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Chapter 42

Penulis: Skylar
last update Terakhir Diperbarui: 2025-03-08 04:11:44

Roman

“Never intentionally.”

“Yes, intentionally.” She rolls her eyes. “You said she lied to you. And dragged her into your bravta messy business, Ana’s not like that.”

Adrenaline surges through my veins. Did the key to finding Ana just drop itself into my lap?

“I know. I made a terrible mistake.” I pinch my brow and eyes close and look down, hoping it’s close enough to an expression of regret.

“You did. She’ll never forgive you.”

I nod in somber agreement.

“Still, I want to apologize for everything, but I don’t know how to get a hold of her. Do you know....?”

“Bella,” she supplies. “Bella Collins” She looks at me with distrusting eyes, her thoughts moving across her open face like a mixtape of emotions.

Sympathy. Consideration. Mistrust. I hold my breath. Finally, she sighs. “No. Sorry. I don’t know where she went.”

She’s lying. She knows something. I tick her name away for later. I’m not going to wring her neck to get more information from her here in the middle of dinner.

I
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  • Maddest Temptation    Chapter 43

    I inhale and slowly exhale. My left eye’s twitching. How much longer does this part of the game last?When I don’t reply, she feels compelled to argue the point. “It’s only the truth. If you don’t like it, that’s on you.”“Okay. If you say so.”“I’m not feeling bad because we broke up, if that’s what you think.”“Fine. Where are you? I’ll bring you home. Smooth things over. I’ll set you up in your own place, and I'll get you a new car.”I’m lying through my teeth, and she’s not even listening. She’s stuck on how our relationship started. It’s like when I need the numbers from facts from Dimitri and he's giving me nothing to go with.I know her perfectly. Better than she knows herself. She’s a tangled ball of self-doubt, foolish pride, dumb hope, brilliance, and blind affection. And I’m obsessed.I need her back.I drop my voice, lace it with menace. “I know what’s going to happen if you don’t come home. You’ll be found. There will be no conversation. You won’t even feel the bullet i

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-03-08
  • Maddest Temptation    Chapter 44

    AnaI think I did manage to piss Roman off. He hasn’t requested a private meeting in a week. Part of me is still riding high, but the other part is sinking back into the normal life that I'm living in this quiet town .I can’t stay here, and I can’t afford to leave. I’m beginning to realize that almost everyone in Rockhaven is in the exact same situation.The Camming app pays on a 30 day basis. By a month or so, I’ll be able to move on, but for now, I have to pray that Bella Collins keeps her mouth shut and my hours don’t get cut at the gas station.I’m working late tonight, but at least it’s something to do. My boss called me when he was out drunk. He told me to lock up at midnight and take the key home with me. He’ll come by for it tomorrow.Even though it’s a Saturday night, the town is empty. The only customers tonight have been two guys my age looking to buy energy drinks and the cheap single cigars they buy to roll blunts. It’s good they were high as kites and incapable of d

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-03-09
  • Maddest Temptation    Chapter 45

    He moves me down the sidewalk cracked by weeds, and I struggle to stay on my feet.I know if I fall, he won’t release his grip on me. He’ll hold on while I rip my shoulder from the socket. And ultimately blame me for it.He’s parked behind a vacant fast-food restaurant. The block is silent, not a car on the road, today when I need the catcalls, why can't anything go my way.The nearest vehicle is in front of the house at the corner. There’s a light on upstairs. It’s unlikely they’d hear a scream. I’ll have to run. Roman will have to drop my arm sometime. That’s the instant he does that, I need to make my move.He opens the trunk of his car. I prepare myself to run away.I don’t have a chance. He slams his palm into my back and sweeps my legs so I fall into the car. The carpet burns my cheek. I kick, but he’s wedged himself between my legs, and I can’t get the angle right. My heels just rub off at him as he works.I’m screaming now, but he has the back of my head, and he’s shoving m

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-03-09
  • Maddest Temptation    Chapter 46

    There’s no way I can reach it. Roman taped my wrists and elbows. I can’t even try to get it with my teeth. I can’t breathe; blood pounds in my ears. I’m going to suffocate inside the trunk of his car. I’m going to slowly lose consciousness to the quiet thumping of the bass beat coming from the sound system of the car, and then I’m going to die. He’ll probably shove my body in the golf bag. The trunk vibrates from the music. He’s blaring the radio, and we’re going fast. He’s enjoying himself. There’s something about the idea that calms me down, lets me think. I have enough air right now. I’m uncomfortable for now, but I’m okay. I can plan my next move. The Odds are he’s going to take me back to his place. Roman’s a loner, and his home is his safe space. He’s angry. He wants to play with me. He’ll want to be on his own territory. That’s good. I know every inch of that penthouse. I never wasted the rare opportunity when Roman was not around, or when he went to a meeting downt

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-03-10
  • Maddest Temptation    Chapter 47

    “No. I need water. And I need to sit up.” I don’t know why he cares. He’s got me back. That’s all that matters, right? He rises easily to his feet and grabs me under my armpits, hoisting me until he can scoop me into his arms. I’m not a small woman. His brute strength always surprises me. He spends hours a day at his computer or on the phone, but he balances it with time in the basement gym. He doesn’t have machines. He flips tractor tires and swings ropes. That kind of thing. I used to love his body. I was obsessed. I loved the ridges and lines other men don’t have and how his boring suits hid such sculpted power. I was sucked in so easily. A pretty face, a hot body, money, brains. I was a goner. Well, maybe anyone would fall. But all the women I know steer clear of him. They know something I don’t. If he was just a dark horse, they’d be all over him. Roman never laid a hand on me. He never even raised his voice. All of the shameless gold diggers in our circle tried t

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-03-10
  • Maddest Temptation    Chapter 48

    Knowing how much it would piss him off, I’d woke up this morning putting everything behind me and ready to face the day.Not long after, he found me in the pool, doing topless laps to music.As per his usual, he was dressed to the nines. His tailored dark blue suit lovingly fit his broad shoulders and lean hips. His sunglasses made his hotness catapult off the charts.He always looked flawless—except on those occasions when I could muss his hair. He picked up the remote, turning down my tunes.“You and your clothes, Rome. How much did that suit cost?”“In U.S. dollars? Ninety or so.”I gaped. “Thousand?”“A Dormicui suit doesn’t come cheap.” He jerked his chin at me and said, “I always pay for quality.”Thanks for the reminder. He was as hot and cold as ever, but his overall mood deteriorated with each day.So why did he want me with him if he can process emotions?Though I was thinking more clearly today—he’d decided I could use a night’s uninterrupted sleep to figure him out—I coul

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-03-11
  • Maddest Temptation    Chapter 49

    “Pleased with yourself?”I turned around so quicky in the shower, startled by his voice.“Roman!”He was leaning against the doorway in the bathroom looking handsome, watching me take a bath. “I like it better when you call me Rome.” He wore only an unbuttoned dress shirt and his black slacks from the meeting.“What are you doing? You said you had an afternoon of meetings.” merely an hour had gone by.He gave a laugh. “I’m in town to be courted. I need none of them. When I heard your new treadmill stop, I simply called the meeting to an immediate end and rescheduled.” He began unbuttoning his shirt. How could he make that act menacing? “You disobeyed me, Ana.”Even as my heart tripped, I squared my shoulders. “When bored, this girl does what she likes.”He bared his muscular chest. I wanted to sink my nails into his muscular chest. Running on the treadmill had made me as horny as ever.“You’ve ensured that my enemies—and my brothers—will find out that I’ve finally taken on a woman.”

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-03-11
  • Maddest Temptation    Chapter 50

    His cock pulsed against his leg just before he slapped the other side of my ass. The sound echoed off the tile.“Look at your ass moving with my strikes.” Again, he massaged me, generating that fervent heat. “For days, this ass has begged to be hit.” A harder slap. More massaging. “I can see how wet you’re getting. You were made for this.”I was beginning to think he was right. That bloom of heat spread from my ass to my thighs and pussy, to low in my belly.With his next slap, I turned my head and moaned against my arm. He massaged me so perfectly.“If you make me jealous, Ana, you play a dangerous game.” Slap. He was breathing more heavily. “When those men looked at you in that thong, I had the impulse to tear off that thong with my teeth and fuck you in front of all of them—so they’d know who makes you scream.”His jealousy hit me like a train. I shivered.“I am fucking you. No one else. I alone own your body.” Slap.I should be outraged by what he was saying; I could listen to

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-03-12

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  • Maddest Temptation    Chapter 141

    Chapter 141 The car pulls up at the press conference in Miami, and I practically jump from the car. I came straight here. I wanted to tell Roman the good news myself. I walk into the packed hall and stand at the back of the crowd. Roman is on stage, standing at a small podium and delivering a speech. “As you can see…” He glances up and sees me standing at the back. A frown crosses his brow, and I smile as I go up onto my toes with excitement. He regains his focus and goes back to his speech. I tap my toes, waiting for him to finish. Come on. Hurry up. I’m bursting at the seams to tell him the good news. He didn’t do it. He never went there, he never slept with her the happiness beams out of me. I feel so good being the person who found out the truth. Eventually, he says the words I’ve been waiting to hear. “Thank you all for coming today. I look forward to a long and prosperous relationship. Education is key for our future.” Everyone claps, and I smile proudly.

  • Maddest Temptation    Chapter 140

    Chapter 140A man walks down the hall and out of sight. Two women walk out of a room and get into the elevator.The elevator opens, and we see a Dimitri struggling with someone. He puts his arm around Rome to help him.“Roman,” I gasp out loudHe’s so out of it, highly intoxicated, drunk and unable to walk alone.Then Dimitri walks into his room with him, and then he walks back out alone after another minute.“So, that part of the story is true,” I whisper.Callie smiles and taps my leg. “Told you.”Estella speeds up the footage and we all sit and watch. She goes forward one hour… then two, and then three.“This has to be, like, midnight by now.” I frown waiting for the exact moment.Estella points to faint numbers at the bottom of the screen. “That’s the time there. It’s 11:21 p.m almost a new day, do you see?”“Yes, okay.”A man walks down the corridor and looks left and right, eventually stopping in front of Roman’s door. Estella puts the footage on the big screen.We all s

  • Maddest Temptation    Chapter 139

    Chapter 139I widen my eyes and I want to say, I know that for sure, but I won’t. “How would she have set him up, though?”She thinks for a moment. “She had the drinks spiked, got him to his room, had him open his phone, and she called her own number from his phone.”“Yes,” I whisper. “She could have done that, couldn’t she? I hadn’t even thought of that, she could have entered his bedroom as a relative.”“She could have left all the evidence to make him think that he did it.”“But surely.” My heart drops. “Surely she would know that we would find out who the father is as soon as the baby is born.” My shoulders slump. “What if it is his baby? What if this is all some grand plan to tie Roman to her for life?”“It could be.” Callie sighs, and we stare at each other for a while. “If we just had the security footage of that night at the hotel. I know Holmes asked the hotel for it, but they said there wasn’t any.”I frown that's impossible even the cameras on the Road. “There has

  • Maddest Temptation    Chapter 138

    ANAI wake with a strange sensation.It’s morning, and the other side of the bed is cold, and empty and without Roman.I sit up instantly, my senses awake and on high alert.I make my way downstairs, where I can hear a muffled voices coming from Roman’s study. I move down the hall to listen.“Yes,” he says. “That’s right, the arrest warrant has been withdrawn.”Gloria.My heart begins to beat hard. Why did he have the arrest warrant removed?Nobody is looking for her.“You know what to do,” he says calmly.My eyes widen.I push the open the door in a rush to get to Roman.When he steps back, shocked to see me. He’s fully dressed in his crisp suit, ready for work.“What are you doing here?” he asks sharply.I stare at him, confused. “What are you doing?” I ask rhetorically He marches down the hall. His overnight bag is packed by the front door, not looking like it's filled with clothes.“where are you going?” I say as I run after him.“I have to go away for work for a few day

  • Maddest Temptation    Chapter 137

    We walk out to the front of the house. “Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Petrov,” Zoran says, holding the back door open. Roman takes my hand to help me in.“Hello, Zoran.” I smile as I get into the back seat, and Roman gets in behind me. The door closes, and we sit in silence throughout the drive.I get vivid recollections of how much Roman Petrov could infuriate me back in the day. Nobody could wind me up like him.Nothing’s changed.Calm, calm, keep fucking calm.The car pulls up at the ballroom. We get out, and Roman takes my hand. We fake more smiles and walk through the crowd as if we are the happiest couple in the world.“Where are our seats?” Roman whispers, passing me a champagne from a passing tray.“What’s wrong, darling?” I whisper, taking a sip. “Tired of holding my hand?”His angry eyes flick over to me. “I am, actually.”I glare at him, our eyes locked. “Please, don’t act happy on my behalf.”“Wouldn’t be the first time I’ve acted happy now, would it?”Adrenaline begins t

  • Maddest Temptation    Chapter 136

    ANA I sit in the cafe waiting for Callie.I keep going over what Roman said to me before he left. You made me do it alone.I hate that he sees it like that.He had an issue and I locked him out and made him face the problem alone. But our sex life was never the problem.But I did make him feel like the problem was only his?Then, being the stubborn woman that I am, I got so resentful that I locked him out of our room in return?Both of us not speaking and sleeping in separate beds. I exhale heavily. Well, I’m too angry at his stage to even think about it anymore. I’m not letting him turn this around on me.I haven’t done anything wrong.I never once said that I was blaming him for this.I only think that he should have told me the facts at the time in which they happened. And how dare he say that I’m making him face this alone when it was his choice not to tell me about it or involve me in the first place? He chose to do this alone, not the other way around.Seriously, is ope

  • Maddest Temptation    Chapter 135

    ANAMy stomach rolls.It makes me feel sick.I think for a moment.I'm still waiting for her to threaten us with a child.It's just been a few months since we saw her.She could be one of those women who don't show a bump in the early stages of pregnancy.Or the child could be for Vladamir.I just need it to be Vladamir's child.But Rome won't abandon his nephew either nor would I want him to.Can a DNA paternity test be taken while pregnant or do you have to wait for the baby to be born?Hmm. I grab my phone and type into Google:Can a paternity test be taken while still pregnant?DNA testing can be completed as early as 9 weeks along. Technological advancements mean there's little risk to mom or baby. If establishing paternity is something that you need to do, non-invasive prenatal paternity test is a blood test that analyzes fetal DNA found in a pregnant woman's blood during the first trimester.Shit, it’s just a blood test. That should be easy enough.I type into Google:Can a pre

  • Maddest Temptation    Chapter 134

    ANAThe car pulls into the garage around 7:00 p.m.Roman hasn’t called me once today. That’s a first. I know he’s probably busy being pulled from point to point, but with everything that’s going on, I would have thought.I made dinner and had a glass of wine.I feel unusually nervous to see him.My heart beats as loud as it can when Roman comes into my line of sight.“Hello.” I smile.“Hi, Moya Roza.” He bends and kisses me, and then pulls immediately out of my arms.Oh.He sits on the chair and rests his elbows on his thighs. His head hanging low, and he looks at the floor, he looks exhausted.The hairs on the back of my neck stand up as I watch him. Something’s up.“I called her,” he says quietly.I frown. “Who?”“On the night I was drugged, my call log shows that I made an eight-minute call to Gloria’s number,” he says softly.Emotion rushes through me.His eyes rise to meet mine. “And there were other things, I saw when I woke up.”My heartbeat pumps loudly in my ears. “

  • Maddest Temptation    Chapter 133

    ANA“Good morning love.” I smile at him.He walks over and hugs me so tightly.it's a wonder I didn't break anything.He kisses me so nicely, his lips hovering over mine.He doesn’t say anything, but what is there to say? With no one ready to hash out our feelings.Both of us are unsure what’s going to happen with Gloria, the loose cannon still on the run. We are both on pins and needles.I want to fight and yell and cry like a child at him for getting us into this position with her.But then I remember that he was only trying to protect me, and my past is just as sordid as his.He went to that club… but I worked there.And nobody else besides the two of us would ever believe that he was my first client. My only client.He has the weight of the world on his shoulders.And I’m not adding to his stress levels, no matter how selfish I want to be and put the blame on him, because he's the cause of this problem.I know I can’t.“I made you a coffee,” I say nervously.“Thanks.” He rol

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