Prologue

Sera 

The heavy oak door of the private suite slammed shut with a muffled thud, cutting off the distant thrum of the orchestra downstairs.

I leaned against the wood, my knuckles white as I gripped the gold-plated handle behind my back. My lungs burned. Every breath felt like inhaling liquid fire, scorching my throat and sending a sickening, unnatural heat racing straight to my core.

My legs trembled violently under the heavy layers of my crimson gala dress. I couldn't think. My head was swimming in a thick, suffocating fog, but beneath the haze, every nerve ending in my body screamed for relief.

A shadow shifted in the center of the dimly lit room.

I blinked, trying to clear my hazy vision. Standing near the bar was a man. He was tall, broad-shouldered, and intimidating, his dark coat hanging open over a white dress shirt that was partially unbuttoned at the throat. He swayed slightly, a heavy crystal glass resting in his grip before he let it drop onto the side table with a sharp clink.

He turned his head toward me. His eyes were dark, clouded with alcohol, but sharp enough to lock onto me like a predator.

"What..." His voice was a low, velvet rasp that vibrated straight down my spine. "Who the hell are you?"

"I... I think I'm in the wrong room," I choked out, though I didn't make a move toward the door. I couldn't. My body refused to obey my mind.

He took a slow, heavy step toward me, his dark gaze raking over my trembling frame, tracking the flush on my skin and the way my chest heaved. "You're definitely in the wrong room. Get out."

"I can't," I whimpered. The word slipped out before I could stop it. A wave of intense heat washed over me, making my knees buckle.

Before I could hit the carpet, he bridged the distance between us with shocking speed. His large, warm hand shot out and clamped firmly around my waist, hauling me upward. The sheer heat of his palm burned straight through the delicate silk of my gown, sending an electric shock through my entire body.

I gasped, my hands instinctively flying up to grip his broad shoulders, clutching at the heavy fabric of his suit jacket.

"You're shaking," he growled, his face inches from mine. The rich scent of dark amber and expensive bourbon rolled off him in waves. "Are you drunk?"

"No," I whispered, my voice breaking. I looked up into his shadowy, handsome face, completely mesmerized by the dark storm brewing in his eyes. "Something... something is wrong with me."

His thumb pressed hard into the dip of my waist, pulling me an inch closer. "Then leave. Before I lose what little patience I have left."

"Don't push me away," I begged. The humiliation of my own words was drowned out by the desperate, clawing need consuming my veins. "Please. Just... touch me."

His grip tightened so hard it bordered on painful. A low, dangerous rumble echoed deep in his chest. "You don't know what you're saying, sweetheart. You don't know who I am."

"I don't care," I gasped, sliding my hands up to the nape of his neck, my fingers tangling in the thick, soft hair at his nape. "I don't care who you are. Just make it stop. Please."

His dark eyes narrowed, burning with a dangerous, volatile mix of intoxication and sudden, raw hunger. "Look at me."

I forced my heavy eyelids open, staring directly into his dark gaze.

"If you don't turn around and walk out that door right now," he purred, his voice dropping to a harsh, gravelly whisper against my ear, "I am going to take you right here. And I won't be gentle about it."

"I'm not leaving," I breathed, my hips arching instinctively against his tailored trousers, seeking the friction my body craved. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Fuck," he swore under his breath.

The last thread of his restraint snapped.

He spun me around and shoved me back against the plush velvet sofa in the center of the suite. The heavy, floor-length crimson gown twisted around my legs as I sank into the cushions, looking up at him as he loomed over me like a dark shadow. He didn't hesitate. He stripped his heavy suit coat off his broad shoulders in one fluid motion and tossed it onto the floor, his dark gaze never leaving mine.

He dropped down onto the sofa, trapping me completely beneath his weight. His broad chest pressed against mine, his heavy legs straddling my hips, pinning me to the cushions.

"You asked for this," he growled, his voice thick with dominance.

"Do it," I begged, my fingers digging into his white shirt, ripping a button free in my desperation. "Please, Mister... do something."

He froze for a fraction of a second, but the haze of alcohol and the sheer heat radiating from my skin swept his shock away. He reached down, his large hands grabbing the hem of my heavy silk dress, shoving the layers of crimson fabric up past my knees, up to my thighs.

"You're burning up," he muttered, his rough fingers trailing up the sensitive skin of my inner thigh.

I arched my back with a sharp, breathy scream, my hands clutching tightly at his arms. "More... please, just give me more..."

"Shut up," he commanded softly, his dark eyes locking onto my mouth. "Stop talking."

Before I could utter another word, his mouth crashed down on mine.

It wasn't a gentle kiss. It was a rough, possessive collision that stole the air straight from my lungs. He tasted like smoke and liquor, his tongue forcing its way past my parted lips, claiming my mouth with a wild, unrestrained power. I gasped into the kiss, overwhelmed by the sudden intensity, but instead of pulling away, I wrapped my legs tightly around his waist, pulling him down harder against me.

"Ah—!" I whimpered against his lips as his hand slid under the edge of my satin undergarment, finding the drenched, aching center of my heat.

"You're dripping for me," he muttered against my mouth, his fingers moving with a harsh, relentless rhythm that made my head throw back against the sofa cushions. "Look at you. So desperate."

"Because of you," I sobbed out, my knuckles turning white as I held onto him for dear life. "It hurts... it hurts so much, please..."

"It's not going to hurt for long," he whispered darkly.

He pulled back just enough to tear open his trousers, his dark eyes fixed on my flushed face as he positioned himself between my thighs. The sheer size and heat of him pressing against my entrance made me freeze for a brief moment, a sudden flicker of primal fear cutting through the fog in my mind.

"Wait..." I breathed, my hand moving to his chest. "Wait, I—"

"Too late, sweetheart," he growled, his grip on my hips turning to steel. "You begged for this."

With one strong, unyielding thrust, he buried himself completely inside me.

A sharp, tearing pain sliced through the hazy euphoria, making me gasp out a loud, high-pitched cry. My eyes flew open, tears springing to the corners of my lashes as my hands dug violently into the muscles of his back.

He went completely still above me. His breathing was heavy, ragged, his chest heaving against mine. He looked down, his dark eyes blown wide as he felt the tight, unyielding barrier he had just shattered.

"Dammit," he groaned, his voice raspy and laced with shock. "You... you were a virgin?"

"It hurts..." I choked out, a single tear slipping down my hot cheek. "Fuck, it hurts..."

"Why didn't you say anything?" he cursed softly, his jaw clenching tight as he fought against his own wild impulses to give me time to adjust. He leaned down, placing a surprisingly tender, heavy kiss on the side of my neck, his breath scorching my skin. "Fuck... you should have told me."

"Don't... don't stop," I whimpered, the pain slowly beginning to melt back into that overwhelming, intoxicating heat as my body tightened instinctively around him. "Don't pull out..."

He let out a low, guttural groan at the sensation of my body gripping him. The remaining shred of his control vanished entirely.

"You're going to drive me insane," he growled into my ear.

He pulled back slowly, then drove back in with a deep, punishing rhythm that made the breath leave my lungs in a sharp gasp. The initial pain dissolved into a wave of intense, electric pleasure that crashed over me like a tidal wave.

"Ah! Oh God...!" I screamed, my fingers digging deeper into his back as he set a fast, relentless pace.

"Say it again," he commanded, his hands lifting my hips to meet his heavy, forceful thrusts. "Tell me what you want."

"You... I want you!" I cried out, completely lost in the rhythm of his body against mine. The heavy crimson gown was crumpled beneath us, the silk rustling violently with every rough push of his hips.

"You're mine tonight," he growled, his voice dark and possessive as he leaned down, biting gently at the soft skin of my shoulder, leaving a dark mark in the dim light. "Whoever sent you... they lost you the second you stepped into this room."

"No one sent me..." I tried to explain, but my words were cut off by a deep, shattering thrust that made my toes curl and my vision turn completely white.

"Don't talk," he muttered, his mouth finding mine again, drowning out my cries with another heavy, possessive kiss.

The night became a blurred storm of sound and sensation—the rustle of silk, the heavy thud of the sofa frame, his rough murmurs against my skin, and the wild, shameless cries escaping my own throat. He didn't spare me, driving us both higher and higher into a feverish frenzy that neither of us could control.

Every time I thought I couldn't take any more, He pulled me closer, his large hands holding me pinned beneath him as he drove us over the edge again and again.

"Mister... please, I can't—!" I gasped, my chest heaving as a violent, electric coil tightened in my stomach.

"Hold onto me," he commanded, his voice dark and heavy, his rhythm becoming faster, harder, more desperate. "Stay right there with me, sweetheart..."

I screamed into the quiet room as a blinding explosion of pleasure rippled through every inch of my body, my internal muscles contracting tightly around him in sweet agony.

He let out a harsh, deep roar against my neck, his entire body stiffening as he drove deep into me one last time, spilling his heat inside me as the world spun completely out of control.

He collapsed against me, his heavy weight pressing me into the cushions as our ragged breathing echoed in the dark, quiet room. My skin was slick with sweat, my pulse racing at a dangerous speed, but the unbearable heat that had poisoned my blood was finally gone, replaced by a deep, heavy exhaustion.

I lay beneath him, my eyes fluttering shut as the darkness finally pulled me under, completely unaware that this one wild night of stolen passion had just shattered my life forever.