton’s mansion is long, arched, and lined with portraits of ancestors who look like they’ve never smiled a day in their lives. I’m practically jogging to keep up with Owen’s long strides, and very out of breath. "Hey, slow down would you?" He ignores me and if anything, incr
The moment we step through the door, Grandmother is on me. She pulls me into a hug that smells faintly of lavender and old paper, but the warmth is immediately punctuated by a sharp poke to my ribs. "You," she says, pulling back to fix me with a squinted gaze that could pierce armor. "You are a lit
I completely pull away this time, ignoring the way she whimpers slightly in her sleep at the loss of heat. I stand up, feeling slightly woozy as the blood rushes to my head. The room tilts for a second before coming into sharp focus. I straighten my rumpled dress shirt, feeling like a mess. I need
The first thing I register is warmth...a soft, radiating heat that definitely doesn’t belong to my high-thread-count Egyptian cotton sheets. Then there’s the scent. It’s not the sharp, masculine smell of my own room or the faint lingering bourbon on my breath. It’s lilies and... woman...ly. My ey







