Lahat ng Kabanata ng Claiming His Treasure series: Kabanata 51 - Kabanata 60

Penny dreamed she was falling.The canyon floor was below her, moving ever nearer, but she never seemed to reach it. Her stomach was in her throat, and she was certain she was going to die, but everything seemed to be taking its sweet time. She was falling to her death, and there was nothing she could do about it, and all she could do was wait.And think.Her head and heart were full of all the things she was leaving behind. Her work. A whole, wide world of things to explore. All the adventures she'd never had. And Xavier, the man who'd twisted her up in so many knots she knew she'd never be fully untangled.She'd risked so much, letting him walk back into her life. But as she watched the canyon floor rush up to meet her, she thought the risk had been well worth it. She was glad she'd opened her heart, even a sliver. She wished she'd opened it more.Funny, how easy big dilemmas seemed when you were about to die.She squeezed her eyes shut, bracing herself for the impact that woul

Xavier sighed, but honestly, he couldn't refuse her. He was just so happy to see her alive.Moments later, Cruz was helping Tav back down the trail, while he and Penny were headed in the opposite direction. She had her head bent over the clue, rereading it once again, and even though Xavier knew time was short, he couldn't keep from taking a moment just to drink her in - her curtain of auburn hair, her freckle-dusted skin, her stubborn nose. She was still the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen, even more so for the fact that he'd nearly lost her, and every moment he spent by her side was more precious than any damn treasure.He hadn't forgotten the promise he'd made her - that, at the end of all this, he'd walk away if she asked. He meant to commit every bit of her to memory before that moment, just in case."It can't be far from here," she said without looking up. "But this map doesn't have many landmarks. The treasure could be anywhere.""Read the poem again," he said. "Just in

London, England - The Devil's Set Headquarters - Present DayOne hundred and eleven days. That was how long it had been since Donovan Kruger had spoken to Sloane. Since any member of the Devil's Set had spoken to her, or heard even a whisper of where she might be. One hundred and eleven days since she'd disappeared without a trace, and instead of hunting for her, he was being forced to deal with this bullshit.The platinum-haired woman sitting in front of them crossed one leg over the other, a smug smile on her red lips. She was almost aggressively polished from head to toe, from her airbrushed face to her designer shoes. "Well? Don't you boys have any response to what I've just told you?"Donovan glanced over at his teammate. Leonardo "Leo" Moretti was mostly a level-headed fellow - or at least he had been, before chasing a girl around the Caribbean and getting shot a couple of times - but even he looked unsettled by their surprise visitor. They'd been the only ones here at the Set

Donovan hurried down the slope. After all the weeks - the months - of searching, Sloane was finally in front of him. Finally within reach, and he was afraid that if he blinked she'd disappear again, proving herself simply a phantom of his fevered imagination.But Sloane didn't disappear, though her face went as white as a ghost. She'd been nearly that pale the first time he'd ever seen her - like she'd never been out in the sun before, like Roth had found her buried in the corner of some dusty old library. Which probably wasn't that far from the truth.She'd looked so delicate, so timid that first day - a young girl with mousy hair tied in a messy bun, her hazel eyes hidden behind a pair of tortoiseshell reading glasses. In fact, she'd looked almost frightened to find herself among the Devil's Set, and more than one of them had questioned why Roth had brought her on.That was a far cry from the woman who stood below him now. Her hair probably hadn't changed much, and even her glasse

You've done your job, Donovan reminded himself when they were back in their room later. You've found Sloane and she's agreed to come back to the Set. Tomorrow, they'd be heading back to London. He'd done what he'd set out to do - so why did it feel like the battle was still ahead of him?Because you're still thinking with your knob, you bloody idiot. Because having Sloane here, close enough to touch, made it impossible to ignore the urges that she inspired in him. He'd already risked everything once to act on that hunger. If Roth or the rest of the team ever found out what they'd done, that he'd broken the oath they'd all taken, then he'd be on his own again. He refused to let everything be stripped away from him like it had before. He had a life with this team - one that actually gave him purpose and meaning again - and the risk was too great.If only his body would remember it. He'd felt like a rutting stag from the moment he'd laid eyes on her, and with every minute he spent in he