"It's been ten years, Renz," Ilise began. He could see her begin to reach for him again, but she wisely chose to stop. Her hair had slightly darkened to more of a blood-colored red over the years, and the slight youthful plumpness in her cheeks had faded. Her skin seemed a bit paler, but other than that, Ilise had only slightly aged. She was just as poised, just as beautiful, and Renz was certain, just as cruel. "I wouldn't want to see you in one hundred. Why are you here? Have you already managed to squabble the overly generous sum I paid you for our divorce?" Renz asked. Ilise slightly cocked her head to one side, and lowered her eyes, before slowly bringing her gaze to meet his. It was a subtle move that had managed to halt his wits when they were newly married. But now, it had no effect. "I thought...perhaps you would have forgiven me, after all this time. I was young, and I was...deeply hurt," she said. Renz rolled his eyes, not at all wanting to revisit their marriage. "Ye

Renz suddenly thrust forward, very hard, and Lena squealed loudly into his palm. Before she could recover, Renz was thrusting again, swiftly and violently. His movements were animalistic and selfish, and Lena struggled to match his pace. The way he held her against the tree made it impossible to move—she could only accept whatever he wanted to do with her. Lena winced in pain each time he entered her, and she whimpered against his palm with each hard thrust. Renz was being rough...too rough. But as nervous as it made her, she was becoming excited to a dangerous point. The way his body moved was forceful and athletic, a series of basal, passionate impulses. This wasn't the Renz that was using years worth of sexual skill and experience to manipulate both of them into pleasure. No, this was a far more pure Renz...a primitive Renz. The low moans he was releasing sounded like growls, and Lena felt completely wanton in his grasp, for he was working her into an animalistic frenzy. He remo

After a couple of hours of shopping, Dot was in need of another nap. They stopped in a small hotel, where Lena and Ava waited in an elegant restaurant as Greta accompanied Dot to a suite, while Hans returned to Schloss Wolfenbarger with the packages that Ava had already purchased that day. "I haven't seen you purchase anything yet, Lena. Do you need money?" Ava asked. Lena shook her head, somewhat taken aback by the generous offer. "No, Renz gave me some...I just don't know what I'm supposed to buy," Lena replied quietly. If she had been talking to anyone else, Lena would have felt extremely embarrassed. But Ava had quickly managed to make her feel very comfortable. "Don't think of shopping as utility. Think of it as pleasure. Surely there are things you've found pretty today," Ava suggested. Lena shrugged her shoulders. "I've never done...anything like this before," Lena confessed. Ava smiled sympathetically and gently stroked her shoulder. "Why don't you take a walk. Stop in a

For a moment, Lena felt almost as if she were choking on his cruel words, and she had to clench her fists to keep from crying. But then she looked up at him with tentative eyes, and she detected that same disconnect from earlier that morning. There was something else going on in his mind, something she was certain was unrelated to the events of that afternoon. She didn't know on what, exactly, but she knew that mentally, Renz wasn't entirely in the room with them. And she was determined to find out what he was keeping from her. Lena opened her mouth to speak, but she was immediately cut off by Ava's angry shouts at Renz. "Perhaps you should care for her then! You're the one who banished us for the day—" "This is how you repay my hospitality, Ava? The first moment I require an afternoon to myself and—" "No one asked to be in the same room with you all day! I certainly couldn't bear it, you insufferable, oafish, asinine..." Lena put her hands over her head once the last remaining

His smile faded and was replaced by...concern? She wasn't certain. "Lena...Lena love," he said urgently, suddenly sitting up. He started towards her, and Lena automatically felt herself backing away from him. It was only then that Lena realized she was crying and trembling heavily. The guilt was apparent on his face, but for some reason, it made her cry harder. "Lena, I'm so sorry—" His words were cut off by a loud, blood curdling scream that caused a painful shiver to travel down her spine. Ava. ************** "He's a complete animal! It's no surprise Lena left him for as long as she did!" Ava exclaimed. She was pacing back and forth in her bedroom suite in front of the fireplace, fuming with anger. She wanted to throw something, or destroy something...but she knew she needed to control the extremes of her emotions due to present company. "Perhaps. But, she does love him. And he loves her," Karl answered softly. Ava paused to fan herself for several moments, suddenly feeling