Chapter 1

ELIOI stared down at the woman sprawled across my sheets, her dark hair fanning out like shadows on the pillow. She was naked, her skin still red where my fingers had pressed. Bruises forming collars around her throat. But she wasn’t her. Not the one who’d put a bullet through my leg and left me with this fucking cane. This one was just meat I’d used to burn off the edge.Everytime I thrust into her, squeezing just enough to feel that rush, that control…then I saw her. Her face, her eyes wide with that mix of fear and fire that twisted me up inside. Her lips parting in a gasp that wasn’t pain, not really, but something else… something that belonged to me. I had come hard, growling into the stranger’s ear, but it was all a lie. A pathetic substitute.And that was the fucked up part.No matter who ended up in my bed lately, it always came back to her somehow. A waitress once. Some politician’s daughter another time. Different hair. Different bodies. Different voices. But eventually the

Chapter 2

AVIA The neighbors were at it again.The sound dragged me out of sleep slowly, like little fingers prying my eyelids open. The creaked rhythmically above my head, followed by a woman’s breathy moan that echoed straight through the thin plaster and into my skull. I groaned and rolled onto my stomach, shoving my face into the pillow hard enough to smother both the noise and my irritation.It didn’t help.The bed squeaked above me. A headboard knocked against the wall. Someone gasped a name that almost sounded like mine… or maybe I imagined that part, my half-asleep brain twisting then into something else.I puffed out a sharp breath through my nose and turned my head toward the window, wool morning breeze brushed my cheek.I froze, my brows pulling down into a frown.The window was open.It wasn’t cracked, or tilted the way I sometimes left it when the heat got unbearable. It was open open. Wide enough that the curtain fluttered, lifting and falling slowly.My stomach tightened.I star

Chapter 3

AVIAMy head throbbed so badly it felt like someone had cracked my skull open. A groan slipped from my lips as I forced my eyes open, but everything around me stayed dark. The air was filled with the smell of dust, cigarettes, and for one disoriented second I thought I was still home, maybe passed out after another exhausting shift or bing watching too many movies, but then I tried moving my hands and rough rope bit violently into my wrists.Fear shot into me instantly.My eyes widened as I jerked against the restraints, the chair beneath me scraping loudly across concrete while my breathing turned shaky. Something rough covered my head like a sack and every breath I took filled my lungs with the disgusting smell of sweat and dirt. Fear crawled slowly into my stomach as flashes of memory suddenly came rushing back.The ally.The men chasing me.The hands grabbing me.A palm clamping over my mouth before everything went black.Oh my God.“Help!” I screamed immediately, struggling hard

Chapter 4

AVIAHis thumb was still on my face when I finally managed to look at him properly.The rag was gone, and I could breathe again, but every breath I took tasted like dirt, and the blood drying against my cheek. He was crouched directly in front of me, close enough that I could make out the blood staining his shirt and the dark ink disappearing beneath the collar of his clothes and climbing up his neck. His eyes were unnaturally pale, and they stayed fixed on mine like he was afraid I would disappear if he blinked. There was something about the way he looked at me that made it difficult to look away, even though every instinct I had was telling me to move.“Relax, little bird,” he murmured. “You’re safe now.”I didn’t feel safe. Not when there was a dead man lying beside my chair with his gun still in his hand, and I could see the blood spreading slowly under him and inching towards my feet. My whole body was shaking so badly that I could feel the chair trembling with me. My wrists w

Chapter 5

NICOShe fought us all the way to the SUV.By the time Luca got the warehouse doors open, Avia had already managed to wrench herself out of Matteo’s grip once and nearly sent me stumbling when she twisted around and tried to run. She was exhausted, covered in dirt and dried blood, and her legs were shaking badly enough that I knew she could barely keep herself upright, but she still fought as if getting into that car meant giving up the last chance she had of ever seeing freedom again.“Let me go!” she screamed, throwing her elbow backward when Matteo caught her around the waist. “I said let me fucking go!”Matteo caught her wrist before she could hit him again and dragged her toward the SUV while Luca moved and opened the rear door. Avia saw the vehicle and immediately planted both feet against the concrete, forcing Matteo to stop.“I’m not going anywhere with you.”“You are,” Luca said calmly, turning back to her with that tired sigh.She stared at him, breathing hard and then looke

All Chapters of Crave The Ravens: Chapter 1 - Chapter 5

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5