Roses and Revenge
He kissed me back, hard and consuming, as if he could devour the pain right out of me.
For a heartbeat, I let myself vanish in that kiss—pretend I was someone else, somewhere else, untouched by betrayal.
The next thing I knew, the world blurred—his arm around me, the press of a door closing, sheets tangled beneath my trembling hands.
Morning hit like a cruel joke.
I woke tangled in unfamiliar sheets, my head pounding, my lips swollen. The stranger from the bar lay beside me, half-covered, the shadows of his muscles stark against the pale dawn light. Even asleep, he radiated danger, power… something I couldn’t name.
Bab Populer