LOGINRomanThe Diamond Club sits behind an unmarked door on a street that doesn’t appear on any map worth finding.I’ve known about it for years. Getting inside has taken considerably longer.Two of Gerald’s men are positioned at the entrance when I arrive. They see me coming and the shift in their posture is immediate, hands moving before I’ve reached the bottom step.“Private event tonight,” the larger one says.“Move,” I say.“Mr. Bellerie—”My men come up on either side of me. Gerald’s men reach for their weapons. My men reach faster.The street goes very still.Six men with weapons drawn on a quiet Thursday evening, nobody moving, everybody calculating.“There will be a bloodbath on this pavement,” I say quietly. “And I promise you, I won’t be the one going down.” I hold the larger man’s gaze. “So think carefully about the next five seconds.”A voice from inside.“Let him through.”Gerald’s voice. Controlled. Reluctant in a way that costs him something.The men step asid
RavenThe babies section of Harrods smells like something between a nursery and a dream.I stand in the middle of it holding the tiniest pair of socks I have ever seen in my life and feel something happen to my chest that I wasn’t prepared for.“Raven.” Anaya appears at my elbow, arms already full. “Look at this.” She holds up a cashmere onesie the color of warm cream with little bear ears on the hood.I take it from her and hold it up and stare at it.“I can’t,” I say.“You can and you will.” She’s already moving down the rack. “We’re getting three.”I put the onesie in the basket and keep walking.I’d decided early this morning that I’m not going to find out the gender. I don’t know how to explain it properly to Anaya except to say that it doesn’t matter. Boy or girl, this baby is already the most loved person in the world and has been since the moment I found out they existed. I don’t need a color to prepare myself. I just need to show up.“So we’re going unisex,” Anaya co
Roman (Past)“He won’t give up unless we give him something,” Marcus said. “He wants every potential threat eliminated. He won’t stop hunting until he believes the heiress is dead.”“Then give him something. A body.”“I’ll make arrangements and see if we can find a dead girl who shares the heiress’s features. That should convince him to call off the hunt.”“Good.”Erica reappeared a moment later, this time carrying her luggage.“I need this sorted once and for all before the weekend,” I said, ending the call with Marcus. I finally turned to face her fully.“Where’s Raven?”“I put her to sleep,” she answered, her hand tightening around the handle of her suitcase.“And where are you going with that?” I asked, my gaze lifting from the luggage to her face.“I can’t stay here anymore. I don’t want any part of this. I swear I’ll disappear. You’ll never see me again. I’ll never tell anyone. Just… please let me go.”“You signed a contract,” I reminded her.“I’ll pay you back. I promise.” She
RavenRoman pushes inside me inch by inch and the stretch of him pulls a long broken moan out of me that I don’t try to stop.I’m tender from everything the red room did to me early hours of today. But I’m so wet, so embarrassingly, obscenely wet, that my body takes him anyway, my slick running freely, easing him in despite the ache, and my fingers find his shoulders and hold on.“Babygirl.” His voice comes out rough against my temple, strained in a way I feel in my stomach. “I can’t stop fucking this pussy.” A low grunt. “Feel how good you take me. Every single time.”“Don’t stop.” The words fall out of me without permission. “I mean it. Don’t ever stop. Use me however you want. I’m yours. All of me.”The sound that leaves him is heavy and deep and I feel it vibrate from his chest straight into mine and heat floods through me so suddenly I clench hard around him and feel myself leak down his length and onto his thighs.He grips my hips and starts to move.Just lifting me and
RomanThe water runs hot and I let it.I stand under it with my hands braced against the tile and let the steam fill the room and think about Van Davis sitting across from me three days ago in a restaurant he chose because he thought neutral ground meant something.He’d come to me.That was the part I still turned over. Van Davis, who had more pride than sense and a public profile he protected like a second income, had called my office and asked for a meeting. I almost didn’t take it.I’m glad I did.He sat down across from me and didn’t waste time. Told me the child was his. That he and Vivienne had seen each other a couple of times, that she’d come back to him a year into my engagement and he’d been stupid enough to let her.“That woman means nothing to me,” he’d said flatly. “She thought she could crawl back after everything and I’d want her. I didn’t. But she was there and I was stupid.” He leaned back in his chair. “I’m not letting another man raise my child. That’s the on
Raven‘What are you up to, Roman Bellerie?’ I think to myself as I drain the last of the wine in my glass.Everyone looks shocked at Roman’s accusations, waiting for Vivienne to defend herself.She doesn’t break the way people would expect someone in her shoes to.That’s the thing about Vivienne. Even cornered, even with the room turned against her, she finds something to hold onto.“Disgracing me at our wedding wasn’t enough for you?” Her voice comes out steadier than it has any right to. She pulls herself up off the floor, straightening the dress, lifting her chin. “Not showing up, leaving me standing there in front of everyone wasn’t enough? Now you want to stand here and deny your own child? In front of my father?” Her eyes fill, and even now they’re performing. “How cruel can one person be, Roman? What did I ever do to deserve this from you?”“You’re still choosing to do this the hard way,” Roman says.“I’m not doing anything. I’m telling the truth.”“Last chance, Vivienn
Raven“Come on Cousin. Don’t embarrass me in front of my potential date. It was one incident—”“There were several incidents.”“The bucket thing was an accident.”I look between them. “The bucket thing?”Anaya’s eyes light up. “Oh, she doesn’t know.”“She doesn’t need to know,” Jack says, pointing
Roman Stepping into the office this morning, I’m reminded of all the problems that has compounded for me. “You actually did it, boss?” Marcus’s voice is low, controlled, but I hear the shock underneath it. He has worked for me long enough to know better than to wear his reactions openly. He isn’t
Raven I shouldn’t. I open the box anyway. The diamond catches the light immediately, almost aggressively, as if it were designed specifically to make a person feel small. It’s enormous. Flawless. I lift it out. Turn it once in my fingers. And then, almost without deciding to, I slide i
Raven I need air. Away from Roman. I thought I could handle being here with them, but I was wrong. I slip out a side door that leads to a private terrace. I can breathe here. I walk to the edge of the terrace. Lean against the stone railing. Close my eyes and just exist for a moment with







