"In the blink of an eye, something happens by chance - when you least expect it - sets you on a course that you never planned, into a future you never imagined." ~ Nicholas SparksM A R C OThe last time I held my breath for this long, Ralph was teaching me how to evade the waterboarding torture method. It was an exquisite torture plan by pouring water over a cloth covering the face and lets you experience the sensation of drowning.There were times when I had managed to hold my breath longer than usual. But there were occasions when I faltered, and the water would plunge straight into my lungs, burning up.It was an indescribable agony I had endured so far. No amount of bleeding wounds, broken bones, or dislocated shoulder equaled to the pain of burning lungs and lack of oxygen in the system.But when I saw Aurora, walking into the cage with panic-stricken eyes, sweat-sheened skin, and shaky legs, it surpassed every other suffering I had experienced before.Every time her eyes sought

"The heart has its reasons which reason knows nothing of... We know the truth not only by the reason, but by the heart." ~ Blaise Pascal"M A R C OThree days had passed since I pulled Aurora out of the cage. But it seemed that I had put myself in one. I confined my thoughts to every nuance of her being—her strength, her weakness, her fears, her defiance. Every little thing about her affected me in ways I couldn't have imagined. My mind wandered to all possibilities of life I could have introduced to her if only she would be wise enough to learn and evolve.Aurora was a compound of wildflowers, raw flames, and a flowing river. Each component was fierce, untamed, and beautiful, and you have to appreciate the indigenousness in its natural form. Like these natural elements, she has a mind of her own, and the complexities were still mysterious.A month ago, I wouldn't have imagined putting myself through these great lengths to be the man of influence in her life. But now, I couldn't even

MARCOSammy's divine Plan B was to tell on Viktor—yes, telling on. The thing I did when I was...No, I never 'told on' anyone. It wasn't my style because I considered it to be beneath me. Yes, I broke their noses, fractured their limbs, kicked them in the balls—but I never 'tell on' anyone.I highly believe that even a monster should have standards.But Sammy didn't share my philosophy. Growing up around three brothers, she liked to play dirty all the time. And as long as she won, she didn't mind playing the game.Coming back to her Plan B, she thought it would be worth introducing Aurora to Mrs. Romano. The undercurrent threat was to blackmail Viktor with what he did at La Preda.Viktor's mother, Mrs. Romano, was the bonafide ruler of their house. She made it clear to her husband since her early days of marriage that Alessandro Romano he might rule over Chicago, but when it came the Romano Mansion—her word was law. Apart from that, there was another mandate she has established: innoce

AURORA "What...what?" Sammy sputtered. "Are you insane?" She tried to laugh it off, but it was way fake. The surprise caught her off guard already. "God...hell no!"I smiled and shook my head slightly. "Let it be if you are going to lie to me, Sammy." I think she tried to justify some more, but alcohol-induced minds were generally less complex.I drank silently from the bottle, looking away from the dance floor. In the short duration of one year that I have known Sammy, it didn't take me much time to realize she was in love with Marco. Deep down, his approval meant so much more to her than her brothers.She didn't only love him but admired him.A long, uncomfortable silence ensued as Sammy finally turned and took the bottle out of my bottle, finishing it for herself.As I gave an accusatory look, she nodded. "Fine, fine—you win. But first, tell me, what gave me away?" Sammy asked softly."I have seen you looking at him...I can't explain. But I know you do love him, don't you?"She sm

MARCOIt took every ounce of the indomitable will inside my body to curb the surging desire not to make her mine the very instant when my lips crashed against hers. I was only a man, after all, of flesh, blood, and impulse.As if watching a scum-hole kissing her in the club and not being able to kill him was bad enough that I had to watch Aurora running away from the fetish club. For the longest time, I kept her away from the darkest, deepest desires—I kept her away from me. And, all of a sudden, everything went down crashing like a massive earthquake.Fuck! I would be lying to myself as a seasoned dominant if I'd say she didn't feel the surge as deeply as mine. Aurora was as bewitched with the whole revelation as I was with her existence. That girl—woman—was the nexus of my life, my cravings that I have restrained so far.But as I held her against my heated flesh, kissed those nectar-lips, lured her with dark desires, I knew she was the submissive to my dominant. She fitted into me l