Mag-log inOnce, as a girl of seventeen, beautiful, headstrong Portia Cabot saved the cursed life of the dashing vampire Julian Kane—who marked her forever, then left to go in search of his soul. He returns five years later to find the enchanting young girl he left behind grown into a bewitching woman with a woman's heart . . . and a woman's desires. Portia quickly discovers that Julian's seductive and forbidden kiss can still make her crave the night . . . and his touch. But the Julian who has returned to London is not the vampire she remembers. His fruitless pursuit of his stolen mortality has reduced him to drunken debauchery. And a recent spate of murders makes Portia fear that the man she has always adored may truly be a monster. Julian knows he must drive Portia away—but his passion and hunger for her grow more irresistible every time they touch. For years he has fought the temptation to embrace his dark gifts, never realizing that Portia's love may give him the most dangerous gift of all . . . a reason to live.
view moreThe champagne burned sweeter than it should’ve.
I tipped the glass back anyway, letting it wash over the taste of the lie on my lips and the ache in my chest. I wasn’t supposed to be here. Not in this club. Not in this dress. And definitely not in his world.
But the thing about wanting to forget, you’ll do anything to lose yourself.
Tonight , I needed to forget.
Forget who I was. Forget who I belonged to. Forget the name of the man I’d been promised to marry.The club pulsed around me, dark and dripping with desire. Bodies pressed, moaned, moved. I needed air. Space. Anything but this suffocating cage of glitter and heat.
I wandered down a hallway that was quieter, less crowded. Red velvet walls. Gilded doors. A hallway that whispered secrets with every step I took. My heels echoed until I found a door that was half-open, light spilling out like temptation.
I didn’t knock. I just stepped inside.
He was there.
Alone.
Leaning back in a black leather armchair like he owned the air around him. A glass of something dark in his hand. His shirt half-open, revealing a chest inked in black lines and sharp sin. His tie undone, hair tousled, jaw shadowed with stubble.
I stopped breathing. He was a fine man, my eyes are blurry but I know he is a fine man.
My heart stuttered. I shouldn’t be here. I’m engaged, somebody wife to be.
He looked up at me through half-lidded eyes, slow and lazy like a lion toying with its prey. His gaze dragged across my body in a way that made my thighs clench.
“You’re not supposed to be here.”
His voice was smoke and gravel. Laced with something dangerous.
“I…I got lost,” I whispered. My voice was breathless, thin. “Thought this was the bathroom.”
His lips quirked. Not a smile. Just amusement. Dark and unreadable.
“You always walk into strange men’s rooms wearing dresses like that?”
I glanced down.
The dress clung to me like it was painted on. Barely-there silk. No bra. No shame.
Blame the champagne.
Blame the fucking engagement I had no say about.
Blame him for looking at me like I was something he’d already imagined on his tongue.
“Didn’t mean to interrupt.” I took a step back, but the door clicked shut behind me.
“You didn’t.” He took a long sip from his glass. “Unless you’re planning on running. In that case…”
His eyes darkened.
“…don’t.”
I didn’t move.
Something electric snapped between us. Sharp. Wild. Forbidden.
“You’re drunk,” I said, my voice shaking.
“So are you.”
And it was true. I could feel it in my blood. Warm. Heavy. Reckless.
He set his glass down with a thud and stood.
My breath caught.
He was taller than I remembered.
Wider. Meaner.
“Come here,” he said.
I didn’t think. I just obeyed.
Step by step until there was no air between us. Just heat. Just breath. Just danger.
His hand lifted to my jaw. Fingers rough. Thumb brushing my lower lip.
“You looked delicious,” he murmured. “You know that, right?”
“Yes,” I whispered. I should have left at that moment. But I told myself there is nothing wrong with one last night of fling. A good sex where you can be bad as you want.
His thumb slid into my mouth.
I sucked on it.
Something snapped in his eyes.
He grabbed the back of my neck and kissed me.
Not soft.
Not sweet.
Claiming.
His tongue slid into my mouth like he already owned it. His other hand gripped my waist, pulled me against the hard length of him, made me feel everything.
I moaned.
He groaned.
I was pressed against the wall in seconds, his thigh between mine, rubbing against my heat through the soaked fabric of my panties.
His mouth tore from mine. “Say you want this.”
“I do.”
“I am going to fuck you here without mercy.”
“I know.” My voice broke. “I don’t care.”
His hand slipped under my dress, fingers finding the lace that was barely hiding how wet I was for him.
“F**k,” he hissed. “You’re soaked.”
I bit my lip. “Do something about it.”
That’s all it took.
He dropped to his knees like a man starved. Hooked his fingers into my panties and yanked them down. My leg lifted to his shoulder without a word, and then his mouth…
Oh God.
His tongue licked up my slit like it was something sacred. And then he sucked,sucked, on my clit until I saw stars.
I cried out, moaning so bad, so loud with a care in the world. My hands tangled in his hair. My hips bucked into his face shamelessly.
“That’s it,” he murmured into me. “Ride it, baby. Use me.”
I came. Hard. Shaking against the wall, his hands digging into my thighs like he couldn’t get enough.
But he wasn’t done.
He stood, wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, then unbuckled his belt.
“I’m going to f**k you now,” he said.
And he did.
Bent me over the couch like I was something to ruin. Slid into me with one long, hard thrust that knocked the breath from my lungs. He was so big that I could feel every inches of him filling me.
“You feel like fucking heaven,” he growled into my ear. “So tight. So wet. So…Goddamn…perfect.”
My nails dug into the leather. I was lost in him. In the sound of skin slapping skin. In the dirty words he fed into my ear. In the way his fingers curled into my hips like he never wanted to let go.
And just when I thought I couldn’t take another second, he pulled out, turned me around, and pushed back in deeper.
I kissed him like I hated him.
He kissed me like he wanted to destroy me.
We came together. Loud. Messy. Real. Screaming like a slut.
His body collapsed against mine, breathless. His fingers still gripped my thighs like he couldn’t let go. I felt raw. Split wide open.
But then, A knock. No, a voice.
“Mr. Wolfe, your car’s waiting. Your mother said the Lancaster family is expecting you at the engagement dinner.”
My blood turned to ice. I turned my head, heart pounding.
Killian eyes opened slowly. Watched the horror creep across my face.
“What did they say?” I whispered.
“Why are you looking that way?”
I shoved at his chest. “What the hell did they say?”
He pulled out of me slowly. Too slowly.
I pushed at his chest, breath catching. “Did they just say… the Lancaster family?”
He blinked. Confused. “Yeah. Why?”
I sat up, my legs trembling. “I’m Ivy Lancaster.”
His eyes widened. All the heat vanished from his face.
“You’re…” His voice trailed off.
He stood up too fast, reaching for his pants like it would somehow undo what just happened. “Victor’s fiancée?”
I nodded, choking on the word. “And you’re…”
He swallowed hard. “Killian Wolfe. His older brother.”
Silence.
The air turned cold.
My stomach twisted.
The women were sobbing.Eloisa was sitting between Caroline and Vivienne on the hard wooden pew, nibbling on a thread of her mother's pearls. In an effort to reassure Vivienne, Larkin sat across from her and squeezed her hand."Did you ever think this day would arrive?," I asked. The monogrammed handkerchief Caroline always carries in her bodice was used to dab at her pink nose as she begged her sister.Vivienne shook her head, tears welling up in her huge blue eyes. The only solace I can find is in the knowledge that we will be here for her in her time of need, providing support and direction as well as solace.She was stroked on the hand by Caroline. "Letting go of someone you love is never easy."Vivienne gave a nod. particularly someone so amazing.Eloisa moved around the pew and stood up as her agitation increased minute by minute. After spitting out the pearls, she looked gravely at the serious faces of the adults seated behind her in the pews.Up until a man, his tall, slender
Julian was standing just inside the French doors at the far end of the ballroom when Portia gently turned to look. He was dressed entirely in black. He was dressed in tall leather boots, a black shirt with a classy fall of midnight lace at the collar and cuffs, and black breeches. Never before did he appear more like a prince of the night.He added, his icy, mocking stare sweeping over her like a very beautiful but deadly blade, "Had I known Miss Cabot was going to deliver one of her impassioned speeches on the sentimental nature of true love, I would have tucked an extra handkerchief in my pocket."Valentine laughed bitterly before Portia could realize how much damage that had done to her heart. "I knew you couldn't be far behind if she was here. The way you follow her around like a stag in a rut is extremely bothersome."Angel, don't flatter the chit. You are aware that I trot after the heels of all attractive women, especially yours.Now that she was starting to wriggle seriously,
Torn between fear and relief, Portia scrambled to see her niece's face beneath the tumbling crown of honey-colored locks. Eloisa's small mouth was perfectly pursed into a rosebud, and her cheeks were softly suffused with pink. Under the ruffled bodice of her nightgown, her breast rose and fell smoothly, and her throat was unblemished. She seemed alive, and she looked uninjured.When Portia realized Valentine must have come from the one room neither she nor Adrian had looked in, she wanted to slap herself. The area had filthy stains all over the floor and empty chains hanging from the wall that could be pulled or bent to disclose a hidden room or corridor.Her finger gently touched the crossbow's trigger. As long as she was using Eloisa as a human shield, she knew she had no chance of obtaining a clear shot at Valentine's heart.Although the vampire's pale, slender arms showed no signs of exertion, Ellie was as strong as a small pony. She could certainly carry the child for hours witho
Cuthbert sighed contentedly as he snuggled down even more on his bed. He was looking forward to a long, warm slumber on this chilly winter night, with a hot brick wrapped in flannel to keep his toes warm and the fiery plum pudding he had eaten for supper still warming his belly.When someone started tapping on the window of his bedroom, he was almost asleep. He must have seen the snow turn to sleet, he drowsily reasoned as he rolled over and pulled the blankets up to his chin. The tapping persisted and had an odd beat as well as being persistent.He abruptly sat up in bed, his nightcap's tassel falling over one eye. Perhaps a limb had just broken under the weight of the snow and started banging against his windowpane. He hesitantly tore open the drapes on the bed and slid his feet onto the chilly hardwood floor knowing there was only one way to find out.He crept toward the window as his heart began to beat in an unpleasant rhythm. Even the familiar shapes of the wardrobe and washstan






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