Se connecterMaya’s POV I glance around, studying the faces of the people we walk past in the lobby. At some point, I contemplate faking a run and then dashing off in the other direction. But he places a hand on my arm, as if reading my thoughts. “My men are everywhere, Miss Serrano,” he murmurs, using my real name. The ruse is up. I’m afraid you won’t go very far. So I suggest you don’t try at all.”I make out one of them, from the corner of my eye, standing behind a group of people. His hand goes to his hip as we make eye contact, silently threatening. A gun. Another one, standing by the entrance, wearing a guard uniform. I spot him easily, because I know the faces of the usual security guards. My heart races as I pick them out, one by one, stationed all around the lobby, within a few feet of one another. Salvatore’s right.It’s too much of a risk to make a run for it. And if I decide to take the risk—“It won’t nick any vital organs,” he says, a thin, patronizing smile on his face as he gl
He doesn’t make me wait. His cock springs free, thick and hard, the tip already glistening. I wrap my fingers around him, stroking once, twice, before he groans and bats my hand away. "Not like this," he growls, gripping my hips and pulling me to the very edge of the counter.I barely have time to process before he’s lining himself up, the head of his cock pressing against my entrance. "Lucien—" His name is a warning, a plea, but he doesn’t stop.He slams into me in one brutal thrust, filling me to the brink. I cry out, my nails digging into his shoulders, my body stretching to accommodate him. "Fuck—" He groans, his forehead pressing against mine, his breath hot and ragged. "You feel perfect."I can’t even form words. My body is on fire, every nerve ending alight as he pulls back and slams into me again. The counter digs into my back, but I don’t care. All I can focus on is the way he fills me, the way his cock drags against every sensitive inch of me.His hands grip my ass, lifting
Maya’s POVMaya’s POVThe sheets are still warm beneath me, tangled around my legs like a second skin. Lucien’s breath evens out beside me, slow and steady, his chest rising and falling in the dim glow filtering through the half-drawn curtains. The air smells of salt and sweat, of the faint musk of his cologne clinging to the pillow where his head had been moments ago. My fingers trace idle patterns on the rumpled fabric, following the dips and ridges left by our bodies.I should move. I should get up, pull on something more than this oversized shirt—his shirt, actually, the sleeves swallowing my hands when I tug them down—but my limbs feel heavy, anchored by something deeper than exhaustion. I haven’t been able to sleep.The golden light spilling from the garden outside paints stripes across the bed, gilding the curve of his shoulder, the sharp line of his collarbone. I watch the way his lashes cast shadows on his cheeks, the way his mouth—still slightly parted—softens when he’s
Lucien’s POV I close the door softly, pressing the back of my palm to my lips to stifle a yawn. “Tired?” A slow smile curves my lips as I turn, finding Maya behind me. My gaze roams over her—slowly, eagerly, noting the slip beneath the robe she has on. Something lacy. “Nope,” I shake my head. “Not at all.” She tilts her head, folding her arms loosely. “Really? I heard you yawning.” “Bedtime stories have that effect,” I say, moving toward her. She makes a small, pleased sound that shoots all the way to my toes as I tug her close, an arm sneaking around her waist.My head dips as I brush my lips against hers, nipping her bottom lip as an afterthought. She moans softly, reaching for my shirt. Her fingers curl around a fistful as I lean away, yanking me back. “Nuh-huh,” she says, grabbing my face with one hand. She kisses me, deep, her tongue slipping into my mouth with a languid stroke. I grab her waist, my fingers digging into the robe, grinding her hips against mine. We stagger as
Maya’s POVJamie folds the paper—with the list of Kendall’s hideouts—and shoves it into his pocket as we walk out of Michael’s house an hour later. “How did you find him?” He asks. “If he went off the grid?”“He trusted me. He told me that if I ever ran into trouble, I should find him,” I say. My shoulders slump a little as a regretful sigh slips out. “I didn’t take him seriously back then. He was smart—smarter than me, than Kendall. He would’ve been a good agent.”“Or maybe Kendall would’ve put him in the ground.”I hop into the car as Jamie holds the door open, the guilt from seeing Michael sinking heavily. He closes it, going around to the driver’s side. “What about Andrew? You said he took over Salvatore’s audit project?”“I don’t want to spook him. Andrew’s…” I take a moment to find the word. “Very curious. If he thinks something’s wrong, he’s not going to stop until he finds out what it is. He’s going to alert Salvatore.” “I could break into his office,” Jamie offers. “If you
Maya’s POV Jamie slides a look in my direction. “You sure this is the place?”I stare at the rundown building in front of us, with unpainted walls, boarded-up and crumbling windows, and a heap of stinking dirt just beside the building itself. I nod. “Yup. Michael was always a private person. He ran his missions solo, and the higher-ups let him—when wouldn’t allow anyone else—because he always brought results.”He sucks his teeth. “Huh. So are we walking into a trap? Is he the kind of man who has a bunch of sharp objects buried under false floorboards, waiting for a gullible person to fall to their death?”“Huh,” I chew on my bottom lip for a minute. “You know…that’s possible. We could be working into our deaths.”Jamie tucks his gun away. “Nuh-huh. I’m not letting you go inside. Why don’t we try some other way?”I shake my head, staring at him somberly. “There’s no other way, Jamie. We have to go through the valley of death to get to the answers we need.”He shoots his hands out,
Maya I groan under my breath when Antonio’s shadow stalls in my doorway. I should’ve locked it. I was already half out of my chair, planning a quick lunch run, the only real air I get during the eight mandated hours I’m expected to exist inside this building.“Hey.”I lift my head, and the sound d
“I don’t know,” she shakes her head. “He bought the dress. It was on the bed when I walked into the room. And he said I had to wear it, to meet a client at the bar.”She pauses to swallow, and I hate myself for every second she spends gathering herself. Her thoughts. Her courage. “He said he wanted
Panic rises again, like an angry tornado, because now I have reasons to be worried. Three things—what happened after I drank with Antonio? How did I get to my room? When did I change from my dress into a robe? And where is my dress? I race out of the bathroom, leaving the door open as I go in sea
Lucien It’s none of my business. I shouldn’t care if Maya is sleeping with my brother. She’s an adult who’s unspoken for. Antonio’s a…pig, but he’s a pig who wouldn’t be able to coerce someone like Maya into doing anything unless she said wanted it. But I wish it’d remained between them. I wish







