Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 171 - Chapitre 180

MariannaDuane stood at the foot of the grave. His hands were shoved deep into the pockets of his jeans. His shoulders, usually so rigidly square, slumped forward just a fraction of an inch. The silence in the cemetery was absolute, broken only by the distant, rhythmic thumping of a lawnmower a few sectors over.I stood paralyzed. I felt like an intruder."I was supposed to be in the car," Duane said.The words cut through the heavy air like a scalpel. He didn't turn around. He was speaking to the granite."They were going to a dinner in Coral Gables. An anniversary dinner." His voice was entirely devoid of inflection."A drunk driver ran a red light on US-1," he continued, the words dropping like sto

Marianna"Right," Renate sighed. "Lie back. Pressure cuff. Reyes, set him up."This was the part I had been dreading.I had to step into his personal space. I had to reach behind his neck.I moved to the head of the table. He lay back, his eyes fixing on the ceiling panels. He didn't blink.I slid my hands under his neck to position the inflatable cuff."Twenty-two millimeters," Renate instructed. "Hold."He held it."Clean," Renate said. "Let's move to isometrics. Reyes, you hold the resistance. Five-second counts."I placed my palm against the right side of his head. His skin was warm.

MariannaThe moment we stepped inside, the bass hit me right in the center of my sternum.It was so loud it felt physical, a deep, rhythmic vibration that resonated in the marrow of my bones. The air was thick and heavy, saturated with the smell of smoke-machine fog, spilled alcohol, and hundreds of warm bodies. The lighting was dark, sliced through by violent, chaotic strobes of purple and neon green that made everyone look like they were moving in slow motion.It was perfect. It was loud enough that I couldn't hear the voice in my own head."To the bar!" Jill yelled directly into my ear, grabbing my hand and dragging me through the throngs of dancing bodies like an icebreaker cutting through a frozen sea.True to her word, she r

Marianna"I'm on my way back," Duane said into his phone.His voice was a flat, dead line. He didn't say her name. He didn't have to. The way the muscles in his back instantly seized.I stood on the Wynwood sidewalk, the neon lights bleeding into my vision, and felt the adrenaline crash out of my bloodstream so fast I actually swayed on my high heels.The illusion shattered like cheap glass on concrete.He hung up and turned back to me, slipping the phone into his pocket. The titanium vault was closed. The Ice King was back, his face completely devoid of whatever wild, desperate hunger had been there a moment before."I have to go," he said."Right," I choked out. A bitte

MariannaAnd then, his hand moved to my breast.He just grabbed it. I was still wearing the sticky, silicone cutlet bra I’d bought for the backless dress—a cheap, adhesive thing that was already peeling at the edges from the humid sweat of the Wynwood club.Marcus thick fingers just dug clumsily under the edge of the silicone, ripping it away from my skin with a sharp, stinging tear that made me flinch violently. He tossed the sticky piece of silicone blindly over his shoulder."God, you’re so beautiful," he murmured, his voice thick and clouded with a heavy lust that made my skin crawl. He propped himself up slightly on his elbows, his eyes tracing me in the dim, silvery light filtering through the window blinds. "You’re perfect, Mari.