BETTER MAN

LESSER
BOOK 2
PENELOPE SKY
HARTWICK PUBLISHING
Hartwick Publishing
Better Man
Copyright © 2022 by Penelope Sky
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means,
including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except
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 CONTENTS

1. Camille
2. Cauldron
3. Camille
4. Cauldron
5. Camille
6. Cauldron
7. Camille
8. Cauldron
9. Camille
10. Camille
11. Camille
12. Cauldron
13. Camille
14. Cauldron
15. Camille
16. Cauldron
17. Grave
18. Elise
19. Camille
20. Grave
21. Camille
22. Cauldron
23. Camille
24. Grave
25. Elise
26. Grave
27. Elise
28. Grave
29. Camille
30. Cauldron
31. Camille
ONE
 CAMILLE

When Grave didn’t come for me, I feared he’d knocked his head against the
hull of the ship and drowned. I was so happy when I escaped his grasp and
found Cauldron, and I could hardly believe that I regretted that decision.
Grave was a fucking walk in the park compared to this asshole.
I tried to escape a few times, creeping through the house to the front door, but
now Hugo locked my bedroom at night, so I was stuck there until morning.
My phone was taken away so I couldn’t call for help. Couldn’t figure out if
Grave was still alive.
My only way out of there was the patio. I was three stories off the ground,
and a fall would probably break a leg and an arm, might even kill me, but it
was my only way out at this point. Cauldron and I hadn’t set eyes on each
other since our conversation after the yacht party, and perhaps he hoped
distance would make my heart grow fonder.
Not a chance.
I took all the sheets off my bed, even my pillowcases, and knotted the corners
to make a rope. I tied one end to the bars that wrapped around the outside of
the patio and gave it a couple tugs with my hands. When I looked over the
edge, I saw a couple pots of flowers and the cobblestone path that wrapped
around the property. If I jumped down and the sheets came apart…that would
be a nasty fall.
Real nasty.
“Maybe I should think this through…” I stared at the ground for a while
before a brilliant idea sprang into my mind. I returned to the bedroom and
pulled the mattress off the top of the bed and pushed it onto the balcony.
Anyone directly below me could probably hear all the ruckus I was making,
but there seemed to be no one there. Otherwise, they’d have come running by
now.
I tipped the mattress over the edge and tried to aim it as best as I could before
it slipped and fell forty feet below. For something so soft, it made a distinct
thud when it struck the ground. I sucked in a breath between my closed teeth
and listened, hoping no one had heard that.
It was as silent as ever. “Phew.”
I tugged on the sheets again before I climbed over the rail and prepared to let
my feet leave the edge. I looked down again before I took a deep breath. A
girl like me wasn’t afraid of much, but even with a mattress below, I could
break every bone in my body…and then I’d never get away.
“Are you fucking crazy?”
He appeared in the open doors of the patio, shirtless in his sweatpants, pissed
off.
“Shit.” There was no time to dawdle, so I released the edge and put all my
weight on the sheets.
It held, but the knot above me was already starting to loosen.
“Go, go, go,” I said under my breath, trying to move as quickly as possible
without causing my body to swing forward and backward.
I felt the rope give as the sheets started to come undone.
“Stop moving!” Cauldron’s head appeared between the bars, and his strong
hands grabbed the sheets below the loosening knot. He grabbed it just in
time, holding my weight with his arms because the sheets’ attachment to the
patio bars was gone. “Get your ass back up here.”
I continued my descent to the bottom. “Thanks for the hand.”
“Camille!”
I quickly climbed down to the very bottom then let go, falling ten feet onto
the mattress below. It cushioned my landing exactly as I’d intended. I was
able to get to my feet without even a sore ass. When I looked up to the
balcony, Cauldron was already gone.
“Gotta hurry.” I’d already tried climbing the walls at the front gate several
times, but the security was tightest at the access points. This time, I decided
to go west, where there was just foliage. Maybe there was another house
nearby. No idea. The limestone wall was higher here than it was at the
entrance, so I had my work cut out for me as I dug my fingertips into the
grooves between the rocks and hoisted my body up higher.
I couldn’t bring any of my things with me besides some money and my ID,
but it was better than staying. I continued to climb, and when I was halfway
up, I heard Cauldron behind me. “You could have broken your neck, you
know that?”
“Well, that’s how much I hate you.” I kept my focus on the wall and
continued climbing. “Take it as a compliment.”
“Get down from there.”
“Nope, I’m good.” I kept going, over halfway to the top.
“The ground on the other side is uneven. You’ll break your ankle.”
“I can hop the rest of the way.”
He really turned angry. “Get your ass down here, or I’ll break your ankle
myself.”
“Yeah, I’ll get right on that.” I was almost to the top. All I had to do was pull
myself to the other side and run for it. It would take him just as long to climb
the wall, and by then, I’d be long gone. All I had to do was make it to a house
or follow the road to town.
When I reached the top, I lowered myself to the other side and tried to climb
down, but it was pitch dark and my fingers slipped. I fell until I hit the
ground, and just as Cauldron warned, it was on a slope. My foot landed at an
odd angle, and I clenched my teeth hard so no one would hear my scream.
Fuck, he was right. It was too dark to know if it was broken or just sprained.
Less than a minute later, he landed beside me, a flashlight between his teeth.
“What are you, a monkey?” I snapped. “You climb fast…”
He kneeled and pointed the flashlight at my foot. “What did I tell you?
You’re lucky it’s not broken.”
“It’s not?” I asked, trying not to wince in pain. “It sure feels like it.”
“Here.” He handed me the flashlight.
“You’re going to throw me over your back and carry me?” I asked
incredulously.
He scooped his arms underneath my body and lifted me to his chest. “Point
the flashlight.”
“Where?”
“Ahead.”
I pointed the light along the wall.
In silence, he carried me, like he knew where he was going.
Defeated, I just sat there, my eyes down on my thighs in shame. This was the
closest I’d come to escaping, and I screwed it up.
Moments later, he walked through an open gate onto the property.
“There’s a gate?” I climbed that wall for nothing?
The mattress was gone because his staff had already picked it up and carried
it back into the house. The rope of bedsheets was crumpled on the ground
from where he’d dropped it. His strong arms didn’t tremble as he carried me
to the front doors. “Call for Roger. She needs a wrap for her ankle.”
“Roger?”
“He’s a doctor.”
“It doesn’t even hurt anymore. It’s probably fine.” When I tried to roll it, a
burning pain shot up my leg and into my stomach, and for a brief moment, I
thought I’d be sick. Okay…maybe it wasn’t fine.
When we entered my bedroom, the maids were still putting fresh sheets on
the bed. Cauldron set me on the couch and lifted my injured leg to place it on
the coffee table. An ice pack was handed to him, and he applied it to my leg.
I gave a visible wince.
“It’ll feel better once the swelling goes down.”
I couldn’t stop myself from breathing hard, but I hid all the other signs of
pain. Refused to admit my escape plan was a big, fat mistake. If my ankle
was sprained, it’d be several weeks before I could execute another plan.
Minutes later, some guy I assumed to be Roger appeared. He examined my
ankle then opened his bag to pull out the materials to prepare a soft cast. “A
mild sprain. Should be good as new if she stays off it for three weeks.”
“Three weeks?” I blurted. “I can’t wait three weeks. I’ve got too much shit to
do.”
“Sounds like a vacation to me,” Cauldron said. “Not having to deal with you
trying to escape all the time.” He said all that right in front of the doctor,
basically admitted I was held there against my will, and neither one of them
seemed to care.
What a fucked-up world I lived in.
Roger wrapped my foot and secured it in place. Crutches were retrieved and
set against the armchair in front of the TV. Roger and the maids left, leaving
Cauldron and me alone together.
I stared at my foot for a few seconds, hoping this was all just a really bad
dream.
But it wasn’t.
“I’ll help you get undressed.”
“I don’t need your help, asshole.” I got to my feet. Well, I got to one of my
feet. I hopped away and grabbed on to one of the wooden posts around the
bed. I could get my jeans off just fine. Getting them back on would be the
problem.
Cauldron walked around the living room and approached me, the scruff on
his jawline thick because he’d skipped the shave for a couple of days. His
sweatpants were low on his hips, the lines separating his chest and abs like
they’d been carved with a knife. “Don’t blame me for this. You’re the one
who decided to jump off the balcony.”
“I wouldn’t have to jump off the balcony if you’d just let me go, so I do
blame you.”
With empty eyes, he regarded me with the chill of a winter storm. “I don’t
want it to be this way.”
“Well, you know exactly how I wanted it to be before I found out you were a
soulless psychopath.” When I remembered all the things I had said to him,
practically begged him for something more, I felt such humiliation. When I
imagined him reading all those thoughts I was only brave enough to admit in
private, that feeling of humiliation increased tenfold. He could have chosen to
preserve his relationship with me and forget about his brother if I were
important enough—but I wasn’t.
He digested my words with the same stern expression. “You left him because
you realized you wanted more out of life. Makes no sense to go back.”
“It makes perfect sense when you realize there’s nothing more out there,” I
snapped. “It’s just more monsters. More assholes. The only good person I’ve
ever known is dead. Everyone else are demons in human skin.”
His eyes hesitated by dropping for a second or two.
“You want to know the other reason I want to go back to him?”
After a pause, he looked at me again, his expression guarded as if he
suspected what I would say next.
“Because it would drive you crazy. It would drive you crazy to know your
brother has what he wants, and it would drive you crazy to know that your
whore prefers him to you. There’s no place I’d rather be than with Grave
because your sorrow is far more important than my happiness.”
He took a deep breath then let it out slowly. “Don’t be like me. Look where it
got me.”
“You live in a mansion, have a yacht, pay pretty girls to suck your dick. I
think you’re doing just fine.” I felt no pity for him, and nothing he said could
change that.
“I’m bitter. I don’t want you to be bitter.”
“Then you shouldn’t have fucked me and showed it to your brother.” I leaned
against the edge of the bed and kept my foot above the ground. “You
shouldn’t have used my feelings like chips in a goddamn poker game. Get
out, Cauldron.”
He remained there, muscular arms by his sides, his eyes downcast for a
moment. “Let me help you—”
“I’d rather sleep in my clothes than let you touch me.”
He stayed for several more seconds, either because he thought I would
change my mind or he was stunned by what I’d said. Wordlessly, he walked
out of the bedroom and closed the door behind him. The lock didn’t click, so
I was free to come and go as I pleased, like he thought I couldn’t get far in
my state.
Asshole shouldn’t underestimate me.
TWO
 CAULDRON

His number had popped up on my screen several times throughout the week.
I ignored all his calls.
Guess he wasn’t dead.
Sitting at my desk, I took the call. “You’re alive.”
“I’ve got a broken arm, asshole.”
“And you still didn’t drown? Damn.”
“Fuck you.”
I grinned just as I did when I was a boy. It was always fun to antagonize him.
“What do you want?”
“Camille. Give her to me, or I’ll take her.”
“With a broken arm?” I taunted. “Good luck with that.”
“How about a gun to your head?”
“I’ll believe that when I see it.”
“Then you’ll see it soon because I’ve lost all my patience.”
“Funny. So have I.”
Silence. A lot of it.
“She wants to be with me, Cauldron. Let her go.”
“That’s rich, coming from you.”
“You heard her.”
“She didn’t mean it. Just wanted to get away from me.”
“Then let her go,” he repeated. “You don’t deserve her, not after what you
did.”
“And you do?” I asked incredulously. “You’re the one who kept her mother’s
necklace hostage. You’re the one who tried to force her to marry you, when
she explicitly said she didn’t love you. You deserve her even less.”
His anger started to bleed through. “Let. Her. Go.”
“So you can pick her up? No.”
“You really hate me this much?” he snapped. “Keep her even though you
don’t want her, just so I can’t have her?”
“Who said I didn’t want her?”
“Your betrayal.”
Now it was my turn to be silent, to stew in my regret.
“I’m no Prince Charming, but at least I give a damn about her. I would never
do half the shit you did—and she knows that. If she’s going to be stuck with
one of us, I’m the clear winner. Now, let her go, or I’ll march in there and
take her.”
“My door is always open, Grave.” I hung up.
I knew that wouldn’t be the end of him. The war had only begun.
THREE
 CAMILLE

I was actually glad I sprained my ankle.

Now the bedroom door was unlocked, and my threat level was extinguished.
I set my alarm to wake me up in the dead of night, and then I used my
crutches to leave my bedroom and head down the hall. At the pace of a snail,
I took my time, careful not to slip on the rug in the middle of the room.
When I reached the stairs, I realized this would be harder than I’d thought.
With the crutches tucked underneath my arm, I sat on the top step then
scooted my bottom to the next step. I repeated that motion, moving from step
to step, taking ten minutes to get all the way to the bottom.
The house was quiet, the servants were all asleep, so I was able to make it to
his study without interference.
Exploring his yacht showed me that he had guns stashed everywhere, in
every room and even in the hallways. The guy was always prepared for a
war. My exploration of the house had come up empty, but I was certain his
study had the goods. I turned the knob to step inside and realized it was
locked.
“Goddammit.” I tried it again, as if there was any chance I just didn’t do it
right. “Motherfucker.” I studied the door for a while before I decided to break
it down. From what I gathered, there were no bedrooms downstairs.
Everyone was on the second floor, so if I did this quietly, they might not hear
me.
I used one of the crutches to hit the lock. Over and over, I hit it, hard but
silent, trying to chip away at the metal until it started to dent. I quickly
worked up a sweat, gritting my teeth because it was taking so long, and then I
stopped to make sure no one had heard me. When there was no activity, I
kept going, breaking the door handle twenty minutes later.
Finally, I had the door open and hopped inside.
The most obvious place to look was his desk, so I hopped around the edge
and dropped into his leather chair. I started at his top drawers, pushing aside
folders and paperwork until I could see the back of the drawer. My hand felt
around the top, wondering if it was taped to the underside of the desk.
Nothing.
I checked the next set of drawers. More often than not, Cauldron carried a
shotgun, but I wasn’t sure how that would fit in any of these drawers.
“Check under the desk.”
I gave a quiet hiss as I jerked my eyes up.
In his signature sweatpants, he stood in the doorway, his hair slightly ruffled
like he’d rolled out of bed just to come down here. But his eyes were wide
awake, furious. Dark and hot like freshly brewed espresso, his look could
kill.
My hands moved underneath the desk until I felt it, the cold sting of metal. I
yanked it loose from the Velcro that kept it hidden out of sight.
He moved to the desk, empty-handed but just as much of a threat.
It was a handgun, so I clicked off the safety and pointed it at his chest.
He stopped at the desk, both hands planted on the wood as he leaned forward,
powerful eyes burning me all the way through. Without hesitation, without an
ounce of fear, he looked at me head on, like a bullet to his chest would
simply bounce off. “What are you waiting for?”
My hand shook as I held it, like I was the one being held at gunpoint.
“Camille.”
Once I shot him through the chest, I could hobble on outta there without
being stopped. I could take one of his cars and drive away, never looking
back. But then Grave would track me down eventually, and I’d be right back
where I started. Plus, if I shot Cauldron, he would be dead…and I didn’t want
him to be dead.
I should after what he did to me, but I didn’t.
“This is your brilliant plan?” he asked coldly. “Break in to my office and
steal my gun, just to give up? Come on, shoot me.”
I lowered the gun.
“I said, shoot me.” He grabbed my wrist and forced the gun at his chest.
I gave a scream and yanked it back, sick to my stomach that the cold metal of
the barrel touched his warm skin, skin I had kissed and touched.
“Shoot. Me.”
“No.” I tossed the gun across the desk, where it slid over the surface and fell
to the floor. My eyes stung because I was on the verge of tears, my heart
traumatized by what I’d almost done. When I pictured the bloody wound in
his chest and his dead body on the floor, I nearly had a panic attack.
He stared me down for another moment before he retrieved the gun from the
floor and set it back on the desk. “Don’t touch my guns unless you’re going
to use them. Otherwise, you’re going to get yourself killed.”
“How did you know I wouldn’t kill you?” He’d looked at that gun head on,
with no regard for his own life. Where did he get that courage? That bravery?
“I didn’t.”
A long silence ensued. I stared at him, my eyebrows slowly rising up my
face.
He stared back, devoid of all emotion.
“What are you saying? That you—you wanted me to kill you?”
He held my stare for a while before he came around the desk and pulled my
chair back. He kneeled and secured the gun back in place with the black
Velcro. “I guess I wouldn’t have minded it.”
FOUR
 CAULDRON

She didn’t join me during mealtimes. Didn’t come out of her room. A week
came and went, and the only evidence she was still in the house were Hugo’s
reports. There were no more notes in the wastebin, so I had no idea how she
felt.
She would have taken that shot if she really hated me.
Roger came by to check on her ankle, and he said it was healing nicely but
would require more time.
Camille was still in the house with me, but she was out of my life, and the
bite of loneliness really stung. My time used to be occupied with work and
whores, but now I didn’t care about either.
My mission to make Grave suffer couldn’t have gone better, and the high was
potent—but also brief.
A piece of me seemed to be missing. A piece I didn’t even know was there in
the first place. Lounging in my chair, I looked out the window over the
grounds of the front of the house, my laptop and work ignored.
Then I heard the clank of clutches. It grew louder as she approached the
doorway. I turned to see her appear beyond the double doors, wearing high-
waisted linen pants with a ruffled top that showed her belly button piercing.
I watched her enter my study then sit down in one of the armchairs facing my
desk. Slightly out of breath, she leaned the crutches against the other chair.
After that night with the gun, she hadn’t left her room, so this was the first
time we’d come face-to-face. Her hair and makeup were done, and with the
little bit of belly she showed, she was appealing. In nothing but a baggy shirt
with her hair in a messy bun, she was intoxicating. But right now, she looked
stunning. Maybe it was the dry spell talking, but I’d never wanted her more.
Powerless to act on it, all I could do was look at her.
Her eyes avoided me for a bit, either because of my hungry stare, or because
she struggled to find the words. “My ankle is a lot better.”
That was the last thing I expected her to say. “I heard.”
“I can almost put my weight on it.”
“Good.”
She looked at a couple paintings on the wall before her gaze shifted to mine.
Once she looked at me, there was a noticeable tightening of her body, all the
muscles contracting at the same time. Couldn’t tell if it was in disgust or
longing. “I thought we should talk.”
My elbow propped on the armrest, and my folded knuckles slid underneath
my chin.
“You really intend to keep me here forever?”
It was a heavy question, so I continued to stare.
“Seems pointless to me. We’re down the hall from each other but practically
strangers.”
“A stranger wouldn’t hesitate to kill me.”
“Okay, not strangers. Enemies.”
“An enemy would have kept firing until the barrel was empty.”
“Okay…then I’m not sure what we are. There’s no reason to keep me.”
Couldn’t disagree more. “When you first came here, you asked me to kill
him.”
“I remember. What’s your point?”
“I’ll do it.”
Both of her eyebrows moved up her beautiful face. “What?”
“I’ll kill him. You can walk out of here as a free woman.”
She considered what I said for a long time. “What brought this on?”
“It’s headed in that direction anyway. He’ll kill me to get you back, so I’ll
kill him first.”
“But he’s your brother—”
“He’s a worthless piece of shit. That’s what he is.”
Her eyes flicked away at my anger.
“I’ll kill him, and you’ll be free. But I want something in return.”
Her eyes moved back to mine, the surprise unmistakable.
“You.”
Emotions passed across her gaze, none of them readable. “You just said it’s
coming to a head anyway. I don’t need to cooperate.”
“You want me to release you so you’ll be his prisoner instead?” I challenged.
“I imagine you must be tired of changing hands by now. Impossible to chase
your dreams with an invisible leash around your neck. You need me to kill
him, just like you originally wanted, and I’m willing to do that if you give me
what I want.”
Now that fire erupted. “You already had me, asshole. Look how that turned
out.”
“I want you still.”
She abruptly turned her head away, as if insulted.
I stared at the side of her face, seeing the mix of anger and hurt, all caused by
my insatiable need for revenge. “We have a deal?”
A quiet sigh escaped her lips, her eyes still elsewhere.
“Your feelings for me haven’t changed.”
Slowly, she turned to look at me, her eyes drenched in gasoline and hungry
for a match. “Trust me, they have. Just because I didn’t shoot you doesn’t
mean I forgive you. Doesn’t mean I want you in my bed ever again. Doesn’t
mean I would ever care for you the way I once did. You had all of me,
Cauldron…all of me. Even if I agree to this, it would only be a sliver. I would
be back on the clock, paid to pretend to feel something when I feel nothing at
all.”
I suddenly felt winded, as if an invisible fist had just punched me right in the
stomach. I did my best to keep a straight face, keeping my hand of cards
close to my chest where she couldn’t see. “You want to know the worst part
of all this?”
Slowly, her rage softened from a boil to a simmer, but she could crank the
heat back up in a flash.
“That I’m so desperate for revenge, but even when I get it, I still feel numb.
It’s as if it never happened. The high was so exhilarating, but it burned out…
just like that. Now I want another hit because I don’t know what else to do. I
know full well his suffering won’t make mine any more manageable. So, I
betrayed you for something that didn’t even really matter in the end.”
Her eyes were locked to mine like she repeated those words in her head.
“I’ve been so angry ever since I can remember that I don’t even know how to
live. My entire purpose in life is to hurt Grave and my father. It’s consumed
me. Despite what you think, I’ve grown to care for you, but that didn’t stop
me from throwing you to the wolves.”
“I thought you said your father is dead?”
Anger swept through me. “Dead to me.”
“Then it sounds like you meant what you said, that I could shoot you and it
wouldn’t have mattered.”
After a long stare, I gave a shrug. “I’ve come to the sad realization that my
life has no other purpose. It’s always been about revenge to the exclusion of
all else, even sabotaging my own happiness. Even now, it gives me sick
satisfaction that you’re here and Grave can’t touch you, when all I should feel
is remorse for what I’ve done to you.”
She held my gaze and didn’t speak, her eyes absorbing my words.
“So I’m offering to kill him for you—if we can be what we once were.”
“We can never be that again,” she said quickly.
“As long as I have you in any capacity, we have a deal.” My fingers rubbed
along the scruff of my jawline, feeling the coarse prickle of the skin as I
grazed the area with my fingertips. I waited for her answer, hoped that my
offer was too enticing to ignore.
After what felt like minutes, she gave a nod. “Okay. When will you kill
him?”
“When the moment is right.”
“That could be years.”
“More like months.”
“You haven’t killed him so far. How do I know you’ll ever do it?”
“Because it needs to happen anyway. It’s the only way I can move on.”
She studied me, searching for a hint of a lie. “And when he’s dead, I’m free
to go.”
“Yes.”
After long consideration, she nodded. “Okay. We have a deal.”
FIVE
 CAMILLE

I actually felt sorry for him.

Which was stupid, because I should only feel sorry for myself.
I only agreed to his terms because there was no other option. I would always
be a pawn these two men would fight over, so until one of them was dead and
the other let me go, my life would never be my own. Finding a husband and a
quiet place to start a family would be an impossibility.
But even on the best of terms, that still felt like an impossibility.
Would a man ever love me after he knew my past?
Would I ever love a man after my heart was so irrevocably broken?
Was I the stupidest person alive for actually thinking that Cauldron could be
that man?
Yep. 100%.
Wouldn’t make that mistake again.
A physical therapist came to the house to help me work on my ankle. It’d
been nearly two weeks since I’d actually used it, and the muscles seemed to
have forgotten how to work. It was a lot of stretching then short walks. The
swelling had gone down and the pain was gone, so it was tempting to do
more, but being disabled for a few weeks taught me to fight the impulse.
Once my exercises were done, I made it downstairs and used my crutches to
approach the pool deck. Fall had just begun, but it still felt like summer. Hot
and humid. Not a cloud in the sky. I sat on the top of the steps and set down
my crutches before I slid into the pool. The buoyancy of the water allowed
me to stand upright without assistance, so it was nice to enjoy some
independence, even if it was attenuated.
“How does it feel?”
When I turned around, I spotted him stepping into the pool in black swim
trunks. His muscles were thick and swollen, like he’d hit the weights that
morning and was still tight from the workout. His skin was beautifully
tanned, like he spent his time lounging around the pool instead of working in
his office all day.
He moved into the water until only his chest was above the surface. “Your
ankle.”
I forgot the question he’d just asked. “Feels normal again. But the therapist
said I need to take it easy for another week.”
“I’m sure that’s a struggle.” A slight smile moved on to his lips, a ghost of a
boyish grin. “You never listen.”
“Well, I want to make sure I do this right so I don’t have to use those
crutches any longer. All the chafing is giving me a rash under my arms.”
He came close to me but left a foot of space between us.
I didn’t want him any closer than that.
His dark eyes shifted back and forth between mine, reading my energy like
an email on his computer. He moved away to the edge of the pool, leaning
against the wall and resting one arm over the pavement. Hugo appeared and
placed a tray at the poolside with a couple drinks then disappeared.
Cauldron grabbed a glass and took a drink. It looked like scotch on the rocks.
The other was a pink drink, fruity, with a yellow umbrella. He picked it up
and held it out to me.
Ain’t going to say no to that.
I took it from his hand and sipped it, tasting the mix of guava and pineapple
juice along with the smooth tequila. The back of the pool had a stone seat that
spanned the entire wall, so I took a seat and crossed my legs. The depth of the
pool never extended more than five and a half feet, so I could tiptoe around
without getting my hair wet.
He stayed in his spot, drinking his scotch and looking over the lush grounds.
We were quiet for a long time. So quiet, it seemed like he had no intentions
when he joined me.
A part of me wanted him to leave because I couldn’t really relax whenever he
was in my presence. It was like a gentle electric current humming in my
veins. It wasn’t enough to shock me, but enough to make me uncomfortable.
“Don’t you have work to do?” The words burst out abrasively, far harsher
than I meant them to.
If he was offended, it didn’t show. After a beat, he turned to look at me. “You
want me to leave?”
“I just… You’re usually in your study so…”
“Thought I’d take a break.”
I continued to stare, unable to deny his handsomeness but still despising his
soul. It’d been weeks since he broke my heart, but I was still in fragile
condition. I wasn’t just hurt, but humiliated. Didn’t know how I could ever
let my guard down again. Didn’t know how I could be intimate with him and
feel safe.
He held my stare before he grabbed his glass and finished off the scotch. It
wasn’t even noon yet. He always drank like that, having the occasional iced
tea over lunch. I could never tell when he was drunk. Unless he was always
drunk. “I know when I’m not wanted.” He returned the glass to the tray and
exited the pool.
My eyes stared at his muscled back as more became visible above the surface
of the water. More lines. More segments of muscle carved by strength. Wide
shoulders narrowed down to slim hips and a tight ass shaped by his wet swim
trunks. His feet touched the pool deck, and the water splashed down around
him. After he grabbed a white towel off the table, he dropped his swim trunks
right on the deck.
I couldn’t look away.
The soft towel dried him everywhere, moved behind his neck, into his short
hair and over his ass, as well as between his muscled thighs. Then he tied it
around his waist as if he’d just gotten out of the shower and walked inside.
I knew that little strip show was intentional. No doubt about it.
Bastard.

“Mr. Beaufort requests your presence over dinner.” Hugo stood in my

doorway, polite in tone but hostile in stare. He wouldn’t dare disobey his
master, but that didn’t mean he enjoyed treating me with the same respect as
Cauldron.
I continued to spend my time in solitude, unable to write notes out of fear of
their discovery. It made me feel alone. But the stranglehold of solitude was
never painful enough to desire his company. His knife went in so deep, I was
convinced the tip was still in place, pressed so close to my heart it nearly
pierced it. “I’ll take my dinner in here.”
“He said he would join you if that were the case.”
Just like when I first came here, Cauldron pressed up against me harder and
harder, infecting my space until he was fully in it. His patience had run its
course.
“The dinner would be better served at a dining table anyway.”
Like I cared. “Fine.”
Hugo left my bedroom.
I threw something on, then used my crutches to get downstairs. The wrap was
off my ankle, and I could not only put weight on it, but use it fully, but I still
had a few more days before the crutches could be abandoned altogether.
Slowly, I made it downstairs, the gentle tap of the crutches the soundtrack of
my life over the last couple weeks.
He sat alone at the dining table, candles aglow and flowers in full bloom. In a
short-sleeved black t-shirt with his arms resting on the surface, he watched
me enter the room with his dark and intelligent eyes.
When I approached the table, he pulled out the chair for me.
I sat down and leaned the crutches against the chair beside me.
Hugo immediately poured me a glass of wine and left us to enjoy the soup he
brought. It was always a three-course meal at dinner time. A small soup. A
salad. And some kind of meat with green vegetables. Lunchtime was always
casual, a single plate with a few items on top. “Do you always eat like this?”
I asked.
After a spoonful, he answered. “It’s the only way to dine.”
“It’s a lot of dishes.”
“I don’t have to wash them, so I don’t care.”
Spoken like a truly privileged asshole. “Ever had a nutella and honey
sandwich?”
His eyes lifted to mine. “I don’t think so.”
“My mom used to make them for me all the time. She would toast the bread
first. Made it into a panini.”
He gave a subtle nod like he didn’t know what to say.
“Did your mother make them for you?”
“She died when I was so young, it’s hard to remember what she made for me.
Most of the things I remember were prepared by the nanny. And I guess my
stepmother.”
“Is your stepmother still alive?”
“No.”
“Did you…?”
“No.” He continued to eat his soup. “Heart attack. Probably caused by all her
scheming.”
Normally when I asked questions, he was a book with the pages glued
together. But now, he opened himself to me, answered any questions I
wanted, probably because he was in the doghouse and wanted to get laid.
“Did your father remarry a third time?”
“Not that I know of.”
“Is he still close with Grave?”
“As far as I know.”
“And you guys just don’t talk?” It was hard to imagine having a parent you
had no connection with. They lived their life, and you lived yours—
separately. “Like, ever?”
He finished his soup. “Ever.”
My heart somersaulted inside my chest, falling deep into my stomach.
“That’s so sad.”
Hugo must spy on Cauldron through a secret peephole in the wall, because he
always emerged right when Cauldron was finished with his food. If I wasn’t
finished with mine, it didn’t matter, he took it anyway. He returned to the
kitchen to fetch the next course.
Cauldron drank his wine.
Hugo returned with the mixed salads then departed once more.
Cauldron never acknowledged what I’d said.
“Has he ever tried to rectify things between you?”
A quiet breath escaped his lips, a manifestation of his annoyance. But he
never ignored me, never put a stop to the interrogation. “Yes.”
“And you shut him down?”
He turned his head and regarded me, his eyes issuing a silent warning. “I
don’t appreciate your judgment.”
“I’m not casting judgment. I’m just asking.”
“No, I don’t entertain his apologies. He’s a father to Grave, but he’s an
enemy to me.”
“I imagine he truly loved your mother if he always favored you.”
“Hard to believe when he remarried so quickly.”
“I thought he remarried because he knocked up Grave’s mother?”
He grabbed his fork and started to eat, as if stalling just so he wouldn’t
receive any more questions. “It’s not 1812. He didn’t need to marry her.
Look where that got him. That gold-digging whore tried to kill his firstborn.”
Cauldron painted a striking picture, and that was when I realized he’d felt
love only for a very short period of time, until he was three. The rest of the
time, it was just betrayals stacked upon betrayals. No wonder he was so
pissed off. No wonder he preferred the company of women who cost money.
“Do you ever think about…letting bygones be bygones?”
“What do you think?” He continued to eat, his eyes elsewhere.
“You said revenge is all you know, but the satisfaction is temporary. Maybe
you should try something else.”
He finished his salad, letting the silence simmer.
That told me the conversation had been exhausted.
Hugo appeared and took the plates again, bringing the main course a moment
later, a whitefish with peanut sauce. Living in a house where the food was
always gourmet and appeared out of thin air was a privilege. Too bad it still
felt like a prison.
We ate in silence. He seemed to be in a foul mood from the line of
questioning.
“What will you do?” he asked. “After I kill Grave?”
My fork sliced into the tender meat until it broke off in flakes. With my eyes
on my food, I thought of the question I hadn’t asked myself. “Grave paid me
good money. It’s stashed away in my bank. I guess I’ll buy an apartment in
Paris…get a job…try an online dating app.”
“And you think that’s how you’ll find your husband?” he asked, his voice
slightly incredulous.
“That’s how people do things nowadays.”
With hostile silence, he ate his dinner.
“You have a better idea?” I asked, a bit offended by his coldness.
His eyes remained on his food, his anger sheathed but still visible.
“You’re used to finer things in life. I don’t think some random guy you find
on an app is going to give that to you.”
“Who said I wanted finer things? You know what I want, Cauldron?”
His plate was empty now, but he still wouldn’t look at me.
“A good man who will treat me right. Who won’t use me as a pawn. Who
won’t violate my privacy. Who won’t brag about his conquests to make his
brother jealous. Who’ll actually give a damn about me instead of using me.” I
rose from my chair, putting my weight on my tender ankle without regard.
“Thanks for dinner.” I grabbed the crutches and made my getaway. It was
slow with a constant tap from the bottom of the rubber against the hardwood
floor, but it was still putting distance between me and that monster.

A few days later, the wrap was removed from my ankle, and the crutches
were returned to the therapist’s office. I was free once again, using my ankle
just like I did before it was sprained. Sometimes, there was a subtle jolt of
pain when I moved too quickly, but the therapist said that would cease after
my nerves were used to the mobility again.
I felt like myself again. If I wanted to run for it and jump over another wall, I
could.
Not that I was planning on it. I had just as much trouble breaking out of this
place as I did breaking in to it.
Cauldron came into my bedroom when he finished up in his study, wearing
his signature sweatpants, walking around all hard and chiseled, with that
shadow across his jawline and underneath his chin. He was so hot that he
used to bring me to the verge of a climax just by looking at him, but now, all
I felt was an aching heart. “No more crutches?” He took the seat beside me
on the couch.
“Yep.” I stuck out my leg and spun my ankle, showing off all the things I
could do.
“Good. I’d like to take you out again.”
“To sell your diamonds?” I asked, my tone a little moody.
“Among other things.” He relaxed against the couch and looked at me,
almost expectantly.
“What?” I asked, feeling scrutinized by that intense gaze.
“We made a deal.”
“Oh,” I said with a slight laugh. “Now that my ankle is better, you want to get
down to business.”
“Your ankle was never the issue.” His intense stare was potent enough to
pierce you from across the room. Up close, it was like standing under a clear
sky on a summer day and the sun burned you all the way through. “I just
can’t wait anymore.”
“Why don’t you just call up one of your regulars, then?” I asked, my anger
heavy under the surface.
“Because I want you.”
I looked away, refusing to fall under the spell that had captivated me so
deeply I’d fallen for him in the first place. I never wanted to be that stupid
again. I never wanted to get crushed like that again. It was worse than my
mother dying. She was sick for a while, so I knew it was coming. But with
Cauldron, I’d had no idea what was about to hit me.
“Camille.”
I hated it when he said my name. He said it in a way no other man ever had.
It was gentle but also possessive, like the way his fingers felt wrapped around
my neck when he fucked me.
“Camille,” he repeated, demanding my stare.
My eyes shifted to his.
“I want you. And I can’t wait any longer.” Three weeks had come and gone,
and I wouldn’t even let him touch my hand. His stare was the only thing that
could violate me, every time I stepped out of the pool, every time I wore my
little pajama shorts and he came inside to say goodnight. He didn’t move
toward me, but his eyes undressed me of every piece of clothing, stripping
me down to the white thong I wore underneath. Without touching me, he
could violate me everywhere, press his big palms against my small tits.
When his stare became too much, I looked away.
His arm was over the back of the couch, so his fingers moved into the back of
my hair, getting a fistful of it like reins to a horse.
All I did was breathe, inhale deep and slow, and then let it out again. My
nerves were on fire, the muscles of my core were tight. I juggled my desire as
well as my pain. It was a dichotomy of emotions, hating someone you wanted
so much.
His fingers twisted my hair gently until he had a grip so firm I could never
break free. He gently guided my face toward him, turning me until there was
nothing else I could look at besides him.
I stared into a hurricane, a natural force that had so much power, it could
destroy everything in its path. There was nowhere to run, nowhere to escape
his pull. It was best to stand there and be taken.
He moved into me, his face coming close to mine. Those intense eyes
focused on my mouth for a while, as if deciding how he wanted to devour
me, slow and gentle from the start or a starving rampage.
The breaths I took became deeper and more labored. A surge of adrenaline
filled my blood. I was scared, scared because this intense man had hurt me
more than anything else in life. He would hurt me again if I didn’t keep
myself safe, if I didn’t lock up my heart in a place where he couldn’t touch it.
He moved in, fingers anchored into my hair, his lips near my ear. “Camille.”
My eyes closed at the sound of my name on his lips. I wondered how many
other names he’d spoken, if he’d spoken any at all, or if I was the first. He
used my name so well, like it was more than just a name, but a promise.
He forced my head to turn with his grip, bringing my lips toward him.
My eyes opened to see him closer, see his powerful chest dominate my body.
He smelled like he’d just taken a shower, his natural scent subtle under the
aroma of his soap. Scotch was on his breath, as if he’d enjoyed a drink in his
bedroom after he finished getting ready for the evening. I was so used to that
smell that I thought of him every time it wafted into my nose.
His other hand gripped the armrest to hold himself over me, the thick bicep in
his arm plump and covered with veins. His head dipped, and his lips made
contact with mine, his soft kiss a gentle greeting.
The same feelings were still there, the way a current traveled up my spine and
shocked my fingers and toes. Heat flushed through my core, made my neck
hot, made my breathing suddenly change into something else.
He kissed me again, getting my lips to move with the force of his. After
giving my bottom lip a good kiss, he parted my lips with his and gave me just
a bit of his tongue, an intoxicating swipe.
Everything else afterward came in a flash. My hand latched on to his arm, my
fingers digging into the thick muscles that were bigger than the size of my
head. My other hand planted on his hard chest, feeling the warmth of a
furnace. It was exactly the way it used to be, the emotional pull so deep it
brought me back into the past, into a time when I thought he could really be
mine…someday.
And that was when the moment shattered. Broken glass all over the floor.
The ice-cold bite of winter. The unstoppable bleed of betrayal. My hand
pushed him in the chest to break our kiss, to get him off me.
He leaned back but didn’t let me go.
“I can’t—” I yanked his hand out of my hair, finally severing the connection
between our bodies.
Instead of looking angry, he just looked disappointed.
“If you want to fuck, we’ll fuck. But that’s it.” I wasn’t compromising my
heart, not again. “Don’t kiss me ever again.” I remembered the first time he
kissed me after he’d said he wouldn’t. It brought us closer together, or at least
I thought it did. Now I realized it was the gateway to other things, other
things I didn’t want. “When you kissed me…it was all part of your plan.” I
didn’t phrase it as a question because I already had the answer. He seduced
me. It was my job to fulfill his fantasies, but he was the one who fulfilled
mine. He manipulated me with his false affection, with the secrets he
confided to me. “Sleeping with me. Saying things like I’m special, I’m
different… It was all bullshit.”
“It was not all bullshit—”
“Yes, it was.” I turned to him, doing my best not to cry. “Without your
agenda, I would have been just another whore you wouldn’t kiss on the
mouth. I wouldn’t have meant a damn thing to you.”
“Maybe I did things I wouldn’t ordinarily do because of Grave, but I enjoyed
every second of them, and I’m glad they happened—”
“Just like I said, I wouldn’t have meant a damn thing to you. If Grave didn’t
exist, nothing would have happened between us.”
He looked away and rubbed his jawline, his fingertips grazing over his lips
where my kiss had been. “What does it matter if he’s the source of my
motivation? I pursued a deeper relationship with you, and as a consequence, I
grew to care for you. You think the sob story about your mother’s necklace
would have meant a damn to me if I didn’t care? You think I would have
gotten it back if you didn’t mean something to me?”
“Or it was just another stunt—”
“No.” He turned to me again, his stare angry. “It wasn’t. Maybe my
intentions were sinister, but all those feelings…they were real. I never lied to
you. I meant every word I said to you.”
“If that were true, you wouldn’t have given him my notes. You wouldn’t
have read them in the first place. You would have destroyed that video and
pretended it never happened. You didn’t do any of those things, Cauldron.
And at the end of the day, that proves how you really feel.”

Days passed, and we didn’t speak.

He stuck to his study, sometimes left the house, and spent his evenings in his
bedroom. We didn’t share meals. We didn’t share conversation. He seemed
as frustrated with me as I was angry with him.
That evening, he made his move, entering my bedroom shortly before nine.
I sat on the couch, my mother’s necklace around my throat, a book in my lap
with the TV on. My evening tray was on the coffee table with the leftovers I
couldn’t finish. My dinner always had a chamomile tea, something to help
me sleep.
The intensity in his eyes suggested he came for a fight. He took a seat beside
me, the black sweatpants low on his hips, his chiseled body tight and strong.
His forearms moved to his knees, and he stared at the dining tray for a minute
or two before he looked at me again. “I’m a man with needs.”
“And that’s my problem because…?”
“We made a deal. I’ve been patient, but no longer.” He looked at me like I
was one of his men, like any disobedience would be met with cruelty. He
ditched the romantics and came at me like someone who owed him money.
“Don’t pretend your body doesn’t miss mine.”
Every fiber of my being missed him. It was like losing an arm or a leg. My
heart was in shambles, and every time I walked around, I felt the shattered
glass shift and move in my chest. “And if I say no?”
His expression hardened just slightly, showing every ounce of frustration
with little effort. “Then we don’t have a deal. I’ll throw you out on your ass
and let Grave make you his wife.”
“I don’t play poker, but I’m calling your bluff.”
He really looked pissed off, but he didn’t say anything.
After everything that had happened, I still wanted him. But actually allowing
it to happen felt like a weakness. Being with him, enjoying him, felt like an
insult to myself. I shouldn’t want someone who had such little regard for me.
I shouldn’t care about someone who could betray me like that.
His next movements were so quick, it took me a second to process what
happened, and by the time I did, the damage had been done. He yanked my
pajama shorts and panties down my legs as he dragged me down the couch.
I was ready to throw him off me and onto the coffee table once his chest was
above mine, but instead, he scooped up my legs in his powerful arms and
kissed me at my center, his warm lips taking me so hard that my first reaction
was to suck a deep breath between my clenched teeth. His powerful tongue
swirled around my nub with such grand execution I went stiff at his touch.
My body went limp, in the grip of paralysis. My eyes closed as his lips kissed
me and his tongue delved deep inside me and tasted me.
Now the weeks of solitude suddenly felt unbearable once I remembered what
I was missing. This man could fuck like it was what he did for a living. He
could go down on me as if he’d gone to university for it. Unaware of my own
actions, I dug my fingers into his hair, and I tilted my head back as I writhed.
My hips started to thrust gently on their own, pushing against his face as his
tongue supplied more friction. Minutes later, I was there, right at the edge,
my shirt yanked up to my chin with my nipples hard in the cold air. Quiet
moans that almost sounded like whines came from my parted lips because it
felt so good to be there, so close to euphoria.
His sexy mouth pulled away.
My hips went still, my skin turned ice-cold, my breath was stolen from my
lungs.
With his bottoms pushed to his knees, he climbed on top of me, his narrow
hips sliding between my soft thighs. He guided himself inside me, and with a
loud groan, he pushed all the way in. “Fuck.” His handsome face was directly
above mine, sexy in its intensity, visibly overwhelmed by how good I felt.
My hands immediately latched on to his arms as I felt the explosive fullness
between my legs. I’d forgotten how he felt, how he stretched me so
completely. A shaky breath left my lungs because I’d forgotten how good it
felt, how natural it felt to be with him.
He usually started off nice and slow, savoring the feeling of our slick bodies
as they moved together. But now, he fucked me like a jackhammer into
concrete. It was hard and fast right from the get-go, his ass and lower back
working hard to fuck me into the corner of the couch.
It was hot.
He wanted me so much, he couldn’t contain himself, couldn’t stop because
his need was so paramount. He pounded me like it was a race to the finish
line, but he had no opponents. It took less than a minute for him to finish, his
eyes locked on mine as he gave a deep moan. He barely stopped for a breath,
barely savored the satisfaction before he kept going, albeit at a slower pace.
With his come inside me and his arms wrapped around me, he gave me deep
and even strokes, his dick just as hard as it’d been from the beginning.
My knees were against my chest and squeezing either side of his torso as I
lay there and took it, my body grinding against the fabric of the couch. My
hand gripped his ass and tugged him deep inside, rocking with him, so close
to the finish, I could already feel the tears in my eyes. “Yes…”
His eyes were locked on mine, so possessive they almost looked angry. He
rocked his hips a little more, getting the friction right against my clit.
“Camille.” He said my name in his own way, with a depth that couldn’t be
recreated, with an affection that was subtle but binding.
My knees squeezing his body and my nails deep in his ass, I came with a
quiet scream. The dam behind my eyes burst, and the tears streaked down my
cheeks. Everything felt hot, like lava in my veins. It’d been so long since I’d
writhed like this that I’d nearly forgotten how good it was. Forgotten how
much I hated him.
He followed right behind me, the sight of my tears making him release
almost immediately after the first drop fell. His hips continued to grind when
we were both finished, his cock slowly deflating to its original size. We both
felt the lingering effects of the high and clung to it a little longer by staying
together.
But then, all the anger and resentment slowly returned…and I remembered
how much he’d hurt me. I didn’t look at him the same, and I knew he noticed
the change because his eyes changed too. They turned guarded, a bit
wounded. He finally moved off me, and without a second glance or another
word, he pulled up his bottoms and left.
SIX
 CAULDRON

I pulled the necklace out of the box. The diamond in the center was the focal
point, carved into the shape of a heart, a quality so flawless, it was one of the
rarest diamonds I’d ever seen. It’d been stored in my secret vault for many
years, reserved for instances just like this—when business wasn’t great.
Setting up a site could take weeks, but usually months. We had two mines
that had been detonated, so all that time had led to nothing. And now we had
to start over, putting our operation three months behind schedule.
I couldn’t let the world suspect something was amiss, so I pulled out my most
spectacular diamonds to prove my business hadn’t been affected by my petty
hardships with Grave. “May I?” I unclasped the necklace and held it up for
her to see.
Her eyes had been lifeless a moment ago, but now they lit up in wonder and
hesitation. She faced the other direction then scooped up her long hair so I
could fasten the necklace around her slender throat. She was in a backless
dress, the small muscles of her back petite but tight. Once it was secure, she
let her hair down again.
I remained behind her, staring at her nectarine ass as it plumped against the
tight fabric of her dress. Her skin was so soft, she smelled like roses, and her
hair practically begged my fist to grab it.
The urge came over me, so I moved my arm around her waist to her front and
pressed my flattened palm against her little stomach. I felt her diaphragm
extend when she sucked in a sudden breath. With my chest to her back, I
dipped my head and pressed a kiss to her shoulder. The breath slowly
released from her lungs. I could feel her stomach deflate against my palm.
I wanted to squeeze her tighter, press another kiss to that delectable skin, but
she stepped forward and left my embrace, clearing her throat as she moved
away. “Should we be going?” Her palm didn’t strike my cheek, but it sure
felt like it did.
I stared at her until she met my look.
She fidgeted with her bracelet, looked at anything except me, wasting time
intentionally.
I held my ground, refusing to answer her question until she complied.
After what felt like a solid minute, she dropped her arm and looked at me, her
eyes full of displeasure at her forfeit.
I nodded toward the stairs, and we headed out the main doors to the vehicle
waiting for us. Through the darkness, we drove, leaving Cap-Ferrat and
venturing toward Nice and the French Riviera. An acquaintance had invited
me to his cocktail party, and social situations were the events where I made
my biggest sales. Having a brick-and-mortar shop opened you up to robbery
and theft. And most rich people didn’t do their own shopping, so the only
people that walked by were those who couldn’t afford a single item. Truly
wealthy people wouldn’t be seen shopping at my stores, because if they
walked out with anything, it was just an announcement to anyone watching
they were wealthy, and that put a target on their back.
Camille was quiet on the drive, her eyes directed out her window, her body
pivoted away from me. One elbow was propped on the armrest as her fingers
supported her chin. She seemed to be in her own world, as if I weren’t there
at all.
I knew she wished I weren’t there at all.
I didn’t realize how much I enjoyed our intimacy until it wasn’t there. I’d
never been close with a woman, never slept with the same woman more than
a couple of times, but Camille and I had a relationship, a relationship that had
filled a void I hadn’t noticed before. Now that she was gone…I could really
feel it.
Feel it all the time.
Thirty minutes later, we arrived at the private residence, white lights
interwoven in the trees on the property, a line of cars waiting to be taken by
the valet. Each estate looked like every other estate I’d been to, so it was
impossible to be impressed anymore. I was certain none of my visitors was
impressed with my accommodations, even though they gave compliments to
be polite.
We exited the car, and my arm immediately circled her waist.
She flinched at my touch, but not in the good kind of way, like when my
affection once excited her. She tried her best to keep the distance between us,
so the least amount of skin between our bodies came into contact.
We made it inside, got our champagne, and then I started the rounds.
She stood beside me, silent as ever, not even bothering to make small talk.
When she introduced herself, all she said was her name. She didn’t bother to
shake hands with anyone. When we left the group and walked away, I
rounded on her.
“You can do better than that.”
She sipped her champagne and ignored me. “I sleep with you, and you kill
Grave. That’s our deal. I don’t owe you anything else, asshole.” Her eyes
turned into sharp daggers, and she gave me the coldest stare I’d ever seen.
A waiter passed with an empty tray, so she set her glass down and walked
off, heading where, I had no idea.
Too pissed off to say anything, I let her go.

A half hour later, I found her on the back terrace where some of the guests
had congregated. Instead of having a conversation with someone else at the
party, she stood alone, smoking a cigarette as she looked across the well-kept
lawn.
She was really trying to piss me off, wasn’t she?
I walked over and pulled the cigarette from her mouth.
“Um, do you mind?”
I put it in my own mouth and took a drag, feeling smoke in my lungs for the
first time in months. I held my breath and kept the smoke trapped, feeling
that relaxing kick of nicotine before I released it as a cloud of smoke.
“You’re a fucking hypocrite, you know that?”
“Or maybe I just don’t care anymore.” She took the cigarette back and took
her own drag.
Like two social outcasts at a high school party, we stood together and shared
a smoke, going back and forth until the cigarette was just a nub.
“You go to so many of these things and know so many people, but you don’t
seem to have any friends.” She stepped on the butt on the ground with her
heel and squashed out the little fire that still burned. The ash smeared into the
pavers. It was inconsiderate, to say the least, but this woman wouldn’t listen
to reason right now.
“Because I don’t.”
She studied me, her arms crossing over her chest. “Sounds lonely.”
“You can be alone but not lonely.”
“True. But is that you?”
Now I wished I had another cigarette. I’d severed ties with my addiction
because of the promise I made, but it didn’t seem like anything mattered
anymore.
“I don’t think it is. You’re a bitter, lonely man whose only purpose in life is
to destroy other people. It’s pathetic.”
I kept a straight face as she tore me down. She seemed to have had too much
champagne. Or maybe she just hated me so much that she didn’t care if her
words hit their mark. I still remembered the affection in her eyes like it was
yesterday. That time was long gone. “We’re more alike than you realize.”
She stilled at that observation, slowly internalizing it until she felt my point.
“That’s not the same thing at all—”
“I’m obsessed with hurting Grave. You’re obsessed with hurting me. Maybe
now you understand me a little better.”
“I’m not trying to hurt you—”
“You just called me a bitter, lonely, and pathetic man.” Her words didn’t
wound me. Her bullets bounced off my flesh like my chest was bulletproof.
But it did make me miss the woman she used to be, the way she’d handled
my emotions with delicacy, the way she cared for me when I didn’t deserve
to be cared for by anyone. I was the only one to blame, and I couldn’t take
back what I’d done. “You can’t hurt me, can’t make me feel worse than I
already do. But you’re welcome to continue to try.”

It was silent the entire drive home.

Once we made it inside, she went straight to her room.
I lagged behind her, watching her sexy figure shift and shake as she walked,
those womanly hips rolling as she moved. She ran her fingers through her
hair as she walked inside and shut the door behind her.
She could hate me all she wanted, but I’d never wanted her more. There were
a lot of beautiful women at that party. Quite a few of them noticed me and
very clearly wanted me to notice them.
I felt nothing.
For the first time in my life, there was only one woman on my mind. My
palms wanted to squeeze her ass. My lips wanted to suck her tits. I wanted to
drag my tongue down the valley between her breasts and feel her body
shiver. Those three weeks had been torture, and it would have been easy for
me to slip out to one of my regulars, but that wouldn’t have satisfied me.
I felt cursed.
Instead of stepping into my bedroom, I walked into hers, finding her naked
except for her heels and her panties.
And the diamond necklace around her throat.
Damn.
She gave a slight jump then moved her arm over her tits, like I hadn’t seen
them before. “Oh, your necklace.” She had to drop her arm from her chest to
reach behind her neck, putting that rockin’ body on display. Little bumps
were on her skin because of the cold air that hit her once the dress was on the
floor. Her tits were plump and hard, her nipples sharp like needles.
“Keep it on.” One hand dove into her hair and the other gripped her ass. My
mouth crashed down onto hers as my cock wanted to burst from my slacks.
Her head immediately turned, rejecting my kiss.
My mouth took the next best option and kissed her neck. White-hot kisses
pressed into her flesh, moving around the diamond that hung below the
hollow of her throat. I kissed her shoulder, nipped at her collarbone, squeezed
her ass, all at the same time.
Her hatred could never triumph over her desire, and her hands pushed my
jacket off my body then yanked my tie loose. Clothing dropped to the floor,
piece by piece, and then my bare chest appeared, rock solid against her flat
palms.
I guided her to the bed and sank on top of her. My wrist pinned one of her
knees back while my fingers locked into her hair once again. My dick slid
inside, greeted by the wetness that was always there for him.
I moaned. She moaned.
Felt so fucking good.
Beautiful underneath me, her naked body covered in my finest diamonds, she
was perfect. So perfect, my dick throbbed until it hurt. “Camille.” She was
nothing to me when we first met, but now I was stuck under her spell just the
way every other man was. She was mine, and I wouldn’t share her with
anyone.
She was deep in the moment with me, eyes locked on mine, her wetness
matching my hardness. Her palms planted against my chest, and her nails dug
into me. “Cauldron…”
SEVEN
 CAMILLE

My life was on hold.

It’d been exhilarating for a while, passionate the way it was in romance
novels, but then it was heartbreaking…just the way it was in romance novels.
Cauldron took a bat to my chest and shattered my heart so thoroughly, it
could never be put back together. So now I bided my time, waiting for him to
uphold his end of the deal. In the meantime, the sex was still good. I just had
to protect the pieces of my heart that remained.
I sat in my living room when he walked inside. Instead of rocking the
sweatpants, he wore dark jeans and a button-up, like he had plans this
evening. His hard jawline had just been shaved clean, because his tanned skin
looked smooth.
He took a seat beside me.
It was still there, that electrifying excitement that hummed over my skin. But
so was the anger, hurt, and resentment. “Going somewhere?”
With his body pivoted toward me and his arms on his knees, he looked at me.
“Join me for dinner.”
“Not hungry.” That was bullshit. Never in my life had I not been hungry. Just
didn’t want to spend more time with him than necessary.
Those intelligent eyes stared at me, silently calling my bluff.
My own body betrayed me when it released a loud growl, hungry for food.
His eyes never left my face.
“Okay, maybe I’m a little hungry. But I don’t feel like going out.”
“Going out, or going out with me?”
The resentment seemed to get worse, not better. Every time I looked at his
face, I was reminded of his betrayal and that made my anger grow. It was
hard to believe I used to look at him and see him as my everything. “Both.”
He took the truth in stride, hiding the sting of my insult behind his handsome
face.
I didn’t want to tear him down, but I couldn’t help it.
Another bout of silence ensued, long and poignant.
“I wanted to talk to you about something,” he said. “But I guess I’ll do that
here.”
I sank back into the couch, my knees to my chest, my skin tanned against the
little white pajama shorts because I’d spent the entire summer at the pool.
“I miss you.” He held my gaze as he spoke, speaking with sincerity or having
the best poker face in the entire world. “I was lost in my head when
everything happened. But now I’ve had a chance to think clearly.”
No idea where this was going.
“I’d like to try…to be more.”
Try? That’s it? After everything?
“I can’t promise anything—”
“Do you think I’m an idiot?”
His dark eyes shifted back and forth between mine.
“You think I don’t know what you’re doing?”
“What am I doing?” he asked calmly.
“This is just a tactic to get me wrapped around your finger. Another
opportunity to show Grave what you have and he doesn’t. You ripped my
heart out of my chest, but you still own me.”
He straightened at my words and feigned hurt in that dark gaze. “Camille—”
“And if I’m wrong, it doesn’t matter. Because I don’t trust you. I’ll never
trust another word that comes out of that goddamn mouth of yours. I’ve been
humiliated once…and I won’t let you do it again.”
He dropped his gaze, his palms rubbing together gently.
“Yes, I enjoy fucking you. That much is obvious. But that’s all it is now—
fucking.”
His eyes remained down.
“I’m just here until you kill him. And once you do, I’m gone.”
He finally lifted his gaze again and looked at me. His eyes were once intense
and focused, but now they had unlimited depth, like they were dead inside.
“For what it’s worth…if it’s worth anything to you…I really am sorry.”
Nope. Wasn’t worth anything.
“I’ve never felt something for a woman, but I feel something for you.” There
was a subtle plea in his eyes, a plea that came all the way from his heart. “I
think we could have something great if you’d give me another chance.”
“I did give you a chance, Cauldron.”
His eyes looked defeated once more.
“You pulled the trigger, and I still gave you a chance.”
A quiet sigh escaped his lips.
“So don’t act like I’m the problem here.”
“Never said you were—”
“It’d be one thing if you told me that you loved me and wanted to spend your
life with me, but offering to try is simply not good enough. I’m not going to
risk my heart again for try. I’m better than try.”
“I don’t feel that way, and I’m not going to lie about it to get what I want.
But I’m willing to explore it. That’s a big deal coming from someone like me
—”
“And I should feel special?” I snapped. “Should I feel special that you made a
sex tape to make your brother jealous, too? Should I feel special that the only
reason these small feelings developed is because your brother wants me?” I
rolled my eyes. “Wow, I really do feel special. I’m such a lucky girl.”
“Maybe it started that way, but the feelings that came afterward happened
solely because of you. Because of us.”
“Look, this is how it is.” I wanted to nip this conversation in the bud so it
would die and never come back to life. “Once you break my trust, there’s no
going back. If someone fucks you over once, they’ll fuck you over twice. I
give people the benefit of the doubt at first, trust them until they give me a
reason not to. Well, you’ve given me several reasons not to, so we’re done.”
He looked away, his argument abandoned in his throat.
“Until Grave is dead, I’m just your whore and nothing more. Tell me what
you want and how you want it, and I’ll deliver. That’s the extent of our
personal relationship as well as our business relationship.”
After a long stretch of silence, he looked at me once again. “Don’t call
yourself that.”
“Why? That’s what I am. And that’s exactly how you treated me.”

I knew that was our final conversation about the topic.

Cauldron didn’t visit with me, and he seemed busy with work because he had
a group of guys over a couple times. They smoked their cigars in the
backyard, and I watched him destroy his lungs through the window without
guilt.
It didn’t seem quite like a business meeting, because their laughter carried
through my open window. The endless rounds of scotch and cigars had
loosened their restraint, and now they were just a bunch of men swapping
stories and having a good time.
Maybe I was wrong. Maybe he did have friends.
“I don’t see that fine little number around,” one of the guys said. “You had
your fill?”
I strained my ears to listen, even though I didn’t care what he said and I
shouldn’t listen in the first place.
Cauldron took a long time to answer. “She’s still here.”
“Damn,” the guy said. “I was hoping for a turn.”
“She’s not for sale, man,” Cauldron said.
“Because you bought her out for the year?” he asked.
“No.” Cauldron’s voice got a little harder. “Because she’s not for sale.”
The conversation died right there on the spot, and a long stretch of silence
ensued. A few minutes later, the conversation picked back up, and they
discussed the other thing they cared about…money.

Smelling of cigar smoke and booze, he entered my bedroom that night with a
purpose. A pair of handcuffs hung from one hand as he stared at me like a
predator did prey. “Get on the bed.” Like a military commander, he issued his
order with the expectation of full compliance.
I almost refused, until I remembered that it wasn’t my place to refuse
anything. I paid for my freedom with my servitude, and since this
relationship no longer mattered to me, it was just a job. Nothing more.
I left the couch and moved to the bed, pulling off my loose-fitting t-shirt on
the way. My tits were immediately hit with the draft, making my nipples
harden to the tips of blades.
He approached the bed and watched, watched me drop the little shorts and
the panties underneath. Fully naked, I crawled onto the bed on all fours
facing him, my stomach tight, my back arched, with my ass in the air.
He stared at me for a full minute, the intensity of his eyes like the center of a
raging hurricane. The cuffs were tossed onto the bed, and then he dropped his
bottoms, revealing a rock-hard cock that was ready before he’d stepped foot
inside my bedroom. One knee hit the bed. Then the other. The mattress
dipped under his heavy weight.
His hand gripped my neck and guided me down, my ass still in the air,
bringing my open mouth over his length. The handcuffs lay forgotten on the
corner of the bed, and once his dick was inside my mouth and cushioned by
my tongue, he fucked me hard.
There was hardly a chance to breathe. A giant piston pounded into my throat
with a pace I couldn’t keep up with. I was unable to swallow, and as a result,
saliva spilled all over the bed. It was the hardest skull-fuck I’d ever had,
utterly ruthless.
“Eyes.”
It was hard for me to tilt my head too much, so my eyes had to strain to see
him above me, his skin tinted red with arousal, looking turned on and angry
at the same time. His jaw was clenched as if he struggled to subdue his rage.
Just as hard as he fucked my pussy, he ravished my mouth, making me gasp
in the brief moments where I could take a breath.
Just when I couldn’t take anymore, he stopped.
I gasped more than once, my lungs eager for air.
My wrists were clasped behind my back, and then the cold sting of metal hit
my skin. They were locked tightly, allowing no room for maneuverability.
My hands were bound together just above my ass, and they were so stiff I
couldn’t move an inch.
His strong arms turned me around before he pushed my head into the
mattress. With my legs open and my ass high in the air, he positioned himself
behind me and gave a hard thrust, my residual saliva minimizing the friction
between our bodies.
I gave another gasp because it was so harsh, so unexpected.
With his dick as deep as my body would allow, he fucked me as he pinned
my head down, his other hand grabbing my hip. It was so forceful that it hurt
every time his dick made it to my cervix. My pleasure wasn’t his concern, so
he fucked me like an animal, fucked me like the whore that I was.
Made me realize how gentle he’d been with me before.
He grunted and moaned as he took me, his fingers gripping the back of my
neck harder and harder. His dick thickened inside me just a bit right before
the release. The explosion was sudden, his hips bucking slower as his moans
filled my bedroom. His seed was dumped inside me, filling me until it spilled
out over my thighs.
That was it.
He pulled out of me.
The handcuffs were unlocked.
It was over.
He got off the bed and pulled on his bottoms before he dropped the handcuffs
into his pocket. The red tint was still noticeable in his skin, along with the
pronounced appearance of veins in his arms and hands.
I righted myself, circles around my wrists from the bite of the metal. “Excuse
me?”
He turned to look at me, his stare as cold as it was the first time we met.
“You’re just going to leave me hanging?”
“That’s not my problem.”
“Not your problem?” Cauldron was now worse than he’d ever been. “You
fucked me so hard I could barely breathe.”
“I fucked you exactly how you wanted—like a whore.”
I’d traveled back in time.
Now I was an unwelcome guest in the house. I had a single purpose, and
unless that purpose was being fulfilled, I was ignored.
Cauldron always seemed busy, either working in his study or leaving the
house altogether. He’d be gone for hours, leaving me unaccompanied and
unprotected. Conversations were brief, but mostly nonexistent.
I’d never felt lonely staying with Cauldron, but now I certainly did. Cauldron
used to be my friend, and I realized I’d lost his friendship as well as
everything else. Now I lay around and tried to find something to do, tried not
to eat too much, even though it was the only hobby that interested me.
I went downstairs and looked through the open doors to his study.
He sat at the desk, his eyes focused as he read words across a screen. The
crispness of fall had finally set in, but that didn’t stop him from wearing
nothing but his bare chest as clothing.
I approached the desk, and he didn’t seem to hear me because he kept
reading.
I sat down, and that caught his attention.
His dark gaze focused on me. “Yes?”
“When are you going to kill him?”
He closed his laptop halfway to make sure it didn’t obstruct his vision. “I’m
working.”
“You’re always working.”
“Because I have shit to do.”
“You didn’t answer my question.”
“What do you want me to say?” he asked coldly. “Tuesday at nine?”
“I want to hear you say you have a plan.”
“Plans never work out the way you want.”
“So, you’re just going to wing it?” I asked incredulously.
“That’s what life is. Winging it.”
“But you must have spoken to him at some point.”
“No, actually. But I will.”
I was eager to get away from this empty vessel. The callous man I’d first met
had returned, and I’d forgotten how much I hated that guy. “Why do I feel
like I’m being played?” I sat in the chair, arms across my chest.
He sank back in his armchair and tilted his head slightly. Storm clouds were
in his eyes, and thunder was about to erupt. “You think I want to keep you
here forever? As beautiful as you are, it’s not as much fun to fuck someone
who hates you. The only reason I’m upholding my end of the deal is because
I think you deserve better. If you go back to Grave, you’ll never be free. The
life you dream of will forever be out of your grasp. A part of me, somewhere
deep inside, still cares for you—just a bit.”

The next day, we packed our bags and flew to Paris.

Cauldron didn’t even sit next to me on the plane. He sat toward the front, his
laptop on the desk in front of him. He talked on the phone, responded to
emails, had the full attention of the flight attendant, who seemed interested in
more than a tip.
I didn’t ask what our agenda was, but it could be anything. It could be
business. It could be a fancy party. It could be Grave. Anything, really. Now
that we didn’t speak, those answers eluded me.
We arrived in the City of Light then made our way to his Parisian apartment.
At the three-story building with a private entrance, we parked the car then
entered the mansion in the heart of the city. Pius greeted us with champagne
and caviar, treating me warmly like I deserved to be there. Hugo didn’t insult
me anymore, but he always looked at me like some kind of sewer rat.
“Mademoiselle Camille, wonderful to see you again.”
“Thanks, Pius.” I took the glass of champagne then kissed him on the cheek
before I walked farther into the apartment.
Pius stilled and looked at Cauldron fearfully.
Cauldron took his champagne then entered the main room, his stare heated
and cold at the same time.
“Are you going to tell me what we’re doing here?”
“Are you going to stop kissing my staff?” he said as he rounded on me.
“French people kiss each other on the cheek all the time—”
“Not the staff.”
I brushed him off by taking a drink of my champagne.
“I have a dinner party this evening.”
“I feel like that’s all you ever do. Go to parties.”
He tipped his head back and downed the entire contents before he set the
glass on a random table.
“What time do we leave?” I felt like a married couple that only stayed
together for the kids. Every time we were alone in a room together, it was
unbearable. All the resentment. All the anger. It was palpable tension.
He turned back to me. “There is no we.”
“You’re going alone?”
“I’m bringing someone else.” He wore that pissed-off look as he turned
around and walked off.
Someone else?
He entered his bedchambers and closed the door, leaving me to think about
the last thing he’d said.
Alone in my bedroom, I thought over what he had just told me.
He was bringing someone.
Like a date?
Would she wear his diamonds?
Had I been replaced?
Were we no longer monogamous?
When loud voices carried into my bedroom, I realized he had company. I
poked my head out of my bedroom and looked through the glass windows to
the balcony outside. Cauldron sat there with a few guys, the beautiful sunset
lighting up the sky behind him. They all smoked cigars—and a beautiful
woman sat on his knee.
There were no words.
The rage I felt…indescribable.
Before I knew what I was doing, I was in the drawing room and heading onto
the balcony. One of the guys said something funny, and they all laughed,
even the woman on Cauldron’s knee. “What the fuck is this shit?”
The laughter immediately ceased, and the guys darted their eyes to me, their
cigars sitting in their mouths as the smoke rose to the sky. They were all in
sports coats and shiny shoes. The brunette sitting on Cauldron looked visibly
uncomfortable, glancing at him as if waiting for direction.
Cauldron took another puff on his cigar and watched me coldly, not the least
bit flustered by my outburst.
“I asked you a question, asshole.” I didn’t give a damn about the audience
witnessing my meltdown. It was just Cauldron and me as far as I was
concerned.
He slowly released the smoke from his nostrils like a pissed-off bull then set
the cigar aside. “Excuse me.” The woman left his lap and took his vacated
seat, and he righted his sports coat as he walked toward me, taking his time
like there was no rush. After a cold stare, he walked right past me into the
drawing room.
I followed him inside. “Who is she?”
He slowly turned around and looked at me, visibly indifferent to my distress.
“The woman I’m taking this evening.”
“And who is she?”
“One of my regulars.”
My hand flew out like a viper and struck him across the face.
Before my palm could reach his cheek, he grabbed my wrist and twisted it
down. “You can’t get away with that shit anymore.” He twisted me hard,
twisted me enough to make it hurt before he let me go. “What does it matter
if I take her? Last time I took you, you stormed off and made a fool out of
me. You stood there and insulted me up and down, forgetting that I’m the one
and only reason Grave doesn’t have you in his grasp. You’ve become entitled
and unappreciative, forgetting everything I’ve done for you.”
“Oh, trust me, I haven’t forgotten everything.”
His nostrils flared slightly.
My gaze remained steady.
“What do you want from me?” His voice dropped several octaves, as if other
people were in the room listening. “You’ve made it very clear you hate me,
so why would you want to accompany me anywhere?”
My eyes shifted back and forth, at a loss for an explanation.
“No one wants diamonds worn by an unhappy woman.”
“That’s all it is?” I asked quietly. “She’s just a model?”
His dark eyes pierced mine.
“I demanded your fidelity, and you—”
“That’s what you think?” he said coldly. “That I’m fucking her?”
“What else am I supposed to—”
“If that bothers you, then maybe you don’t hate me as much as you think.”
“It’s about staying clean—”
“Then we can wear protection. You want to do that?”
I felt his invisible palm strike me across the face. “Do you want to do that?”
He stared in silence, his heated gaze so angry it was volcanic. “Let’s cut the
shit. You stormed onto that balcony because you lost your goddamn mind at
the sight of that woman on my lap. Jealous. Possessive. Angry. Don’t pretend
the idea of me sleeping around doesn’t make you sick to your stomach.”
“Then don’t pretend you want to be with someone else—”
“You’re the one who said you despised me.” He stepped closer to me, getting
in my face. “You’re the one demanding I kill Grave as quickly as possible so
you can leave. Vanna wouldn’t be here right now if you didn’t play games.”
“I’m not playing games—”
“Everything you do defies what you say. That’s a game, Camille.”
I’d lost the battle. I knew it. He knew it.
“If you want me, don’t fuck with me.” He straightened his jacket as he
stepped back. If looks could kill, I’d be dead on the floor. He looked angrier
than he had at the start of the conversation. He stepped around me to head
back to the patio.
My hand instinctively reached for his forearm and latched on.
He steadied but kept his eyes on the outside terrace.
My body moved into his as my hand slid up his cheek. Everything happened
in slow motion, but with the speed of a frantic heartbeat. My lips landed on
his, and I kissed him for the first time in what felt like an eternity.
His lips failed to reciprocate. He stood there as I kissed him, his even breaths
his only reaction. One hand snaked around my waist, and he tugged me into
him as he crushed his mouth against mine, giving me a kiss that set me on
fire. We were on full display in front of the window, but it felt like we were
the only two people in the apartment.
He was the first to pull away.
“I’m still mad at you…”
His eyes held on mine with an iron grip.
“Don’t expect that to change.”

When my dress spilled onto the floor, my strapless bodysuit was underneath.
Tight on my curves and pushing my tits toward my chin, it barely gave me
room to breathe. But it was all worth it to see the look on his face.
His eyes swept over me with a hungry glint. That volcanic rage he’d worn
earlier was long gone, and he looked at me as if it was the first time he got to
feast on my flesh. He pushed his own jacket off and let it fall to the floor. The
tie was yanked from around his neck. His buttons popped open. The crisp
white shirt was discarded, revealing chiseled, tanned skin underneath. In one
swift move, he stepped closer to me and tugged down the zipper in the back
until the material came free. When my naked body was revealed to him, he
dropped his lips to my shoulder for a kiss. My collarbone. My neck. His
hands devoured me the way his lips did, squeezing my ass then my tits,
backing me into the bed before he scooped my body up into his arms.
We fell onto the bed together, and he kicked his bottoms away.
His powerful arms locked behind my knees as he positioned himself on top of
me, having me folded just the way he liked. A stare ensued between us, his
hardness rubbing right against my aching clitoris. He ground once then twice,
kept going when he heard the quiet moan escape my lips. I lay there covered
in diamonds as we breathed together, the foreplay so good it turned into
torture instead.
He dipped his head and kissed me, grinding his hips at the same time to
overload my senses. Every erogenous zone was on fire because he knew how
to bring them all to life. His lips parted mine with masculine execution. His
tongue dipped. His breath mixed with mine. He tilted his head the other way
and repeated his actions, feeling my lips with such purpose it sent a shiver
down my spine.
Then he angled his hips back and pushed inside me.
My body was wet and loose, but it was still a slow descent, his big dick
battling my tightness as it worked to be sheathed. The slickness wasn’t
enough to overcome the size disparity between our bodies. But he pushed and
I breathed until we were united.
I moaned into his mouth, completely breathless at his entrance.
He ended the kiss and rocked into me, grinding me into the bed beneath him.
His hips jostled my body as he pushed inside me, as he glided through my
tight slickness. His breathing elevated. His stare hardened. With every
passing second, he possessed me more, lighting up that old intensity he used
to exude whenever he walked into a room.
It was just the two of us now. I forgot the anger. I forgot the woman on his
knee. Lost in the moment and the heat, we ground together, writhed together,
sweat coating our skin and sticking to the sheets beneath us.
My arms wrapped around his neck, and I held on as I bit into his shoulder,
feeling the first of many eruptions between my legs.
He grabbed me by the back of the hair and pulled my head back down.
“Eyes.” His hips worked harder to thrust inside me, to bring that fire to our
bodies.
There was nowhere to hide. I rode every wave of the high as it took me. My
hips bucked on their own. Hot tears blurred my vision before they streaked
across my cheeks and soaked the bed. The room spun in the craze of my
pleasure, and it didn’t come to a standstill until the last tendril of euphoria left
my body.
Watching him come undone was almost better than what I’d just felt. His
face turned so hard, his jaw a thin line, the tendons in his neck so
pronounced. The red blotches of arousal on his skin made his eyes appear
brighter.
My hands cupped his cheeks as his face remained above mine. “Eyes.” I
could look into their depths forever, appreciate his hollow soul for the
beautiful thing it was. He gave a quiet moan as he released, his dark eyes
focused on me with the same possession in my own gaze.
We came to a finish, both of our bodies relaxing now that the fun was over.
All night, I’d looked at this man, touched this man, showed off his diamonds
as his muse. People came and went, and I behaved just the way he asked, but
all I could think about was coming home to have this moment. It’d felt like
we hadn’t been together in weeks, those angry fucks not counting.
“I’d like to try.” The same eyes that ripped into me the last few weeks looked
brand-new, carrying a depth of sincerity he hardly ever showed. He was the
man I remembered, the man I found so irresistible I fell for him. “If you want
to.”
His actions were unforgivable, so disrespectful. His intentions toward me had
never been genuine. It was all a lie. And he used those lies to humiliate me.
But I lay there, unable to hold on to that rage much longer. The better part of
me, the smarter part, told me it was another mistake that would end in
heartbreak, but far more severe. He didn’t deserve another chance, not when
he admitted his bitterness always got the best of him. But I nodded anyway,
my fingers still cupping his handsome cheek. “I do.”
EIGHT
 CAULDRON

I flicked the handle hard, the blade flying out and clicking into place. My
wrist tilted left and right, watching the reflection shift across the metal like
clouds over a lake. I tucked the blade back into the handle then did it again,
the blade flying out until it locked into place again. The wooden handle was
black and faded with age.
I’d had it since I was a boy.
My father gave one to each of us.
I wondered if Grave still had his.
The car came to a stop in front of the building. Lights illuminated every
corner of the glorious city. Buildings that had been there for hundreds of
years and had been restored stood tall and proud along the streets. A home
that once belonged to a painter during the Renaissance was now a coffee
shop.
I folded the knife and slipped it into my jacket before I left the vehicle.
The gates to the property were open, so I headed straight inside and entered
the downstairs parlor.
A servant was there, hands behind his back as he stood in his tuxedo. He
looked me over before he gave a nod.
Two men came forward and patted me down, searching for guns and other
weapons. The pocketknife was stored inside the sleeve of my jacket, and they
were too stupid to check there. Once the pat down had concluded, they
nodded toward the stairs.
I took them to the second floor and entered a large parlor. The mantel over
the fireplace was covered with sculptures and flowers. The painting on the
wall depicted a ship sailing against the storm—and losing. A living room that
could easily accommodate thirty people underneath the crystal chandeliers
was impressive, but nothing a wealthy man hadn’t already seen.
He sat in one of the armchairs, his broken arm still in the sling.
The curtains were open to reveal the Eiffel Tower in the distance, and the
fireplace had a gentle fire roasting the dry wood. Quiet pops exploded every
few seconds, the wood bursting from the heat.
I took a seat across from him. “Nice place.” My arms relaxed over the
armrests like I was the one running the show.
Grave gave me his stark stare, not the least bit amused.
“How’s the arm?”
“Broken.”
I gave a subtle shrug. “Could have been worse.”
“Could have been worse than your brother pushing you off a yacht?”
“Hey, I could have shot you. Hashtag Blessed, right?”
Now he really looked like he wanted to kill me. “The only reason I’ve left
you untouched is because of my disability. But make no mistake, things will
be different once this cast is off.”
“Disability? Grave, you aren’t in a wheelchair. How hard is it to point a gun
and pull the trigger?”
“Right now, not easy enough.”
I couldn’t control the sly grin that came over my face. “Now what?”
“Camille made her choice. Honor it.”
“She’s had a change of heart since then.”
“I’ll believe that when I hear it from her mouth.”
“Well, that’s never going to happen because you aren’t getting anywhere near
her.”
Grave was like me, hid most of his emotions beneath the surface like an
iceberg. But right now, his thoughts were coming to the surface. “There’s no
way in hell she’s that stupid. No way in hell she’s forgiven you for the shit
you pulled.”
“Never said she has. But she still wants to be with me.”
He looked like a ghost, his skin so white it was as if he was losing blood.
“She deserves more.”
“No argument there. But she deserves more than you, too.”
Angry silence exuded from his pores.
I stared back, sitting in the parlor that was empty except for two angry men.
In silence, he stared, the tendons in his hand popping as he gripped the
armrest.
“Grave, just let it go.” I knew this was about more than just Camille. A
childhood obsession from birth, everything was a competition, everything
was about proving his worth. Now Camille was a trophy we both wanted, and
neither could back down and admit defeat.
“She was mine first.”
“Then she ran away from you and straight into my arms.”
His hand gripped the chair a little harder.
It seemed like there was only one way out of this ordeal. Death.
“You’re a good-looking guy with more money than he needs. Even with your
broken arm, pussy is the easiest commodity to come by. You don’t need
Camille. You can replace her with someone better.”
“I don’t want someone better. I want the woman who’s been in my bed for
years.”
“For occupying your bed for so long, she doesn’t seem to care much for
you.” Not the way she cared for me, not the way she detailed her heart in her
secret notes. “Grave, it was just a job for her. A job she did so well that you
forgot she was working. But she’s out of that line of business now. It can
never be what it was—unless you force her.”
All he did was stare.
My brother was an asshole, but I assumed he was above that.
“Let it go,” I repeated. As I sat in front of him, I saw the quiet features we
shared, remembered those times we’d played video games together or threw
the ball around in the yard. When we were kids, the prejudice wasn’t on fire.
The anger started later, after puberty, when my father’s preference for me
became more obvious. The knife in my jacket was reserved for his heart, but
I wanted to keep it tucked away, find another solution that didn’t involve
death for either of us.
The hardness of his stare told me he tuned out every word I said.
This would not end peacefully.
I knew what I had to do. It just felt cheap when he only had one arm, not that
it would slow me down. I got to my feet.
He did the same, one side of his jacket sitting on his shoulder. His eyes
remained focused on me, as if he anticipated the move I was about to make.
At my height and with my same intensity, he stared me down.
I felt the pocketknife against my wrist, ready to slip into my fingers once I
gave it the right tug. It seemed both appropriate and cruel to butcher him with
the childhood gift, but it was the only thing I could sneak inside.
He stared.
I stared.
I tugged on my wrist and felt it land in my fingers.
Grave’s eyes flicked away from mine, looking past my shoulder.
“Son.”
It’d been a long time since I’d heard that voice, a voice that hadn’t changed
since I was a boy. There was a subtle plea in its depths, but also a silent ring
of authority. I looked into my brother’s eyes and saw the faint silhouette of
his reflection. “Grave and I were just catching up.” I slowly turned around to
meet his gaze. “Was just about to sign Grave’s cast. You think I should draw
a dick or some tits?”
I hardly ever saw my father, so every time we came face-to-face, I saw how
time had changed his appearance. He was a little grayer in the beard. Flecks
of white were in his short hair. He seemed a little shorter too, as if time had
compressed the length of his spine. He didn’t look at me the way Grave did,
his emotions locked inside a bulletproof box. He was still a strong man
who’d hit the gym since he was my age, and that gave him an edge that most
men of his generation lacked. He stared at me, not the least bit amused by the
sarcasm. “How are you?”
“How am I?” I blurted out the question with furrowed eyebrows because it
felt so anticlimactic. The pocketknife was tucked in my fingers, the intention
hidden from their unsuspecting eyes. “Grave is back to his old bullshit,
wanting something of mine he can’t have. And here you are, judgment in
your eyes, scolding us like children. How the fuck do you think I am?”
He slid his hands into his pockets. “Not here to scold, Cauldron.”
“Then why are you here?” I demanded. “Because if it’s to catch me off guard,
my guard is never down.” I always looked over my shoulder. Always
expected the unexpected. I hadn’t anticipated my father’s presence this
evening, but I was certainly unsurprised by it.
He gestured to the couches. “Can we speak?”
“What is there to speak about?”
Grave stood there with his arm in his sling, his eyes shifting back and forth
between us.
My father had my eyes, and they looked at me with the same impunity I
possessed. He was an impatient man who lost his temper easily, so it took all
his strength to contain it within his vessel. “Anything you’re willing to
share.”
The more he tried to have a relationship with me, the more I despised him.
These attempts to rekindle our relationship popped up here and there. He
made a gesture of reconciliation, and then I said something that pissed him
off so much that he didn’t reach out again for six months. We’d been doing it
for years. Now I just had to find something to say that would make him angry
enough to leave me alone again. “Grave has sabotaged my mines several
times, and it’s taken me weeks to get back on course. His wounded pride has
set back my schedule for months. All because the woman he wants for his
own prefers me instead.” I turned to look at Grave. “It’s not my fault there’s
not enough money in the world to make her care for you.”
Grave’s only reaction was a slight tightening of his jaw.
“Grave.” My father didn’t raise his voice, but it still reverberated within the
parlor. “Forget the woman. There are others.”
Grave forced his eyes to leave mine as he turned to look at him. “No.”
“Grave—”
“If there are others, then he can find someone else. The only reason he wants
her in the first place is because she’s important to me. Fucking child.”
My father let out a quiet sigh, like a parent to children below five. He looked
at me again. “If you’re doing this just to antagonize your brother—”
“I’m not—”
“Bullshit.” Grave’s voice erupted as a bark from a rottweiler. “Fucking
bullshit.”
“It was that way in the beginning,” I said. “But not anymore.”
Grave pierced me with those angry eyes like his head was about to explode.
“Maybe you believe your own lies, but I don’t. I wish she wouldn’t either—
because you’re going to hurt her far more than I ever did.”
“Let it go, man,” I said. “It’s over.”
“It’ll never be over,” he hissed.
“Grave,” my father interjected. “The only reason you want her is because
your brother has her. And the only reason he wants her is because it pisses
you off. There’s only one solution to this—get over it.”
Grave clenched his jaw but didn’t make a rebuttal.
“The jealousy and spite you continue to feel toward each other is ridiculous,”
my father said. “You’re grown men. Men who have dominated the material
world. Men who have castrated your enemies and made them into fools. Men
who can have any woman you want, for money or for free. The resentment
you feel toward each other needs to be buried and forgotten.”
The chuckle slipped from my lips.
My father turned his piercing stare on me, and if I were anyone else, he’d
have his barrel pointed at my temple.
“Just because we share half our blood doesn’t mean he’s entitled to my
forgiveness. Same goes for you, asshole.” I looked at my father again, the
man I’d hated for nearly a decade. We had the same features, looked more
like brothers than father and son, but I felt nothing for him whatsoever.
Whenever I looked at that goddamn face, I heard my mother’s screams as she
was pinned to the mattress then slaughtered.
He said nothing, just stared at me with his iciness.
I walked out of there without looking back, abandoning my murderous plot
because I was too angry to execute anyone tonight. I left the Parisian
apartment and returned to the darkness of the car. When I drove away, I
imagined the two of them upstairs, looking at each other in silence.

She was still awake when I walked inside.

Her hair was in a messy bun, and her long-sleeved shirt was loose enough to
fall off her shoulder, exposing that sun-kissed skin given to her by the
departed summer. She was always in little pajama shorts, the kind that were
so short they were practically underwear. She sat up when I walked in the
door, her eyes dissecting me like a knife on the operating table.
I tossed the pocketknife on the coffee table and dropped onto the couch
across from her. A couple lamps were on, but it was mostly dark in the
apartment. Pius and the other members of the staff were already asleep. If
they were awake, I’d ask for a double scotch. I was too tired to get it myself.
She sat forward on the couch, her legs crossed, her hands together at the edge
of her knee. Her eyes lingered on the pocketknife between us. She must have
noticed the faded leather because she said, “Antique?”
“Family heirloom.”
She continued to stare at it. “Looks like you didn’t use it.” Her eyes flicked
up to meet mine.
I gave a subtle shake of my head.
She didn’t look disappointed. Didn’t look anything at all.
“Something got in the way.”
“Cauldron, it’s okay.”
“What’s okay?” I asked, looking at those high cheekbones and feline-shaped
eyes.
“I get it… He’s your brother. It’s complicated.”
“He’s not my brother.”
“You would have killed him a long time ago if he wasn’t something to you.”
The revelation was like a slap to the face. It stung because it was true. “I’ll
handle it.”
“You don’t need to do that, Cauldron.”
My eyes shifted back to her.
“You don’t need to honor our agreement.”
“I don’t?” I asked quietly.
“It’s not like I want to go anywhere…”
Her affection was a poor imitation of what it’d been before, but it was still
there, still sincere. It was a seedling that could grow into something beautiful
—if I just watered it. “He’ll be a problem if I don’t. Maybe not today or
tomorrow. But eventually, probably when his cast comes off.”
She looked disappointed, horribly reminded that she was still a prisoner, just
without a cage.
Now I really wanted to kill him. “I saw my father.”
The change of subject provoked a change in her eyes.
“He does that sometimes…ambushes me into a conversation.”
“How did that go?”
“It’s the same shit…over and over.”
“He’s trying to reconcile with you?”
“In so many words.”
“You’re unwilling to do that?”
I shook my head.
“Like, ever?”
“Like. Ever.”
She dropped her gaze, growing quiet.
“What?” I could tell she was thinking, her mind was running.
She looked at me again. “How long has he been trying to talk to you?”
I shrugged. “A long time.”
“And he doesn’t give up?”
“He takes breaks.”
“Well…maybe you should hear him out.”
I felt the jolt of anger like a bolt of lightning. “Your father ran off, right?”
She nodded.
“Would you hear him out?”
“That’s not the same thing—”
“Don’t tell me what I should do. Don’t tell me how I should feel.”
Her eyes ached with their wounds.
“He’s a piece of shit, and he’ll die a piece of shit.”
A long stretch of silence passed between us, the coffee table separating us.
Neither of us spoke for an extended period of time, exchanging subtle looks
back and forth.
“Can I say something?” she asked.
“Not if I don’t want to hear it.”
She took a deep breath before she spoke. “I’m alone in this world…and that
feels really shitty. If my father decided he wanted a relationship with me, I’d
probably give him a chance because it’s still better than having no one.”
The confession was almost too hard to hear. Made me feel like shit for
everything I’d done to her.
“Grave won’t hurt you because his feelings are unconditional. And
unconditional only comes from one place…family. You may not get along,
but that truth is undeniable. Your father could just forget you exist like my
own has, but he doesn’t. You aren’t alone in this world. Even if you hate
them both, you still aren’t alone.”
Her words miraculously tugged at my heartstrings. It didn’t make me forgive
my family’s betrayals, but it made me pity her existence even more. Even on
my worst day, when I was the angriest, the loneliest, my life was still far
better than hers. And I used her for my own gain, used her like she meant
nothing.
I couldn’t forgive my father for his sins, but she seemed to have forgiven
mine.
NINE
 CAMILLE

We returned to the South of France on his private plane, but we didn’t stay at
the house long. After a couple days working in his office, he decided to take
his yacht out on the Mediterranean. Fall was hardly in the air, not when the
sun was still so warm on endless clear days. We boarded the enormous white
ship with the full staff and left the harbor for open water.
“What made you decide to do this?” I asked, wearing a dress over my bikini.
“Tired of the office.” He sat on one of the cushioned couches, and a spread of
appetizers was on the table in front of him. His laptop was on his lap, and he
wore white linen shorts with a light blue button-up, aviator sunglasses on the
bridge of his nose.
The wind lapped at my hair underneath my sun hat. There was a nice breeze
on a warm day, the reflection of the sun on the calm water. Even though the
ship had at least a dozen staff, it felt like we were the only two there.
I sat beside him and watched him type on his laptop.
He was always a man of few words, but he’d been positively quiet over the
last few days. Unexpectedly seeing his father had turned this hard man even
harder. We hadn’t spoken of it since, but I could tell it was on his mind.
My fingers played with the pearl necklace at my neckline, feeling the smooth
gems against my fingertips. With the ocean breeze in my hair and this man
beside me, I felt a surge of peace I hadn’t felt in a while. All the resentment
and anger seemed to be gone. I was never one to hold a grudge and I had to
force myself to stay mad at people, but I was still surprised that my walls
came down so quickly.
This man made me so weak.
He shut his laptop then set it on the cushion beside him.
“Work never sleeps, huh?”
“And neither do I.” His arm moved over the back of the couch, the warmth of
his skin sliding behind my neck. His other hand went to my exposed knee in
the dress, his callused fingertips a bit abrasive against my skin. They were
hardened from the weights he lifted every morning. He looked out at the
ocean for a while before he noticed my stare pierce the side of his face. He
turned to look at me.
Yep…I was right back in that place. When I’d said I hated him, I meant it,
but now, I didn’t feel a hint of it. My heart thudded in a pleasurable kind of
pain, and my body was tight and relaxed all at the same time.
I grabbed his sunglasses and slid them up his face, revealing those magnetic
eyes that sucked me right into his soul. They were brown and unremarkable
to most people, but they expressed every emotion so effortlessly. They’d
allowed me to see who he really was a long time ago, long before he showed
me in other ways.
He watched me, waited for what I’d do next.
I moved in and kissed him, kissed that handsome mouth and made him mine.
I wanted to erase every other woman who had been there, who’d had a piece
of the man who belonged to me. He was the only man who could make my
heart beat so fast and so slow at once.
His hand latched on to my hair, and he yanked the reins out of my hands so
he could drive. His mouth took mine with full possession, kissing me like a
man madly in love. He parted my lips, gave me some of his tongue, tilted his
face the other way and paused for just a heartbeat to look at me before he
kissed me again. It was his signature move that always made me melt.
His bedroom was located on the second level, with its own balcony that
extended over the front of the ship. Like his bedroom at home, it was grand,
with its own living room and a walk-in closet that was so big he didn’t even
have enough clothes to fill it.
Clothes were dropped on the floor along the way, the two pieces of my bikini
sprinkled in different spots around the bed. Smelling of sunscreen, we fell
onto the sheets and brought the scent of sunbathing with us. He moved on top
of me, folded me underneath him, and then sank inside.
It was like fresh air to my lungs, medicine rubbed onto my broken heart.
When we were connected like this, there was no anger or pain. There was just
the throb between our two hearts. I gave men the kind of sex they wanted
without asking, but Cauldron was the first man I made love to. I knew that
was reciprocated.
We rocked together along with the waves against the hull, creating our own
heat now that the sun was gone. It happened not once, not even twice, but
three times, our bodies were so desperate for each other.
Once we were finished, he lay there, his tired body slumped against the
pillows, the sheets pulled to his waist. His eyes were already closed,
exhausted from the heat of the afternoon and the unbridled passion in the
darkness.
I wanted to lie there and drift off beside him, but if I didn’t leave now, I’d
have to leave later, when I was even more tired. It took a surprising amount
of strength to sit up and slide my feet over the edge.
His hand reached for my forearm. “Stay, baby.”
All the exhaustion I’d felt a moment ago had disappeared. An invitation I’d
never received just landed in my lap, along with a nickname I’d never heard.
No man had ever called me that. I occasionally heard it when I was out to
dinner, a man trying to get the attention of his girlfriend from across the
room, but I’d never been the recipient of such affection and possession. I
shifted my position and looked back at him.
He tugged me to the bed then pulled back the sheets so I could slip in beside
him.
I moved to the spot right next to him, feeling the flush of heat from his naked
body. My head landed on his shoulder, and then the sheets were pulled up our
bodies, sealing us with warmth. He seemed to drift off right away, as if he
hadn’t really been awake in the first place. Maybe he didn’t realize what he’d
said. Maybe it was just a slip of the tongue…and he would never call me by
that name again.

I woke up with a jolt.

My body rolled to the left when a sudden force struck the boat.
At least that was what I thought happened.
Maybe it was a dream?
It must not have been, because Cauldron was up too. He recovered a lot
quicker than I did and leaped out of bed. The boat tilted back with a lurch,
and my body rolled in the opposite direction.
“Did something just hit us?”
Cauldron threw on clothes then walked into the closet. “Get dressed.”
“What’s happening?”
“Get dressed.”
Oh shit.
I grabbed my dress off the floor and threw it on. I was totally commando
underneath, but that didn’t seem relevant right now.
He returned from the closet with a shotgun.
This was bad.
He handed me a handgun. “Can you handle this?”
“Uh, yes.” I took it from him. “Not gonna let a motherfucker shoot one of
us.”
“Stay behind me.” Cauldron moved ahead down the hallway, his shotgun
held at the ready. Every time he moved to an intersecting hallway, he
checked left and right, using moves I’d seen on military shows.
The lights on the ship were off, either because no one had turned them on or
we’d lost power. The only illumination was the emergency lighting along the
floor that lit up the base of the hallways.
Cauldron suddenly threw up his gun and stuck someone in the face. A body
collapsed to the deck.
It happened so fast I didn’t see it. It was also too dark to make out the details.
I let out a little gasp, and Cauldron shushed me.
We kept moving forward, but I wasn’t sure of our objective. We were stuck
on a boat, so there was nowhere to go. What if it was sinking?
We crossed paths with others, and Cauldron took out one with the butt of his
gun and then punched another. Two full-grown men collapsed on the deck.
I didn’t see them either.
The gun was hot in my hand, but I kept my finger off the trigger so I didn’t
accidentally shoot Cauldron right in front of me.
Cauldron kneeled and examined the two men.
“Who are they?”
“Shh.” He checked their pockets then turned them over to look for other clues
to their identity or who they were working for.
“You don’t think it’s Grave?” I whispered.
He got back to his feet. “Grave isn’t my only enemy.” He moved down the
hallway and made a few turns, approaching the deck of the ship in the
minimal light from the moon. He peeked his head out to look, to see into the
darkness.
I looked too, but it was too difficult to see anything.
He took the stairs and headed down, and along the way, he saw one of his
staff, bloody in the face and knocked out. He checked their pulse and
confirmed they were still alive before heading on.
We were at the bottom of the ship, the area with the widest open space, and
Cauldron came across another man along the way. He knocked him out cold
and caught his body before it thudded loudly against the floor.
Thank god Cauldron had such quick reflexes.
I had a gun in my hand, but I was so tense I wasn’t sure if I could even use it.
My heart was like a bass drum. Every beat was loud and painful.
Cauldron looked across the deck and saw the group of men standing there.
There was also a ship—the thing that had nearly knocked ours over.
We were outnumbered. Cauldron’s shotgun and my little handgun were no
match for these guys.
Cauldron cocked his gun. “Cover me.”
“What?”
“I said cover me.”
“And do you think I’m capable of doing that?”
“I think you’re capable of a lot of things, baby.”
There it was again. Baby. It wasn’t an accident. “Can we call for backup or
something?”
“I don’t know our coordinates, and it would take too long for help to arrive
anyway.”
“What about the helicopter on the roof?”
“I’m sure they’ve got that guarded or disabled.”
“Look, I don’t think I can do this—”
“There’re three guys, and my barrel only holds two bullets. You gotta take
out the third.”
I looked at the three men, who seemed to be holding automatic rifles. “I’ll
try.”
“You won’t try. You will. Let’s do this.”
“Right now?”
“Yes, right now.” He went for it, stepping out from behind cover and firing
the first bullet. It hit the guy square in the chest, and he gave a jerk before he
fell backward and thumped against the deck. Cauldron was on the other one
immediately, firing the loud gun and taking out the second guy.
I aimed my gun at the third guy’s head and pulled the trigger several times.
The gun jerked back over and over, but I kept firing, afraid I’d missed or the
small bullets didn’t do enough damage.
But he collapsed like the other two.
Cauldron reloaded his gun then seized one of the automatic rifles from the
dead bodies.
The lights suddenly came back on, blanketing the boat in bright light that
made it visible from miles away.
He grabbed my hand and pulled me close.
More men emerged from the other boat, carrying guns and bulletproof vests.
There were at least twelve, far more than Cauldron and I could handle.
I felt like I could shit my pants, but Cauldron positioned himself in front of
me as if this was just another day in the life.
Another man stepped off the boat—and I recognized him immediately.
Grave.
Fucking bastard.
Cauldron lowered the gun when he saw his brother appear on the yacht.
“How’s the arm?”
Grave gave his brother the coldest look I’d ever seen. He raised the once-
injured arm and tightened his fingers into a fist. “Like new.”
“That’s great to hear,” Cauldron said like a smartass. “But if you want it to
stay that way, I suggest you get off my goddamn ship.”
“I’ll be leaving in a moment.” His eyes shifted to me. “Just need to grab
something.”
We really were doomed to repeat this insanity. “This is just pathetic.” His life
really had no other value unless I was in it. It was sad, because it was all an
act, every conversation, every night in his bed. I was paid handsomely to do a
job, and I succeeded at that job with flying colors. That’s it.
“We both have more important shit to do,” Cauldron said.
Grave nodded to one of his men.
Cauldron raised his shotgun.
But a shot was fired, making Cauldron drop the shotgun and falter backward.
It was so horrifying, I couldn’t react right away. Blood burst from his arm,
and he gritted his teeth as his flesh swallowed the bullet.
Grave didn’t look the least bit apologetic. “Eye for an eye. Or should I say,
an arm for an arm.” He gestured to his men. “Take her.”
Suddenly, I knew guns like the back of my hand. I raised my pistol and fired
at the first man and sent him down.
Grave looked stricken, as if that was the last thing he expected.
The chamber was empty, so I went for the shotgun Cauldron had dropped. It
was heavy, but I managed to aim it and take out the next guy before he could
reach me.
Cauldron was back on his feet, the automatic rifle in his hands.
This time, Grave was the one who pulled the trigger. He fired once again,
hitting Cauldron in the same place, and this time, he went down.
“Take her,” Grave said.
The shotgun was empty, so I set it aside and went to Cauldron’s side. “Oh my
god…” There was so much blood. It poured from his arm, which was
probably shattered into pieces from the bullets. “Cauldron.” I gripped his
bloody wound with both hands and applied pressure.
He looked at me, his eyes calm as usual. “I’ll get you back.”
I wasn’t worried about me. I was worried about him. “I’m not going to leave
you!”
A man dragged me off him.
“Let me go!” I elbowed him then threw my leg back.
That only spawned another guy to help.
“You can’t just leave him like this.” They yanked me back, my wrists
handcuffed behind my back.
“I’m not,” Grave said simply.
A man came forward and started to bandage up the bloody wounds.
Grave stood over his brother, his eyes devoid of all remorse. “My men will
take your helicopter to the hospital. I wish you a speedy recovery.”
Cauldron breathed hard from the deck, vengeance in his eyes. “You realize
what you’ve done?”
“Started a war?” Grave asked with a slight chuckle. “No, brother. That was
you.”
TEN
 CAMILLE

“Sir, she won’t calm down.”

I threw my body over the guard’s lap and against the car door. I wasn’t sure
what my intention was. No amount of rage would break the bulletproof glass.
I went from side to side, screaming to break free, knowing Cauldron was
being flown to a hospital for his gaping wounds. He probably had a broken
arm. Might bleed to death. I might never see him again. “Ahh!” I threw my
body once more, ignoring the burn of the seat belt as it chafed my neck. I
kicked the driver in the arm, making the car veer off the road momentarily.
Grave didn’t turn around. “Give it to her.”
“Give me what?” I demanded.
The guy on the left held me across his lap and pinned my arms down.
A needle pricked into my neck, and then the drugs were administered.
Once I was free, I sat up again to fight, but then I immediately went weak and
crumpled back into the guy’s lap. The last thing I thought of was Cauldron,
drenched in blood, powerless to do anything except let Grave take me.

I woke up on a bed.
No pillow under my head. No sheets over my body.
My eyes opened slowly, and I saw the closed curtains across the room. A
small strip of light was visible, reaching across the hardwood floor and the
rug around my bed. My mind was foggy as it stirred, and I found it empty of
all thoughts entirely. The drugs were still rampant in my system, and it took
more strength than usual to prop myself up and look at my surroundings.
It was a bedroom I didn’t recognize, but I knew exactly where I was.
I felt the weight on my ankle and looked down to the thin black anklet. A
subtle red light blinked from time to time. “Motherfucker.” I pulled my ankle
close to me and worked on breaking it off, finding a screw to loosen,
anything to get this damn thing off my ankle. All I ended up doing was
bruising and scraping myself.
I gave up and climbed off the bed.
I was still in the dress I’d picked up off the floor, nothing underneath. There
was a pile of clothes on the dresser, full of undergarments, jeans and shirts,
pajamas. I was tired of moving from place to place, being issued a new set of
clothes like I was in prison. I put on the jeans and shirt before I opened the
curtains.
I expected to see a place I knew well, the gardens on either side of the
property, the sight of Paris in the faraway distance on a clear day. There was
supposed to be a fountain in the front with lily pads floating across the
surface.
Instead, I saw a new location.
Rolling hills across the countryside. A medieval village on top of a nearby
hill. Groves of olive trees and vineyards with grapes ready for harvest. The
smell of jasmine was so fragrant on my nose it smelled like it grew right
inside my bedroom. When I poked my head outside the window, I saw it
grow up the cobblestone walls several feet high.
No matter how beautiful the place was, my heart sank.
I was no longer in France.
I wondered if Cauldron knew that.
I wondered if he was okay.
I wondered if he’d ever be able to find me.
I left the bedroom and stepped into a hallway. Paintings were on the wall,
sculptures of naked men and women on tables along the way. Fresh flowers
were in vases. Mediterranean colors splashed across the rugs, hardwood
floor, and wallpaper.
It was three stories, so I made it downstairs to the ground level.
It seemed like no one was there. “Hello?”
Footsteps approached, and then Raymond, Grave’s butler, appeared from the
kitchen. “How are you feeling, mademoiselle? Is there anything I can get
you?”
“A big fat Tylenol. And some answers.” Raymond had always treated me
with the same respect as Grave. Made me feel like the woman of the house
without being told. It was nice to see his face, but shitty to be back in this
prison.
“Of course.” He returned with the pills and a bottle of water.
I downed it right away, hoping it would steady the throb in my temple.
“Dinner is almost ready, but I could make you something now, if you’d like.”
“Thanks, but I’m not hungry. I want to speak to Grave.”
“He’s in the courtyard.”
“And where is that…?”
“Oh, I’m sorry, mademoiselle. I’ll escort you.” He took the lead out the
double doors and to the front terrace. It was more than a terrace, but a venue
that overlooked the countryside. He turned back toward the building to go
into the courtyard, which had a fountain in the center and then various seating
areas. There was lots of shade because the enormous buildings blocked the
sun.
Grave sat at one of the tables, in jeans and a t-shirt, talking with a couple
guys. I recognized one of them. Ronin, his right-hand man. He was basically
Raymond, but in his professional life. They drank their wine and ignored the
platter of food that Raymond must have brought out before.
Raymond excused himself like he knew what was coming.
I walked up to Grave slowly, so angry I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do first.
Eye-gouge him with both thumbs or kick him in his happy place. When I
came close enough, I propped my hands on my hips and stared him down.
Grave had no discernible reaction, but he dismissed the guys with a gentle
wave of his hand.
They vacated their seats and departed, disappearing around the edge of the
courtyard to the front of the property.
He straightened in his chair then gestured to the seat across from him.
I played his game and took a seat.
With his elbow propped on the armrest, he stared at me, the hardness in his
face resembling his brother’s. They had the same dark eyes, the same
intensity to their presence. He watched me for a while before he glanced to
the necklace around my neck.
“Tell me he’s okay.”
His eyes lifted to mine again. “They removed the bullets from his arm. None
of the bones were shattered—so he got off easy.”
“Got off easy?” I asked coldly. “You fucking shot him.”
“And he pushed me off a five-story yacht.”
“You. Shot. Him.”
“And. He’ll. Live.”
“He didn’t mean to break your arm when he pushed you off.”
“And I didn’t mean to kill him when I shot him. Now we’re square.”
Knowing Cauldron was okay didn’t make me less angry. “Where are we?”
“You really can’t tell?” he asked, slightly surprised.
“I can guess where we are, but I’d rather know the truth.”
“Where the best olive oil is produced—Tuscany.”
It was beautiful, but without Cauldron, I couldn’t appreciate it. “You better
cut this damn thing off me.”
“You know I can’t do that.”
“Then I’ll do it myself.”
“Unless you want to lose your leg, I don’t recommend it.”
“What? Is there a bomb in there?”
He stared.
“You’re sick. You expect me to go to dinner parties with this thing on? What
will people think?”
“I don’t care what people think.”
Clearly. “What’s your plan? To keep me like this until Cauldron finds you?”
“He won’t find me.”
“You’re a social guy. He’ll hear about one of your extravagant parties.”
“Then no more parties.”
“The wealthy circle is pretty small.”
“And I have those who are loyal to me.”
“You just have an answer for everything, don’t you?” I eyed the platter of
appetizers on the table, which had remained untouched by both him and his
guests. What a waste.
“Yes.” He pushed the platter closer to me, inviting me to indulge.
“I’ll just run for it. Find the nearest place and call for help.”
“Call whom, exactly?”
“Uh, the police.”
“You think there’re police out here? It’ll take at least forty minutes, and the
longer you stay put, the easier it’ll be for me to get to you.”
“Then I’ll call Cauldron.”
“You memorized his number?”
The only numbers I knew by heart were my old family phone number and my
old best friend’s. I couldn’t even guess the first digit of Cauldron’s number.
“I don’t know the specifics right now, but this plan of yours isn’t sustainable
for the long-term. You have a month. Maybe two. Then everything comes
down around you.”
“This estate is owned by a corporation I founded in the United States. A
corporation that runs a nationwide tow-truck service. No one besides me
knows it belongs to me. The people who work for me don’t even know they
work for me. So it’s literally untraceable.”
This was getting worse.
“I can do my business here. None of my employees know where I am. He’ll
never figure it out.”
Fuck. Me. “Again, what is the point of all of it? You think we’re going to be
locked away in lustful bliss? When will you get it through your head that it
was just a job? You paid me a ton of money to fuck you how you wanted,
and that’s what I did. It’s not real. Period.”
He stared at me with that calm and calculating gaze. “It felt real.”
“Because I’m good at what I do.”
“I don’t think anyone can fuck like that and not mean it.”
“Well, I didn’t. How many times do I have to say it?”
Wearing his brother’s look, he stared.
“What’s your plan, exactly?” I snapped. “The only way we’re gonna screw is
if you force me. Are you going to force me?”
Grave was a bad man, but he wasn’t that kind of bad man. At least that was
what I assumed. I hoped I wasn’t wrong.
“You wanted to come back to me—”
“Because Cauldron broke my heart. Not because I wanted to.”
“I was still your second choice. That’s gotta mean something.”
“It means I wanted to hurt Cauldron. That’s it. Now answer my damn
question.”
The silence was filled with the sound of the fountain nearby. Birds were at
the top of the wall, looking for a place to nest. Then there was silence that
could only be attained in such a peaceful place. It was hard to believe that in
the middle of all that was the tensest conversation of my life.

Cauldron would find me.

But he wouldn’t find me before the unspeakable happened.
Right now, I was on my own.
There wasn’t a lock on my bedroom door, but there was tons of furniture in
the room. Before I went to bed, I barricaded the entryway with dressers and
vanities. Thankfully, they were Italian-made, so they were hefty and heavy. It
took a lot of sweat to move them across the room into position.
Then I raided the room for weapons. Weapons could be forged from
anything, so I started my search in the bathroom. There was a toothbrush and
toothpaste, along with other amenities. Nothing that could kill a grown man
twice my size. I searched in the bedroom for something small and sharp, but
the nightstands were empty except for books. Unless I gave him a gnarly
paper cut, that wouldn’t get me far.
Three nights came and went, and as far as I could tell, he hadn’t tried to enter
my bedroom. Maybe he wanted me to get settled in before he forced himself
on top of me.
How sweet.
Every morning when I needed to eat, I had to move all the furniture back
away from the door so I could leave, and when the maid entered and saw
what I did, she looked utterly bewildered.
I headed downstairs and went to the kitchen, my stomach gnawing from
hunger, but my true intention murderous. Raymond stood at the counter with
the plates of food that were already prepared. Plastic wrap covered each one,
trapping the heat inside to keep it warm as he waited for the rest of it.
Everyone seemed preoccupied with their tasks, so I walked straight to the
counter and grabbed one of the knives sitting there. It was a chopping knife,
the kind that could slice right through an onion.
Perfect.
I hid it behind my back and stepped out without anyone noticing.
That was easy. Too easy.
When I reached the bottom of the stairs, I looked up to see Grave
approaching. In a sports coat with a button-up shirt underneath, he took his
time descending the stairs, his shiny watch catching the sunlight. I never
noticed the similarities between Grave and Cauldron before, but now that I
knew their relationship, I couldn’t not see them. They had their distinct
differences, but the foundation was the same.
He adjusted his sleeve before he stopped in front of me.
I kept my hands together behind my back, the knife tucked away.
“Join me for breakfast.”
“Nah, I’m good.”
It was warm under the Tuscan sun, but his eyes were cold like the winters in
Scotland. “The staff informed me you’re barricading your bedroom.”
“Yep.”
“That’s unnecessary.”
“I’ll be the judge of that.”
“So is that knife.”
I kept a straight face, but my heart started to thump erratically. No idea how
he knew I had it. He just walked down the stairs.
He answered my questions. “I can see it in the mirror.”
Oh.
“Keep it if you want.” He started to walk around me. “But you’ll just hurt
yourself.” He walked out the double doors and turned toward the courtyard.
His back was to me and I had the perfect opening to stab him right in the
lung, but I watched him walk away instead. He’d brought me all the way here
to make me his, but days had passed, and he seemed uninterested. He was
playing a game. I just had no idea what that game was.

It was like being back at Cauldron’s.

I lay by the pool while Grave worked in his study all day. We didn’t see each
other. We didn’t speak. It was nice, but it was also lonely. But now, I was far
lonelier than I’d ever been, because the man I wanted to be with was
somewhere else. I was a prisoner of a man who didn’t love me. He was just
obsessed with me.
I looked over the edge of the infinity pool to the Tuscan landscape before me.
It was almost sunset, so the sky was in beautiful colors. The heat had died
down as night deepened, and the world looked so quiet from the top of that
hill.
I heard the splash of water as someone else entered the pool.
I turned to see Grave make it down the steps until his waist was submerged.
He was in his swim trunks, his powerful physique slowly dipping farther into
the water as he approached me. Whereas Cauldron was lean and ripped,
Grave was just bulky, like a man who ate a cow every day and then lifted his
house with his bare arms.
I was stuck in the corner with no way out, unless I jumped over the edge of
the pool and fell twenty feet.
He moved to the edge beside me, his arms on the ledge as he looked out over
the lush landscape. “I’d take this over France.”
“Then why do you live there?”
“Work.”
“You call harvesting innocent people for organs work?”
A knowing grin came over his face. “So Cauldron explained my business
model.”
“You’re disgusting.”
“And working the poor until their fingers are bloody for pennies on the dollar
is admirable?”
“At least he doesn’t kill people.”
“He does indirectly. Through heat stroke, exhaustion, and cave-ins. Those
guys don’t have much of a choice, so they take their fifty cents and pray the
roof doesn’t collapse.”
I avoided his look. “Making Cauldron look bad won’t make you look good.”
“Just giving you a reality check.”
“Kidnapping an innocent person and murdering them because a rich person
wants their organs…there are no words for that kind of savagery.”
“It’s not always like that.”
“If it’s like that even once, that’s sickening.”
He pivoted his body, one arm on the ledge. “It’s the family business.”
“A family business is carpentry or farming…not that.” I was relieved that
Cauldron had forged his own path in life.
“There are a lot of terrible things in this world. Things that happen every
single day that no one knows about. Things that happen right in front of your
face, but you’re too naïve to see it. Call me evil if you want, but that’s only
the tip of the iceberg. I’ve allowed dying men a chance to provide for their
families after they’re gone. I’ve helped an innocent woman live to care for
her children. Yes, bad shit has happened, but a lot of good shit has happened
too.”
“What about the person who lost their life so she could live? What about that
innocent person?”
“He wasn’t innocent. He deserved to die, and death absolved his sins.”
“How dare you speak of religion?” I snapped.
“I can speak of it all I want because I’m the undertaker.” He said it with a
straight face, no remorse. “My business is complicated, so you shouldn’t
judge me based on what Cauldron has said. He knows nothing.”
“You just said it was a family business.”
“And business practices change with new ownership.”
He could weave whatever narrative he wanted, but it was still sickening to
me.
“You still love him?”
The question was so unexpected, I didn’t know what to say. I looked at the
rolling hills and the lush greenery as I considered what I would say. “Yes.” I
finally turned to look at him, to see the aftermath of my choice.
“He betrayed your privacy and your trust. Say what you want about me, but
I’ve never done anything of the sort. I’ve never treated you like a whore, but
a queen.”
“I never said I forgave him.”
“Can you love someone and never forgive them?”
“It seems like it…”
“Not for long, in my opinion.” He looked past me and watched Raymond set
a tray of drinks at the poolside. He excused himself and disappeared, leaving
frosted glasses with ice and booze.
I took the one designated for me, a frosted lemonade with mint leaves
sprinkled on top.
He didn’t reach for his. “There’s no future with him.”
“If you think you can brainwash me into turning on Cauldron, it won’t work.”
“Brainwashing someone is changing their beliefs. I’m just telling you facts
that you haven’t considered seriously enough. Cauldron will never marry.
And he’ll never have children. Two things that are important to you.”
“You don’t know what he wants.”
“I know who he is as well as you do.”
“You guys don’t talk.”
“People don’t change—and I’ve known him for a long time. Maybe he thinks
his feelings for you are genuine, but they’re subconsciously fueled by my role
in all this. If I truly didn’t want you, I think it would change a lot of things.
Your only value is the value I’ve given you.”
“Wow, you’re selling me awfully short.”
“I’m just telling you how it is.”
I drank from the straw in my glass and avoided his gaze.
“I have a lot more to offer you.”
“I don’t love you, Grave. And I’m pretty sure you don’t love me either.”
“You’ve never tried. You said it was just a job. Now we have a chance to
give it a real shot.”
“You can have any woman you want. Why waste your time with me?” Rich.
Handsome. Authoritative. Women weren’t a currency he lacked. He never
needed to pay for me in the first place.
With eyes so sharp they could cut glass, he said, “Because I like you.”
“That’s it?” I asked incredulously. “You like me?”
“Most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”
“Then you need to get out more.”
He grinned slightly. “I like that mouth too. It’s amusing.”
“You ain’t seen nothing yet.”
That twinkle was still in his eyes. “I want children. I want the perfect woman
to birth them.”
“I’m a whore, far from perfect.”
“And I will elevate you from that title to something much more grand.
Madame Toussaint.”
“Yeah, I’d rather be a whore.” I moved away from him, getting closer to the
corner so there would be space between us. This man kept my mother’s
necklace as leverage to gain my obedience, and I would never forget that.
The twinkle in his eyes evaporated, but he didn’t move closer. “He’s just
going to break your heart again.”
“You’re probably right.”
“I would never do such a thing.”
My eyes shifted back to him. “But you won’t hesitate to do worse things.”
He grabbed his scotch off the tray and threw his head back to down it in a
single go. His forearm wiped his mouth to catch the drop before it splashed
into the pool. “Enjoy the rest of your evening. I’ll see you later.” His massive
body moved through the water, making it part in his wake.
My eyes watched him go, focusing on the last words he said.
I’ll see you later.
ELEVEN
 CAMILLE

After I finished at the pool and washed off in the spa—yes, he had a spa on
his property—I headed back to my bedroom so I could barricade myself in
for the evening. His final words could be interpreted as a generic goodbye,
but I read between the lines like a goddamn detective. The last few days had
given me a false sense of security.
But tonight, it would begin.
I stepped into my bedroom in the white robe given to me at the spa then
proceeded to move the furniture back in front of the door. I’d have to skip
dinner that evening, but after the last thing he’d said to me, I didn’t have
much of an appetite anyway. I pushed the vanity in front of the door first then
put the tall dresser in front of that, making the door inaccessible from the
other side. Unless he chopped down the door with a solid ax, he wasn’t
getting through.
“I was going to offer my help, but it looks like you’ve got it covered.”
The jerk I felt was involuntary. My skeleton ripped through my flesh because
my body was so startled. I turned around to face him, seeing him sitting in
one of the armchairs by the window. So preoccupied with blocking the door,
I hadn’t even noticed him there.
Fuck.
My eyes shifted to my nightstand where I kept my knife hidden.
“Got the knife in the drawer. Amateur hiding place.”
I headed to the closet.
“Got that one too. Kitchen staff has been having a hard time after losing all
their knives.”
I turned back around, totally defenseless against this behemoth of a man.
Now I missed Cauldron in a whole new way. He was the only man who could
save me from this, but he wasn’t there.
Grave left the armchair and strolled toward me, his hands entering the
pockets of his jeans as he approached me. Playfulness was in his eyes,
enjoying every second of my discomfort. He’d outsmarted me, and he
relished it. “Drop the robe.” Now his voice changed, deepening in authority.
He cut through the bullshit and got straight to the point. “Get on the bed—”
“No.” The words left my mouth with the speed of a bullet.
His stare hardened.
“This is the kind of man you are? That’s low—even for you.”
He stepped toward me.
I stepped back.
“Our arrangement never concluded, so you’re mine.”
“Bitch, I’m not a contract or a physical object. I’m a woman who didn’t want
to marry you. Get over it.”
He tilted his head just slightly. “You became a physical object once you
accepted payment. You became a contract where the terms can change. If you
wanted to be respected as a woman, then you shouldn’t have been a whore.”
Fuck, that cut deep.
“You know I own companies as well as people. It’s your fault you accepted
me as a client. It’s your fault that you stayed as long as you did. Then you did
the worst thing you could possibly do and ran off to my brother, only making
me want you more. There is no escape from this, darling.”
“Don’t call me that.”
He stepped closer to me.
I moved back, knowing the end was near.
His hand flew out and grabbed me by the hair. “I call you whatever the fuck I
want.” He threw me at the bed. “Now, take off your robe.”
I landed on top of the mattress, my robe coming undone in the process. I
quickly cinched it closed before I crawled to the other side.
Now he was on me, grabbing me by both wrists before he threw me down
again. “You mean nothing to him.” He gripped my wrists above my head as
he held me down, his mountain of a body keeping me pinned in place. “You
think he’s as loyal to you as you are to him? I’m sure there’s already
someone new as we speak.”
I tried to kick him. Tried to knee him. Tried to do anything to get this fucking
ox off me. “Let me go!”
He untied my robe and spread it apart.
My naked body was on display, my bikini left to dry by the pool.
He looked down at me the way he had all those times before. “Beautiful.”
“Fuck you.” I used all my strength to push my hands up, but I barely moved
an inch before his weight pushed me back down. Then I saw the flash of
silver and felt the cold bite of metal.
The cuffs were placed over my wrists.
“You fucking psychopath.”
Then he had a rope, a rope that secured me to one of the bedposts.
This was it. There was nowhere to go. It didn’t matter that I’d bedded him
before, that I’d even enjoyed it at times. This was totally different.
He got off me and got undressed.
That was when I tried to get the rope free, to slip it up over the bedpost or
undo the knot. But it was as secured as a metal lock, and there was no
moving it. He grabbed me and forced me down again.
Now I cried, cried because there was nothing I could do except accept the
defeat. “Don’t do this.”
“It won’t always be this way,” he said calmly. “Once you remember—”
“Think about what you’re doing. Really think about it.” Tears streaked down
my cheeks. “This isn’t paying a whore for sex. This is rape.”
He stilled, but his eyes remained cold.
“It won’t be like it was, not when you’re forcing me.”
He processed those words but seemed to reject them because he forced my
legs apart.
I kicked him. “You won’t hurt your brother. He won’t hurt you. That means
there’s a chance you could reconcile. Someday. Somehow.”
He stilled and looked at me again.
“I promise you, there will be no reconciliation if you do this. When Cauldron
knows what you’ve done, he’ll kill you. You won’t even see it coming. It’ll
be a bullet to the back of the head because you’ll officially mean nothing to
him.”
He remained still. He was listening.
I ran with it. “I know you guys have a lot of beef between you, but there’s
love underneath all the bullshit. I can see it when he talks about you. I can see
it when you think about him. You’re brothers. You can be close again…but
not if you do this.”
His eyes shifted back and forth as he looked at me.
God…please.
His breaths deepened, his nostrils flaring like he was mad.
But then he got off me.
It worked… It fucking worked.
I gasped for breath like I’d been drowning. The cuffs came free, and I yanked
my arms to my chest to cover the naked body he’d already seen so many
times. With his eyes focused on the window, he dressed himself, covering his
muscular frame with his clothes. He didn’t look at me before he approached
the door and shoved all the furniture out of the way in one push. What took
me at least ten minutes of work took him less than ten seconds.
TWELVE
 CAULDRON

I hadn’t slept.
It’d been a week, and throughout all that time, I slept maybe an hour or two
every night. Sleep-deprived and pissed off, I was an angry bull out of the
chute.
They removed the bullet from my arm when I made it to the hospital.
Thankfully, none of the bones were shattered, so I wasn’t stuck in a cast for
months. Still couldn’t believe that motherfucker shot me.
And eye for an eye, my ass.
Adrenaline pumped in my veins around the clock, because every day that I
didn’t find her was another day she was in danger. I thought I knew my
brother well enough to know what lines he wouldn’t cross, but after being
pumped with lead, I really didn’t know anymore. He took my woman…and
who knew what he was subjecting her to.
Didn’t want to think about it.
His French estate was abandoned. So was his apartment in the city. I called
him several times, but it appeared he blocked me so I couldn’t connect. And
if I could connect, I could trace his cell phone tower and get a general radius
of his location. But he wasn’t gonna let that happen.
“Fuck.” I sat there and rubbed both of my temples with my fingers, leaning
forward over the desk with a ball of rage stored inside my chest.
Hugo entered the study.
“You got anything?”
“Jeremiah says Grave’s crew is no longer present in Botswana.”
“Motherfucker.”
“All of our contacts haven’t seen him. Haven’t spoken to him.”
“What the fuck?” I snapped. “Is he living in a cave?”
“I suspect he’s off the grid. Confined to a property listed under a different
name.”
“But he’s gotta be working.”
“It seems as if he’s put someone else in charge in the meantime, and of
course, he gave them no personal information.”
I planted my head in my palms then slowly dragged them down my face.
“Jesus Christ.”
Hugo approached my desk and took a seat, the first time he’d ever done such
a thing. “Can I say something?”
“Why not? We don’t have a single lead, so we’ve got nothing to do.”
He studied me for a moment before he spoke, as if second-guessing his
lecture. “It was going to end this way, regardless of your actions. Maybe
you’ll get her back, but he’ll just steal her again. It’ll go on forever…and
she’s not worth it.”
I gave a quiet chuckle. “Still don’t like her, huh?”
“I think you could do better.”
“Better?” I asked incredulously. “Have you seen her?”
“I’ve seen lots of beautiful women in your company, Mr. Beaufort. She’s not
that exceptional. And what’s more, Camille is disobedient and disrespectful.
You need a woman who knows her place.”
I laughed when I imagined her face if she’d heard him say that. “You got me
there. She’s definitely not subservient.”
“Then she’s not right for you.”
Her spunk was a pain in the ass, but honestly, I couldn’t imagine her any
other way. “I understand your reasons for not liking her, but I actually like
her for those reasons. I like to fuck a submissive woman. But I like to be with
a woman who’s more than that, I’ve come to realize.”
Hugo dropped his gaze in disappointment. “If that’s the case…I have an
idea.”
“What idea?”
“How to find her. But I know you won’t like it, so maybe I shouldn’t bother.”
“I’m desperate, Hugo.”
“Not this desperate…”
I stared hard into his face. “Hugo.”
He gave a dramatic sigh. “You could ask your father.”

My father still had a larger-than-life lifestyle. He had an estate far too big for
a single person, and he had staff to wait on him hand and foot, probably wipe
his ass too, just on principle.
He knew I was coming the moment I pulled through the gates because
security had cleared it. I must have been granted unconditional access
because there was no issue letting me pass. The butler greeted me at the door,
and then I was ushered to the rear patio.
I saw the back of his head before I saw his face. He sat in the shade of the
umbrella, looking across his manicured gardens with the many colors of
hydrangeas. Instead of a pitcher of iced tea and two glasses, there was a
decanter of scotch.
Wordlessly, I took the seat beside him.
He looked at the scenery, his hands together as his elbows sat on the
armrests.
I wasn’t sure if he was angry or just savoring the moment.
After what felt like minutes of sheer torture, he turned to regard me.
Every minute that passed was precious. Every minute she was locked away
with that asshole was a minute that could forever scar her. I didn’t have time
for diplomatic bullshit, but if I didn’t play the game, I wouldn’t find her at
all. So, I swallowed my pride and rage and held his gaze.
“You know why I’m here.”
“Couldn’t find him yourself, could you?”
I wouldn’t tolerate a slight like that from anyone else, but I had to grind my
teeth and absorb it.
“What makes you think I know where he is?”
“Because you do.”
“Actually, I don’t. He never told me where he was going.”
“But you can figure it out.”
He gave an amused chuckle. “I can’t remember the last time you were so nice
to me.”
“Not being nice. Just stating facts.”
He grabbed the decanter and filled the glasses.
Rejecting the offer was the only act of defiance I expressed. “Help me.”
“This is your pissing contest.”
“It’s not a pissing contest anymore.”
He turned to look at me again. “Cauldron, it’ll always be a pissing contest.
You really think this woman means anything to you? She’s your brother’s
favorite Christmas present, and even though your gift is better, you’d still
rather take his. The two of you have always been that way since the day
Grave was born.”
No denying that. “Even if that’s true, he’s taken her against her will, and I
can’t abandon her.”
“And they say chivalry is dead…” He looked across the horizon again.
I grew tired of this game. “Name your price.”
“My price?”
“Yes.”
He gave a slight shake of his head. “You can’t afford my price, Cauldron.”
“You don’t have enough money?” I asked incredulously. “You want all of
mine?”
“The currency isn’t money.”
“Then what is it?”
He looked at me.
That was when I knew what he wanted.
“I lost your mother. Then I lost you.”
“You didn’t lose us. Mother was murdered because you didn’t protect her.
I’m estranged from you because your second wife plotted to kill me, and you
brushed it off.”
“I didn’t brush it off.”
“You stayed married to her.”
“Because I couldn’t believe someone would be so malicious—”
“You should have put that bitch in the ground. Where the fuck is your
loyalty?” Now it all came out, billowing storm clouds, smoke out of my
nostrils. “You should have drowned Grave in the toilet because of his part in
it.”
“Grave wasn’t involved—”
“Bullshit.”
Heavy silence passed. Silence full of rage and remorse.
My father spoke again. “Cauldron, I’m sorry for the past. There’s nothing
more I can do than issue you an apology, which I’ve done many times. It’s
time for us to move forward. We’ve already lost so much time.”
“You think an apology means anything to me?” I asked incredulously.
“They’re just words. Your actions can’t be amended with words.”
He stared at me with the same eyes as my own, brooding and authoritative.
“You’re so angry. I don’t want you to be this angry forever.”
I looked away.
“Son, I’m growing older, and our time together is growing shorter—”
“Don’t call me that,” I snapped.
He stared for a long time. “This is the price I command—if you want my
help.”
“What price?”
“I want you to try. Try to build a new relationship with me.”
I wanted to throw my chair into the pool and storm off. The only reason I
stayed was because of Camille. I was too proud for this, but not too proud to
save her. “What does try entail?”
“Dinner once a month.”
“Once a month?”
“Take it or leave it.”
“You should help me because I’m your son—”
“You should never do anything for free. You want me to betray my son’s
confidence, it’s going to cost you. What’s it going to be?”
I wanted to throw the table upside down then beat him to death with the
chair. But I didn’t do any of those things. Wasn’t in my power. “Fine.”
THIRTEEN
 CAMILLE

The furniture no longer blocked my door.

The knives were gone, and I didn’t sneak new ones.
My time at his Tuscan estate was spent in solitude because Grave never
crossed my path. I spent my time in the pool, hiking around the grounds, the
tracker still locked around my ankle. I ate my meals alone.
I should be thankful, but the loneliness was all-consuming.
Now I was waiting around for the Cauldron to rescue me, and that felt like a
stupid plan.
But what else was I supposed to do?
I was afraid to linger if Grave had a change of heart. He might burst back into
my room, and Cauldron wouldn’t be able to protect me for a second time. I
lounged in the pool as I thought about all those things, sipping another drink
that Raymond had brought to the poolside, when I heard Grave scream from
somewhere else on the property.
I swore the entire property shook.
Then it happened again, like a mighty roar from a jungle cat.
“Shit, what’s happening…?”
I left the pool and wrapped a towel around my wet body as I headed up the
stairs to the courtyard.
Grave was screaming at one of his guys. Screaming. Red in the face. “Bring
him to me alive! I will put him under and harvest all of his organs as he
fucking lies on the table, fully aware and paralyzed. Do it!”
Was he talking about Cauldron?
Grave grabbed the eight-seater table and threw it across the courtyard.
Knocked over a put containing a large olive tree. It tipped over and shattered.
Soil everywhere. Then he stormed off into the estate and shattered the glass
in the door because he threw it back so hard.
Fuck, he better not be talking about Cauldron.

I was dead asleep when I heard it.

A loud crash. Like a tank against a solid brick wall.
I jerked up in bed, my eyes still closed because my body wasn’t ready to
wake up. I stayed that way for a while, my ears straining for more
information. Maybe it was just a dream. Wouldn’t be the first time something
like that happened.
But then I heard yelling.
And some gunfire.
Oh fuck, shit was going down.
What if it was Cauldron?
I threw off the sheets then darted to the window in nothing but my t-shirt and
panties. I yanked the curtains so hard half the material fell off the rungs and
slid toward the floor. My eyes squinted into the darkness, seeing the iron gate
that closed off his property from the main road. A cobblestone wall
surrounded the rest of his estate. I saw three black vehicles drive past the
open gate. The gate was crushed as if they’d mowed it down with force or
attached an explosive device to the center. Dead bodies were on either side of
the path, shot down in their invaders’ procession.
It wasn’t Cauldron.
He wouldn’t need to break down a gate to get inside. He wouldn’t need to kill
anyone either. He could walk right in there without a gun because he was
untouchable.
“Shit…”
My bedroom door flung open. “Come on.” Grave stood there in dark clothes,
a bulletproof vest strapped over his chest.
I didn’t hesitate before I grabbed my sweatpants from the floor and yanked
them on as I ran toward him.
He shoved a pistol into my hand. “Know how to use this?”
I felt the cold bite of metal and gave a nod.
“Follow me.”
“Where are we going?”
“You’re going to hide.” He went downstairs, past the kitchen, and into a back
storage room cluttered with boxes of cleaning supplies and canned goods.
There was a crack in the floor that was hardly noticeable. The only reason it
attracted my attention was because Grave put a suction device on it then
yanked it open. “Go.”
I looked down the stairs into an underground wine cellar. “What about you?”
He stared me down, time standing still like his enemies weren’t directly upon
him. “Is that concern I detect in your voice?”
“Just because I don’t want you to die doesn’t mean I love you.”
“But it also means you don’t hate me.” He nodded to the hole. “Go. We don’t
have time.”
“Call Cauldron for help.” I put the gun in my pocket and climbed down the
stairs.
“Even if I did, he wouldn’t get here in time.” Once I was halfway down the
stairs toward the floor, he started to shut the door. “I can handle this. There’s
a light in the ceiling and flashlights stowed away. If I don’t come back for
you, wait a day before you leave.”
“But—”
He shut the door.
I was covered in complete darkness. Couldn’t even see my nose on my face.
The air was stale down here. Kinda dusty too. I reached for the ceiling for the
light he mentioned, and after ten minutes of groping around in the dark, I
found the string. I gave a pull, and the details of the cellar became visible.
There must have been hundreds of bottles of wine.
More than just wine. There was also olive oil too, its own collection.
Despite my safety below ground, I heard the distant sound of gunfire.
Whoever wanted to kill Grave…must be a madman.
The cellar had its own pantry, so I opened it and found flashlights, along with
water and canned goods. Grave must have kept these things down here in
case of an emergency. There was also an automatic rifle. It was the same one
that Cauldron had acquired the yacht. I traded it for my handgun and hung the
strap over my shoulder.
It was more than just a cellar. There were narrow hallways underground that
led to other parts of the house. I pointed my flashlight and explored, seeing
exactly where it went. The farther I went, the more I could hear the plumbing,
like a dishwasher was on and using water. I kept going and listened to the
silence, straining for the sounds of conversations or gunfire.
It was quiet.
I followed the maze of hallways until I was on the other side of the estate.
There was a round door with a handle, like the kind of door that led to a
sewer. I should probably leave it closed, but I was curious. Maybe it could
lead to the countryside and an escape route. Grave would be too preoccupied
to know where I’d gone for a while. Could run to a house, look up Cauldron’s
diamond company, and get a hold of someone that way.
I released the pressure valve and undid the locks until the heavy door swung
free.
It led to the outside at the bottom of the hill, the countryside in front of me.
There were lights to homes in the far distance, over twenty miles away. But
twenty miles was nothing when I was this determined.
I stepped onto the grass with my rifle in tow and headed out.
“What was that threat?” A man’s voice rang into the night, shouting like he
wanted all of Tuscany to hear it. “You’re going to take his eyes, his kidneys,
his liver, all the way he lies there paralyzed? Those were your words?”
I remembered Grave shouting about that just a few hours ago. Looked like
the threat hit its mark.
Grave was silent.
I wondered who he was.
“Maybe I should do the same to you right now?” he continued. “Tie you
down and pull out each organ one by one.”
Jesus.
Instead of just running, I moved up the hill until my head crested the top and
looked at the sight before me.
Grave was on his knees, hands secured behind his back. There were dead
men everywhere, blood pouring from their slit throats. Grave was the only
survivor, but that wouldn’t be the case much longer.
Cauldron was supposed to kill Grave, but someone else was about to do the
job.
Now I could be free. Live my life without looking over my shoulder. I could
stay with Cauldron without fear of being stolen away. Or maybe Cauldron
wouldn’t want me anymore…now that his brother was gone?
“I asked you a question, Grave.”
His words brought me back to the conversation.
“Want to play a little game of operation?” He withdrew a long knife and spun
it around his fingertips. “I’ll start with your dick. Wonder how much I could
get for that?”
It was hard to see the details of Grave’s face in the darkness. But he appeared
still, emotionless. There was no way out of this, but he didn’t seem scared.
Reminded me of Cauldron when his client pulled a gun on me and he stepped
in the way.
I knew Cauldron would fight alongside Grave if he could.
Would protect his brother.
I would be the last person to see Grave alive, and I’d have to tell Cauldron
the horrible way he died. He would probably hunt down this guy and
whoever he was working for to get revenge. Cauldron would put himself at
risk.
I counted the men who stood around him. There were nine.
I didn’t know how many bullets were in my rifle, but there had to be enough.
“Fuck, am I really going to do this?” I whispered to myself.
The guy circled Grave, like a butcher looking for the first cut.
Cauldron acted like his brother meant nothing to him, but the endless pardons
said otherwise. The only reason Grave wouldn’t cross that line with me was
because of Cauldron. The two men respected each other—absolutely.
So, I couldn’t let him die.
I righted the gun and aimed. I sucked in a deep breath and held it, my finger
on the trigger, and then I squeezed.
It was loud.
The gun vibrated in my hands. It made the weapon veer to the right and spray
the estate with unwanted bullets.
There were yells and cries as they tried to figure out my location.
I righted the gun again and fired, taking out the men on the left and the right.
Grave was in the center with the other guy, but they were so close together, I
was afraid I would shoot them both by mistake.
All the guys were done, and the one with the knife ran off.
I stayed there, silent, as I waited for something to happen.
Grave worked the rope around his wrists and tried to break free.
I scanned the darkness, waiting for the final guy to show himself.
“Look at you, sweetheart.” A quiet whistle sounded. The knife-wielding guy
maneuvered in the darkness right past my sight, and now he was on me with
a jack-o’-lantern grin. “A beautiful woman with a gun. Never seen anything
sexier.”
I turned the gun and fired, but he grabbed the barrel and pushed it to the sky.
Bullets hit the clouds. He pushed me down then ripped the hot gun right out
of my hands. I kicked him hard in the shin then rolled out of the way.
Like hell I was gonna die this way.
He was on top of me, his tight fingers around my throat. With crushing force,
he squeezed me until I couldn’t breathe. “You’re too pretty to be dead. I’m
going to take you home, and once you wake up from your nightmares, I’ll
going to fuck that pussy raw.”
I slammed my elbows hard onto his forearms to break the hold, but he only
groaned and never weakened his hold. I did it again and again, desperate to
break the bones and run free. But my mind was already growing hazy. I felt
myself slip away.
Then he was off me.
I gasped for breath and felt for my own neck.
Grave was on top of the man, punching him in the face over and over,
knocking him out cold before he grabbed the gun and sprayed his face with
bullets up close. Where there used to be features was now something horrific
that resembled raw meatballs.
I continued to gasp, the adrenaline still heavy like the attack was ongoing.
Grave tossed the gun aside. “Are you alright?”
All I could do was nod.
He came over to me and pulled my hands free of my neck. “You’re going to
have some serious bruising, but you should be fine.”
“What about you?”
“I’m fine.” He grabbed my arm and pulled me to my feet.
I was weak on my feet, still horrified by everything I’d just witnessed. “Who
are they?”
He stared at the residence as he worked his wrist, like he had a kink in it from
the ropes. “I’ve got a lot of enemies, darling.”
“He sounds like a big one.”
“Oh, he is.”
“What did you do?”
“I trafficked his brother. Didn’t know about their relation at the time.”
My eyes were wide open.
“I just took the job and the money. Didn’t think that far ahead.”
“He’s never going to stop, then.”
“Nope.” Grave headed back to the estate, making it up the hill until we were
on the cobblestone pathway. “If it weren’t for you, I’d be dead right now.”
He didn’t look at me as he said it, didn’t issue a real thank-you either.
“Why’d you do it?”
“I knew Cauldron wouldn’t want you dead.”
He stopped in his tracks and looked at me. “You did it for him?”
I nodded.
“And for no other reason?” he pressed, pursuing his usual agenda.
“No. My life would be a lot easier if you were dead, Grave.”
He stared at me with eyes I knew all too well. Eyes that made me feel other
things for a different man. He turned to look at the dead bodies across his
property, bodies of his men as well as strangers.
“What about the staff?”
“They have their own hiding place.”
“Oh good.”
“My chef is the last person I’d allow to die.” He released a slight chuckle,
like this was an appropriate time to make a joke.
“I want you to return me to Cauldron in the morning.”
He turned back to me again.
“I saved your life. You owe me.”
There was a gentle viciousness to his eyes. “You saved me for Cauldron,
right?”
“Yes.”
“Then you didn’t save me for me. Therefore, I owe you nothing. He’s the one
who owes you.”
I felt the steam explode from my ears. “You’re joking.”
“If I am, I’m not very good at it.” He walked away.
Floored, I stood there and watched him walk off. “What’s the point in
keeping me, exactly? You won’t force me to fuck you, and there’s not
enough money in the world to make me do that again. So, what? We just wait
around until Cauldron comes knocking?”
“You might have a change of heart.”
“Asshole, I lived with you for years, and I felt nothing. That’s never going to
change.”
He stopped and turned back to me. “Well, we’ve both got all the time in the
world. Let’s see what happens.”
Let’s see what happens?! “Should have let them kill you.”
“But you didn’t. And I suspect there’s more reason to that than Cauldron.”
FOURTEEN
 CAULDRON

The entire drive was spent going above the 90 km speed limit, but once I
pulled up to the property, I hit my brakes so hard I skidded across the road
several inches. The iron gate was blasted inward. Half of it was broken off
altogether. There was soot on the cobblestones on either side, like someone
had previously used an explosive to break it down.
“Shit.”
Someone had beat me here.
I sped down the dirt road of the property then drove up the hill, the line of
three cars behind me. There was no security. No staff attending the gardens.
It was quiet, like all that remained were the dead.
I ditched the car and stepped onto the property, the cobblestone wrapping all
the way around, smaller buildings outside the main three-story building in the
center. I feared no one was here, because I would have been shot or
threatened by now.
If anything happened to her…
“Camille!” I moved past the courtyard and finally found someone. The staff
were on their hands and knees, scrubbing bloodstains off the stone. They
tensed as they stared at me, like another wave of soldiers were approaching.
“Where’s Camille? Is she still here?” I feared the men killed Grave and only
spared Camille to enjoy her in terrible ways. Now I was even less likely to
find her because I didn’t know what kind of enemies my brother had made.
Only one of them responded—by pointing to the main part of the estate.
I nodded in gratitude then headed to the main double doors.
That was when I noticed the infinity pool at the bottom of the steps,
positioned over a lower hill that had panoramic views of the Tuscan
countryside. A woman stood at the edge, her arms hanging over the side as
the sun bathed her back. Her hair was up and tucked underneath a floppy sun
hat that hid her neck and face from view.
“Camille?” I moved down the stairs to the walkway. “Camille?”
She turned around and stilled when she saw me.
Blond hair. Green eyes. Shock mixed with elated joy.
It was her. “Cauldron?”
I grinned at the sight of her, my heart suddenly light. It’d been burdened by
guilt and rage for far too long. She was unhurt, not chained to a bedpost with
lashes on her back. “Baby, get over here.”
She moved through the pool as fast as she could, but the water was all the
way to her shoulder so it was like watching her in slow motion. She pushed
through, traversing to shallower water as she reached the steps. More of her
body was revealed, stunning in the little string bikini she wore.
Her beautiful face suddenly looked strained. “Grave.”
I momentarily forgot about the main obstacle in my way. I turned around to
see my brother in a dark t-shirt and jeans, no sign of physical trauma
anywhere. He didn’t look the least bit pleased to see me, like he’d figured out
how I discovered his location without asking.
He stared.
I stared.
The silence carried for a long time, both of us so angry there were no words.
I went first. “You’re outnumbered, Grave. Looks like someone did the dirty
work for me.”
“I don’t need men to stop you. Take her. See what happens.”
She stepped out of the water and wrapped herself in a towel. That was when I
noticed the black apparatus secured to her ankle. A little red light blinked.
It only took a couple seconds to understand the repercussions. If I took her
away, that little device would either explode or kill her in some way.
“Strapping a bomb to a woman…really sexy.”
“Manipulating a woman’s feelings for your own gain. Sharing a sex tape
without her consent. Invading her privacy. You think that’s sexy?”
That would always come back to haunt me. “This needs to end, Grave. I’m
taking her with me.”
“She’s mine, and you aren’t taking her anywhere.”
A silent standoff ensued. Angry eyes bored into each other like aimed bullets.
“I’ll kill you with my bare hands if it comes to it.”
The relationship between us had permanently shifted. I wasn’t sure what had
caused it. Now it could all come to an end with bloody fists and broken
necks. “Who put the hit on you?”
His eyes shifted slightly in momentary confusion.
“It looks like he hit you hard.”
“I’ve got a lot of enemies, Cauldron.”
“But this one knew where to find you.”
He kept his stoicism, but there was a flash of uncertainty in his eyes.
“Is he eliminated?”
“Why are you asking?”
“Because he killed all your men except you. Not sure how that happened.”
His eyes shifted to Camille for a second. They remained focused until his
stare shifted back to me. “His henchman are gone, but the boss is still
kicking.”
“So, this isn’t over.”
“It’s never over, Cauldron.”
“Then Camille definitely can’t stay here.”
“Don’t act like she’s any safer with you. I took her right out of your hands.
You’ve got enemies too, Cauldron.”
“I can help you kill him.”
He released a quick laugh. “Like I need your help.”
“You needed my help.”
We both turned to look at Camille.
She stood there, still dripping wet in the towel. “You needed my help when I
shot them dead.”
My eyes turned back to Grave, looking for confirmation.
His eyes were locked on her face without rebuttal.
I stared at her for a moment longer as I tried to explain that predicament in
my head, but there was no logic behind it. “Why did you do that?”
Now her eyes were on me. “He was going to cut him open and take out all his
organs—”
“That’s not what I asked.”
“I…I knew you wouldn’t want your brother to die. So, I saved him.”
I looked at my brother, as if he might have something to add to that.
He didn’t.
“After everything this motherfucker did you to you…you saved him?” I
couldn’t believe it. This asshole could be dead right now. Could be buried in
the ground exactly as he deserved. But now, I had to beat him to death with
my own fists. “He doesn’t deserve your mercy, Camille.” I turned back to my
brother. “I wish he were dead. I wish I’d walked onto this property and saw
his blood all over the goddamn stone.”
He held my gaze, nostrils flared.
“He didn’t do anything to me, Cauldron.” Her voice grew weak.
I turned back to her, knowing he’d held her down and done unspeakable
things to her. Forced her against her will. Violated her in a way only
monsters did.
“He was going to, but I told him there would never be any chance of
reconciliation between you two if he went through with it…so he didn’t.”

We sat together under the umbrella in the courtyard. The fountain flowed.
Soil was in piles on the stone from the enormous pots that tipped over in the
fight. There was still blood stained in places. The power wash removed the
darkness of it, but hints were still there.
Camille went upstairs to shower, and that left us alone together to talk.
His staff presented us with drinks and appetizers as if they weren’t just at risk
a few days ago.
Neither one of us touched our drinks.
I didn’t know what to say.
Neither did he, apparently.
I felt the heavy stare from an onlooker, so I turned my head to see her green
eyes through the window on the third story. Her look lingered before she
stepped into the shadow of the bedroom.
“I can’t believe he told you.”
I gave him my full attention.
“No matter what…always the favorite.” With his arms crossed over his chest,
he looked across the courtyard. “You came here to kill me, and he still told
you.”
“I came here to get Camille. Wouldn’t have killed you unless you made me.”
He gave a slight grin. “We both know I would have made you.”
“He didn’t give up without reason. He wanted something in return.”
He turned to look at me. “Let me guess. A relationship with his eldest. How
touching.”
I covered my stare with a drink of wine.
“I don’t mean a damn thing to that prick.”
Enough of my father. “What she said is true?”
Now he covered his stare with a drink. “Unfortunately.”
“You don’t seem like the kind of man who would do something like that in
the first place.”
“Shows how little you know me.”
“Or the opposite.”
He set the glass down, picked up the bottle, and refilled it.
“You want to be brothers again?”
He stared as he took a drink.
“Do something for me, and we can.”
The light slowly left his face, like blood draining from his extremities.
“That’s just mean, Cauldron.”
“That’s my price.”
“She was mine first.”
“And she’ll be mine last. Let her go, and I’ll give this another chance.”
“I had nothing to do with my mother’s plan—”
“And I don’t believe you. Never have and never will.”
He released a quiet sigh, his features strained with suppressed annoyance.
“That’s my price.”
He rubbed the scruff of his jawline as he stared at his glass.
“There’re a million women out there who would love to suck your dick.”
“But none of them do it as good as she does.” His eyes flicked back up to me.
“And none of them have a pussy as pretty as hers.” He set his glass down a
little harder than he should, the clink so loud it seemed like the glass might
shatter.
“Take it or leave it.”
“You couldn’t care less about her.”
“Then why am I offering this?”
His eyes flicked back and forth between mine. “Mark my words, once
enough time passes, you’ll lose all interest. You only want her because I do.”
“Then you can have her at that point, right?” I challenged.
“You just want to win this fucked-up game. You just want to beat me. This is
all about your goddamn ego.”
“So what if it is?”
“So what if it is?” he asked coldly. “You’re really going to fuck her over
again?”
“My feelings are genuine, and I don’t care what you think, Grave. If you
think this is all some sick game, then you can have her when I’m done.
There’s no downside for you.”
“I actually do care about her, so there is a downside for me.”
“You were going to force her to fuck you, asshole,” I snapped. “If you care
about her, you have a funny way of showing it.”
“I wasn’t forcing her. Just had to get her mind off you first.”
I rolled my eyes. “You really need to get over it.”
Silence stretched. We stared and didn’t talk.
I poked the bear again. “We have a deal or not?”
After what felt like an eternity, he gave a slight nod. “I won’t take her back
after this. She can beg and plead, and I won’t blink an eye over it.”
“I don’t think she cares.”
He released a quiet laugh. “We both know she has doubts. She’ll have those
doubts until you definitively assuage them. We both know that’s never going
to happen.”
“If she’s giving me another chance, I think otherwise.”
“No.” He looked away. “She’s just stupid.”
Birds flew near the ledges at the top of the roof, singing their quiet songs like
blood hadn’t been shed in that place. The fountain continued its solemn
lullaby. My brother and I sat there together as if we were being forced with
an invisible magnet. A new relationship was supposed to begin, but neither
one of us knew how to start one.
I should take my woman and leave, but I stayed. “Let’s kill the fucker who
did this to you.”
He directed his look on me. “I asked for your friendship. Not your
assistance.”
“You asked me to be your brother again, and that’s what brothers do. So, who
did this?”
He considered my request with those ruthless eyes, his face so stoic it was
like a sculpture. “Karl Buttoni.”
“As in, the Buttoni brothers?”
“Yes.”
“How’d you kick the hornet’s nest?”
“Long story.”
“Can’t be so long it’s not worth telling.”
He gave a shrug. “I harvested his brother’s organs by mistake.”
“By mistake? How does something like that happen by mistake?”
“Like I said, it’s a long story. There’s a third player in this game.”
My eyes narrowed as I anticipated the complexity.
“An enemy of Karl’s used me as a pawn. Had me do the dirty work to
eliminate one brother—and possibly the second brother, if he doesn’t kill me
first.”
“That still doesn’t answer my question about how this happened.”
“Someone switched out the bodies.”
“If someone switched out the bodies, that means the recipient probably died.”
He gave a nod. “His family thinks the body rejected the organ for other
reasons.”
“This really is a shitshow.”
Grave gave a look of annoyance. “To put it mildly.”
“And you have no idea who the other player is?”
“No.” He drank from his wine. “And I think they’re more dangerous than
Karl Buttoni, especially because I have no idea who the fuck it is.”
“Have you told Karl this?”
He gave a smirk. “You think he’d believe me? Besides, it makes me look
bad. I’d rather him think I intentionally killed his brother than think my men
aren’t loyal to me.”
I nodded in understanding. “But you and Karl could have a common enemy.”
“It’s not going to change the fact that I killed his brother. I have to kill Karl
first, then seek revenge on the guy who set this whole thing up.”
“If we get a list of Karl’s enemies, we should be able to narrow it down.”
He drank from his wine again. “I suspect that’s a long list…”
“But between the two of us, we know pretty much everyone. We could
deduce the perpetrator by process of elimination.”
He sank back in his chair, his fingers still wrapped around the glass on the
table. “Cauldron, you could get yourself into deep shit by getting involved in
this. You’ve got your own life, your own business, your own shit.”
“But I’ll always be a Toussaint.”
His eyes froze. The rest of his body did as well.
“If someone fucks with you, they fuck with me too.”
FIFTEEN
 CAMILLE

I watched the two brothers from my window.

They talked. They drank wine. They didn’t throw the table over and pull out
their guns. I guess that meant it was going well.
It was a long conversation, at least an hour before they both rose from their
chairs.
I ducked back inside the room and waited for Cauldron to walk in, to take me
away from this place that had only been a temporary home. One of Grave’s
men came and removed my ankle monitor. Footsteps became audible down
the hallway, two sets. On the edge of the bed in a dress with my hair dry, I
waited for the door to open.
Cauldron walked inside first, his eyes settling on me like it was just the two
of us. His brother was right behind him, but Cauldron claimed me like he was
my sole owner. “Let’s go, baby.”
That was it? It was over? I had nothing to bring with me, so I rose from the
bed and approached him. He must have seen the hesitancy in my eyes
because he said, “We came to an understanding.”
“What kind of understanding?” I asked.
“We’ll talk about it later.” He gestured to the door so I would walk out first.
Grave stood there, staring at me with that hard face. “A word.”
Cauldron stared at him hard for a second before he stepped into the hallway.
So, it wasn’t over. I looked up at Grave and waited for him to speak his mind.
“There’s no coming back from this. I’m not your safety.”
“That’s fine, Grave.”
“We both know what’s going to happen, but you choose him anyway?”
“I don’t believe that. We don’t know what’s going to happen, and I’m happy
to take the chance to find out.”
His eyes shifted back and forth between mine. “Then I wish you good luck.”
“Thanks.” I turned my back on Grave and walked into the hallway. Cauldron
stood there and stared out one of the large windows that overlooked the
property, the light hitting his face and making him even more handsome. The
shadow under his jawline was longer, his dark eyes a little brighter. I moved
into him and touched him for the first time, lighting on his forearm. “I’m
ready.”
He looked down at where I touched him and studied the grasp before he
grabbed my hand. “Let’s go.”

After a flight back to France, we pulled through the gates and the roundabout
to the place I called home. The fountain in the center cascaded with water,
and the olive trees on either side of the house were bright with their sage-
colored leaves. It smelled of flowers and the sea.
My heart hadn’t felt this light in so long.
We headed upstairs to the third floor, his hand in mine as we went to my
bedroom at the end of the hallway. It was evening now, the sun beginning to
set over the horizon and splash the sky with beautiful colors of pink and
orange.
I looked at my old bedroom and immediately felt right at home.
He came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist as his lips
dipped to my neck. His warm mouth took the skin gently, a light kiss here, a
gentle caress there. He moved farther down over my collarbone, spreading
his kisses across my shoulder.
My eyes closed as I enjoyed it, reacquainted with the man who burned me to
white-hot ash. He’d become my one and only, erasing everyone who became
before and tainting the idea of any the men who could come afterward.
He stretched the fabric of my shirt as he pulled it over my shoulder to expose
more skin. Searing-hot kisses that sizzled like a drop of olive oil in a hit pan
hit my skin. His strong arm tugged on my waist and pulled me closer,
bringing my lower back right against the hard outline of his dick in his jeans.
His hands loosened my jeans as he kissed me before he pushed them over my
hips and let them fall to my thighs. He did the same with my thong, hooking
his big thumbs in the fabric before he pushed it down to join the jeans.
I pulled my shirt over my head as I heard him undo his own jeans. Now the
clothes were piled on the floor as we made our way to the bed. He lifted me
by the ass before he laid me down in the center of the bed, his muscled frame
making me sink into the soft mattress. His muscular thighs separated mine
before he tilted my hips with his body. Naked together, skin on skin, we
looked at each other, like the next step was too much.
He stared at my lips as he grabbed me by the neck and gave a careful
squeeze, claiming me with his fingers as the lasso. His lips lowered to mine,
and he finally kissed me, reunited our anxious mouths and our desperate
tongues.
It was better than I remembered.
My arms hooked around his shoulders, and I brought him into me to deepen
the kiss. My hand cupped the back of his neck and held on, and I felt my
thighs squeeze his body in demand. The kiss was gentle for just a short while
before it turned explosive. Heated breaths filled the room. Our tongues
danced. My nails started to slice his skin like vegetables on a cutting board.
He wasn’t even inside me yet, his hard length grinding against my aching
nub.
The foreplay was unnecessary, but so damn good. My hips rocked with his,
my pussy lubricating his shaft as he ground against me. The wet sounds
became louder because I soaked him all the way to the base.
“Come on,” I whispered into his mouth, so desperate for him now.
He guided himself inside and sank in smooth fashion, hitting me deep
without taking it slow. I engulfed him completely, so hungry that I wouldn’t
let him go. It’d been so long since I’d felt him, since we’d been connected
like this, that I wasn’t sure how I didn’t lose my mind in these last few
weeks.
He gave a sexy groan as he felt me, a rumble that originated inside his hard
chest. His eyes closed briefly, like he somehow forgot how slick this pussy
could be. There was a momentary halt as we breathed together, savoring the
tight fit between our pulsing bodies.
He started to rock into me, slow and deep thrusts, his lips almost touching
mine as he breathed deeply. His eyes were focused on my lips as he felt me,
as he savored how tightly I gripped him. It was like watching a boy inside a
man’s body, watching him take a woman for the first time.
I already felt the throb between my legs, the pulse that was growing stronger
and deeper in intensity. Just feeling him inside me was enough to light the
fuse to the explosion. My hand gripped his ass and guided him inside me, my
hips rocking to meet those thrusts I was directing. My breathing grew
uneven. My breath hitched. Quiet moans escaped as whispers. I could feel the
burning fuse reach the end, feel it creep to the moment when the fireworks
would ignite.
He increased his thrusts as he ground against me on the bed, rubbing his body
over my clit so my legs would tremble. I rocked back into him more
forcefully, pulled on his ass harder, both of us gripping each other with
immense strength.
It hit me a moment later, a sweet combustion that made my thighs squeeze
his waist. My nails turned into knives on his back and ass, and I released
satisfied tears because it was just so damn good. It all happened in less than a
few minutes because that was all it took. The separation fueled our arousal,
mended our broken hearts.
His face buried into my neck as he finished, dumping a load so massive I
could feel it sit inside me after he left it. My hand cupped the back of his
neck as we lay there together, sweaty and naked, breathing hard.
His dick didn’t slacken whatsoever, and that was exactly what I’d been
hoping for.
He lifted himself and looked at me once more. “Let’s try that again.”

I was conscious before I opened my eyes, aware of the softness of my entire

body. A good night’s sleep had brought me a calmness I hadn’t felt since I
was taken away. This mattress was infinitely more comfortable than the other
one, and I felt it mold to my body as if I was never gone. I rolled onto my
side to reach for Cauldron and kiss him on the shoulder, but my hand was
met with cold sheets.
My eyes cracked open to investigate the discrepancy.
There was no discrepancy. He simply wasn’t there.
I propped myself up on one elbow and looked at the spot where he should
lay. His outline wasn’t even there. Just cold sheets. All the euphoria I felt
evaporated once I felt abandoned.
Grave’s warning came to mind, but I refused to entertain it.
I threw on some clothes then headed to his bedroom. The door was open, and
the room was unoccupied. When I went downstairs, he wasn’t in his study.
The kitchen and dining room were empty, so I looked to the separate building
where his gym was located.
Through the windows, I could see him lift a bar stacked with weights and do
curls with it.
It was a morning like any other. Nothing special. Back to normal as usual.
My temper got the best of me, and I marched across the grass to the front of
the window where he could see me. His forehead was bathed in sweat, and
his bare arms were tight with so many veins I could see them through the
window. When I caught his gaze, I flipped him off with both hands.
He was about to do another repetition but let the bar hang there. His
handsome face was marred by his furrowed eyebrows and utter confusion.
I marched off and headed back to the main house.
He caught up with me a moment later. “Baby, what was that—”
“Oh, don’t you dare baby me.” I turned around in the hallway and faced him,
so angry I was immune to that chiseled body covered in beads of sweat. He
was only in his gym shorts, everything above the waist naked skin. “You
finally get me back, and it’s just back to business?”
His face remained confused, and his eyes shifted back and forth as his mind
processed my anger. “I planned to take you out to breakfast this morning, but
I thought I could squeeze in a workout since you wake up so late.”
“You think I care about breakfast?” I asked incredulously. “I want to wake up
one single morning and see you next to me. You know how shitty it feels to
reach out and feel a cold bed? Did you even sleep there, or did you sneak off
to your room?”
His muscular arms hung by his sides as he stared at me.
“Well, there’s my answer.” I stormed off again.
“Baby.”
I flipped him off over my shoulder.
“Camille, listen to me.”
“Finish your workout, asshole.” I reached the bottom of the stairs and
grabbed the rail.
He snatched my wrist with a viper’s grip and kept me locked in place. “I just
got you back, and this is not how I want to spend my time.”
“Me neither.” I twisted out of his grasp.
“I didn’t mean to offend you—”
“Well, you did. I find it very offensive that you refuse to sleep with me after
all this time. That you wait until I fall asleep before you sneak into your room
and set your alarm so you can run to the gym first thing. Yes, I’m fucking
offended, Cauldron.”
His eyes still looked angry, but there was no rebuttal.
“I was stuck with your brother for weeks, almost raped, and now I’m back,
and you’re taking me for granted all over again.”
“Not sleeping with you doesn’t mean I take you for granted.”
“But it’s how a man treats his whore. Is that what I still am to you? A
whore?”
His anger slowly migrated into every feature of his face. “I won’t justify your
nonsense with a response.”
“Then I’ll just let you get back to your workout.” I grabbed the banister and
headed up the stairs. “Clearly, that’s a lot more important than our
relationship—”
He shoved me against the wall on the staircase. Still coated in sweat from his
workout, he looked at me with a furious gaze. “What do you want from me?”
My eyes flicked back and forth between his.
“I asked you a goddamn question.”
“I assumed everything would be different…”
“Be clear. Be concise.”
“Don’t play stupid with me—”
“Do I look stupid to you?” He raised his voice, acting like the enemy rather
than the man who made love to me for hours on end.
“I don’t want separate bedrooms. I don’t want separate lives. I want to sleep
beside you, even if that means your damn alarm wakes me up at the crack of
dawn and I roll over in my sleep and try to ignore it. You went all the way
there to get me back, just to keep me at arm’s length? That doesn’t make any
sense.”
His hands were against the wall, blocking me in. He stared with that
terrifying look, his breaths still deep from the workout he’d abruptly
abandoned.
“It’s either all of me or none of me, Cauldron.”
“I said I would try, didn’t I?”
“And this is trying?” I asked incredulously. “Grave would do anything to
have me, and you couldn’t care less.”
I knew I’d said the wrong thing because he looked livid. “What the fuck did
you just say?”
I stared.
He inched closer to my face. “Don’t compare me to him ever again.” He
lowered his voice, but it was more terrifying than if he’d yelled at the top of
his lungs. It was sinister, packed with warning. “Understand me?”
I held my stare.
“I asked you a question.”
“I stand by what I said,” I said quietly.
He pulled his hands off the wall and stepped back, his look callous. “Then
maybe you should go back to him.”
“Or maybe you should just give me what you promised.”
“I said I would try,” he snapped. “I never promised you a damn thing.”
“Going back to the way things used to be is not trying—”
“You think I fuck other women the way I fuck you?” He was back in my
face, one hand against the wall. “You think I bury myself between a woman’s
thighs all night long the way I do with you?”
“So, that was fucking?” I asked in disappointment. “Because I thought it was
something more…”
Heartbeats passed, and he continued his stare. “I don’t talk like a pussy,
Camille. I’m not going to say I made love to you last night. I’m not going to
watch you sleep until you wake up in the morning. I’m not going to leave you
little fucking notes on your nightstand that say how much I miss you or some
bullshit like that.” He stepped back. “This is who I am. Plain and simple. I
said I would try. Be grateful.”
“Be grateful… Wow.” Quite a bold thing to say. “Maybe I’ve spent the last
few years fucking men for money, but I deserve a lot more than your bullshit.
I deserve all the things you just mocked, and if you can’t give them to me,
then I’ll find someone else who can.”
His reaction was subtle, but it looked like he’d been smacked in the face by
an invisible palm. “Is that a threat?”
“It’s a premonition of what’s to come if you don’t try harder.”
His eyes narrowed.
“In case you forgot, Grave is no longer a problem. I don’t have to stay here
anymore. I want more out of life, and if you don’t want to be part of that,
then I need to move on. It’s as simple as that.”
“Your freedom came at a price. A price I had to pay. So, you aren’t going
anywhere.”
“What price?” I asked. “Money? Am I livestock now?”
His eyes flicked back and forth between mine, his brow strained from his
look of intensity. “You came here to escape Grave. I’m the reason you got
what you wanted, and you should be a lot more grateful for that. You’re
demanding more of me—when it should be the other way around.”
“Then what do you want from me? To fuck me until you get bored?”
“We’ll see where it goes.”
“See where it goes…” I shook my head. “So romantic. Cauldron, I don’t need
to see where it goes to know I want more with you. If you’re still uncertain
about that now, then you’re just wasting my time, making it harder than it
needs to be…making it crueler than it needs to be.”
The sweat started to disappear, evaporating off his warm skin. He stared at
me, his cheeks tinted red from the workout that still had residual effects.
“I’m not asking for a ring. I’m not asking for forever. I just want to feel like
more than a whore.”
“I don’t fuck you like a whore, Camille.”
“You know what I mean. I want to know I belong at your side. That we share
a bed. That I’m your woman.”
He gave a quiet sigh. “I’ve told you my darkest secrets, shit I’ve never told
anyone else, and you act like that’s nothing.”
“I didn’t say it was nothing—”
“I show my affection in my own way, but that’s not enough for you.”
“I didn’t say it wasn’t enough—”
“That’s exactly what you’re saying. Our relationship has to fit within your
terms. It has to be exactly what you want, or it’s insufficient. I’m sorry that
our first morning together went to utter shit because I wanted to work out—”
“Because you preferred to sleep alone. That you sneak out once the fun is
done. Don’t turn this around, Cauldron.”
“You said you wanted me next to you in the morning. I’m not going to lie
there and watch you sleep. I’ve got shit to do. Whether I slept beside you or
not, I still would have been gone when you woke up. I could have gotten
killed when I came to get you from Grave, and I had to make a sacrifice I
didn’t want to make to bring you home, so I don’t appreciate all this bullshit
first thing in the morning.” The conversation was obviously finished because
he walked away. The muscles of his back shifted and moved as he carried
himself out the front door. I had no idea where he was going, and I suspected
he didn’t either.

Two days passed.

We didn’t speak. Didn’t see each other at all.
I spent my time in my bedroom, taking my meals there, reading the books on
the bookshelf, working out in the afternoons when I knew he wouldn’t be in
the gym. As the solitude wore on, I missed him more and more, but I refused
to cave first. When two days turned into three, I knew he was being stubborn
too.
Who would hold out the longest?
Now it was the beginning of October, and the air started to feel cool and crisp
like fall. The pool was heated so I could still take a swim, but it felt pathetic
to chase after the summertime when it was long gone. All the tourists left the
area, and now the village was quiet. Once late November arrived, a lot of the
restaurants and shops would close until spring. Life in Cap-Ferrat slowly
faded, and I felt like my body turned cold with it.
That evening was particularly chilly, fog coming in from the ocean and
filtering through the trees. The sunset was invisible underneath the heavy
clouds, and like ghostly fingers, it made its way onto land.
I walked past his bedroom in the hallway. The door was open, and it was
obvious the space was empty. I headed downstairs, unsure if he was out for
the night or having dinner alone in the dining room.
At the bottom of the stairs, I peeked inside the study and saw the fire in the
massive hearth. It was the first time I’d seen a fire burn in his study, so it was
obvious that the fall chill had reached him too.
He sat in one of the armchairs, his hand balancing a glass of scotch on the
armrest. In fitted sweatpants and a long-sleeved maroon shirt, he sat with one
ankle on the opposite knee, his fingers across his lips, staring at the dancing
fire with a focused but blank stare. His jawline was covered with coarse
scruff that reached down his neck. His fingers continued to drag back and
forth slowly, just below his bottom lip.
I watched him for several seconds before I moved into the room.
His eyes flicked to me at the first footstep, the first inaudible creak in the
floorboard. The rest of his body didn’t move. Just the eyes.
I helped myself to the chair beside him, turned slightly his way so I could see
both him and the fire.
He remained still, like I wouldn’t see him if he didn’t move.
Neither one of us wanted to speak first.
That was how stubborn we were.
I swallowed my pride and went first. “I don’t want to waste my time—or my
heart.”
He turned his head fully and looked at me straight on.
“If you don’t see this going anywhere—”
“Never said those words.”
“Well, you’ve given me no indication if you feel otherwise.”
He gave a slight smirk. “Then you aren’t paying attention.”
“You’ve read my notes that detail every feeling I have for you, and not once
have you reciprocated the depth of those feelings. Not even a hint. It’s fine if
those feelings aren’t mutual, but don’t string me along if you know there’s no
chance they’ll ever be mutual.”
He looked me dead in the eye, his sorrow written all over his face. “In case
you haven’t noticed, I carry a lot of shit. I’m not like an average Joe on the
street. I have a lot more complexity than the average man.”
“And what’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means I’m not as articulate as you are with your notes. It means I’m
incapable of feeling the same emotions to the same degree. After everything
I’ve told you, I thought you’d be more understanding.”
“I am understanding, Cauldron. But you’ve hurt me really badly…in case you
forgot.”
He closed his eyes briefly, like being reminded was painful.
“I just don’t want to get hurt again.”
“I can’t promise you that. If anyone does promise you something like that,
they’re a liar.”
“Cauldron.”
He continued to stare at me because I already had his full attention.
“I’ll give it some more time…because of the way I feel about you. But if I
don’t see any changes, then I’ll leave.” I’d seen it many times before. Women
waited around for their men to leave their wives. Waited around for a ring
that never came. Waited for the man to say he wanted children, only to wait
too long and miss the deadline. I wouldn’t let that happen to me, regardless of
my feelings for this man.
He seemed to process my words for a long time, his eyes locked on me but
not focused. “Alright.”
SIXTEEN
 CAULDRON

I wore slacks and a button-down shirt with loafers. Fall was in the air, but I
always ran ten degrees warmer than everyone else, so I ditched the coat. The
watch was fitted to my wrist before I stepped into the hallway.
“Going out?” Camille passed in my direction on the way to her bedroom.
“Unfortunately.”
“Unfortunately?” she asked. “Why are you going, then?”
“Don’t have much of a choice.”
“What are you talking about? You never do anything you don’t want to do.”
“But I’m a man of my word.”
Her eyes shifted back and forth between mine as she read my look.
“I told you your freedom came at a price.” I turned away as I adjusted my
sleeves over the watch and walked away.
“Want me to come with you?”
I turned back around and looked at her, seeing her in gray joggers and a tight
top. Her hair was back, and her porcelain skin glowed without the help of
makeup. “Wouldn’t want to ruin your evening.”
After a short flight to Paris, I pulled up to the French restaurant on the corner.
There was a line of people outside waiting to get a table even though they
already had reservations, and every table was occupied by a couple or a
family. I bypassed the line and was wordlessly taken to my seat.
He’d already ordered a bottle of wine and filled both glasses with Bordeaux.
I took a seat and stared at him across from me.
He stared back as he swirled his wine. “The wine is excellent.”
I took a drink but refused to admit he was right.
There was a long stretch of silence between us, of resentment, of a lot of
things.
“Grave isn’t happy with me.”
“You did stab him in the back.”
“I knew you wouldn’t hurt your brother.”
“But he lost his girl.”
He gave a shrug. “That woman never wanted him. I’m saving him some time
—and his dignity.”
I took another drink.
The waitress came over, a pretty little thing that kept making eyes at me. She
took our order then walked away.
“So what is it about this woman?” he asked. “Or is it about the woman at
all?”
I wasn’t going to have this conversation with him. He was my father, but he
was also a stranger.
“Have you ever considered sharing her? A month here. A month there.”
“She’s not a toy fire truck.”
“You boys sure have treated her as such. A shiny new fire truck straight out
of the package. Now that your brother has lost the game, do you still want
her?”
“Yes.”
“What is it about this woman?” he asked again, his eyebrows furrowed.
“That’s my business and not yours.”
“Well…this dinner has gotten off to a great start.”
“I agreed to meet you, but I never agreed to be pleasant company.”
He gave an amused smirk. “Just as stubborn as you were as a child.”
“And you’re still the same fucking asshole.”
His smile dropped real quick.
I looked away, staring at the people around us having a great time. We stuck
out like sore thumbs, both of us angry with invisible fumes.
“I gave you the information in return for your participation. I have yet to see
it.”
My eyes flicked back to his. “Then don’t insult me.”
“It’s not an insult if it’s true.”
The waitress returned with our entrees and placed them in front of each of us.
The food was steaming hot, but the two of us were ice-cold. She gave me
another look before she walked off, like she’d slip her number into the bill.
Even if I were available, she wasn’t my type.
He dropped his napkin across his lap and started to eat.
I didn’t have an appetite.
“My company is really that unbearable?” he asked, his eyes down on his food
as he cut into his meat.
“We haven’t spoken for a decade. What does that tell you?”
“Well, you made a deal, and you’re just going to make it unbearable unless
you put some effort in.”
“Effort?” I asked. “It’s hard to put any effort into the man who killed my
mother.”
He raised his eyes from his meal. “That’s insulting.”
I didn’t take it back.
“You know I was devastated when I lost her.”
“But you didn’t care enough to quit your bullshit to keep her safe.”
“You know I would have died for her—”
“You fucking failed.” I still heard her screams in my head. Still heard the way
her weak body resisted the men on top of her. Still heard the creak of the bed
as they rocked her lifeless body. “Because she was raped by three men and
then slaughtered like a goddamn pig.”
Most of the people in the restaurant turned to look at me.
My eyes were glued to his. “And where were you? Off making money…like
we didn’t already have enough. What if they’d found me too? What if he
offed me the way they did with her? Would that have mattered to you?”
He dropped his utensils on the plate, as if he was suddenly sick.
“What kind of man are you…?”
“I tortured and killed those bastards—”
“Did that bring her back?” I snapped. “Will she be joining us for dinner this
evening?”
Now his face started to redden.
“And then you married that bitch who had it out for me from day one.”
“I didn’t see her for what she was—”
“Because you didn’t listen, old man. She tried to kill me, and you forgave
her.”
“I didn’t forgive. I just didn’t believe she was capable of it.”
“How many times is that?” I asked. “Twice? Twice you failed to protect your
first son.”
He stared, his face still red.
“I bet you regret this dinner now…” It was hard to look at his face and not
feel pissed off. It was hard not to scream anytime we were in the same room.
“No.”
My eyes narrowed.
“We have to start somewhere. We need to bury the past if we ever have any
hope for a future.”

It was past midnight when I made it home.

The scotch on the plane didn’t rid me of the taste of the wine on my tongue.
The cigars didn’t cleanse the rage from my lungs. I walked into my house just
as pissed off as I always was. I made it up the stairs and spotted Camille’s
open door at the end of the hallway.
Like she was waiting up for me.
The only person more pissed off than me was her. And I was the one she was
pissed off at. Guess I knew how my father felt.
I stepped into her bedroom and found her asleep on the couch. The TV was
on low, and the blue light flashed across her limp body, bundled up because
she’d become cold at some point.
The blanket on the opposite side of the couch was obviously too far for her to
reach, so I grabbed it and draped it over her little body.
The touch made her stir, and she opened her eyes.
Right into mine.
We stared at each other.
It seemed to take her a couple seconds to realize it was me, to remember why
she was asleep on the couch. “How’d it go?” she asked in her raspy voice.
The sound alone told me she’d been asleep for hours.
I gave a shrug. “It was fine.” I sat on the edge of the couch.
She sat up, her long hair a mess from rubbing up against the couch. “You
reek of booze and cigars.”
“That’s my natural scent at this point.”
“What happened to our no-cigar policy?”
I looked away. “Didn’t think you cared anymore.”
“Just because I’m mad at you doesn’t mean I don’t care.”
I stared at the fireplace. There were still glowing embers at the bottom, as if
Hugo made her fire after dinner and it went cold after a couple of hours.
“Where did you go?” She leaned against the armrest, her knees pulled to her
chest under the blanket.
That gave me room to sit back. “My father gave me your location. He was the
only one who knew your whereabouts, so if I didn’t give him what he
wanted, it would have taken much, much longer for me to find you. And
waiting any longer would have killed me…imagining what Grave might be
doing to you.”
She stared at the side of my face. “What did he want from you?”
“For us to have dinner.”
“Well, that doesn’t sound so bad.”
“It is when you despise him.”
“He gave you what you wanted in exchange for one dinner. The price is paid,
so you can move on.”
I gave a slight chuckle. “It’s not one dinner. It’s one dinner a month for the
rest of his life.”
“Ooooh.”
“And I’m supposed to make an effort to repair our relationship. Couldn’t
muster the strength tonight.”
Now she didn’t know what to say.
“I yelled at him instead. Told him what a worthless husband and father he is.
The entire restaurant was staring at us by the end of it. Instead of dinner, we
should have just gone somewhere private where I could scream all I wanted
without ruining everyone’s evening.” Now I wished I had another cigar
between my fingertips. The booze made me numb, but the smokes made me
relax.
“Did that make you feel better?”
“No. Having my mother alive would make me feel better.”
Her hand reached for my forearm, her little fingers giving me a squeeze.
I felt it the instant she touched me, that hot electrical sensation that traveled
all the way up my arm to my brain. It was more than just attraction, but
comfort as well. Camille was more than just a woman with a nice ass and
even nicer tits. She was the only person who made the unbearable bearable.
When she pulled her hand away, I felt cold again.
“What did you promise Grave?”
It took me a few seconds to adjust to the withdrawal. “The same thing. To be
brothers again.”
“It sounds like they both still really care about you.”
I looked at the fireplace again.
“He could have asked for money or something else, but he wants your
friendship.”
“How touching.”
She stared hard at the side of my face. “You told me every moment you’re
alive, you breathe for revenge. It consumes you, making Grave pay for what
he’s done. But where has that gotten you?”
My eyes stayed on the hearth.
“Broken. That’s where it’s gotten you.”
I soaked in her words but gave no reaction.
“You can never be happy if you’re harboring these kinds of feelings. I think
it’s good that you’re going to work on these relationships. They seem
remorseful about the things they’ve done, and they’re your family.”
“Because they’re family, they get a free pass?” I said quietly.
“No. But they deserve a second chance.”
I released a sigh.
She came close to me, slid her arm through mine, and rested her head on my
shoulder. “I know what it’s like to be alone in this world…and I don’t want
you to feel that way too. I think this is a good thing.”
“I’m surprised you’d say that after everything Grave did to you.”
“My issues with Grave aren’t your issues.”
“You’re my woman—so they are.”
She raised her chin and looked up at me.
My eyes met hers.
“All I want is for you to be happy.” Her eyes flicked back and forth between
mine before she leaned in and kissed me. It was a kiss of finality, like she
would walk away shortly after our lips touched. But once she settled against
my flesh, she stayed there, lingering to treasure it.
I kissed her again, my eyes closing after I slipped under her spell. My mouth
probably tasted like scotch and cigars, but she kissed me like she didn’t
notice the taste. Our gentle kisses slowly became hungrier, a slow burn that
turned into a crescendo much later. Soon, there was tongue, sexy grips on the
inner thigh, heat that filled every corner of the room and chased away the
cold.
It was as if that fight had never happened.
Her hands unfastened every button until she pushed the shirt over my
shoulders. Then she straddled my hips and moved for the top of my jeans.
My hands gripped her waist and held her steady so she could continue to kiss
me and tug down the zipper. After that, everything happened fast. I tore her
shirt over her head and kissed her neck and collarbone as I worked to get the
pajama bottoms off her fine ass. Her naked body straddled my hips once
again, and she dug her nails into my shoulder as she sank on top of me with
an urgency she’d never shown before.
The greatest pleasure swept through me. It was like a breath of heaven, every
time I was buried deep inside her. My head tilted back, and my eyes closed as
if I was drifting off, because it just felt so damn good.
My hands slid over her sexy ass, and I squeezed it as it sat in my lap. “Jesus.”
Her arms circled my neck, and she kissed me as she rolled her hips, feeling
my thickness inside her. She touched me and kissed me like I paid her to
fulfill a fantasy, even though I never shared my secrets.
She started to move up and down, her face close to mine, her nails digging
deeper into me.
I thrust up from below, meeting her body with mine.
We were combined in every way, mind, body, and soul.
“Baby…you make me happy.”
SEVENTEEN
 GRAVE

“No.” I sat in the armchair with my elbow on the armrest, my curled fingers
resting against my chin.
The beautiful girl stood in a one-piece bodysuit, the material so sheer that her
nipples were like targets. The sexy smile she wore vanished when I rejected
her like the smallest pup in the litter.
Jerome nodded for her to leave.
She dropped her arms to her sides and strode off, chock-full of attitude.
The next woman entered the room, beautiful like all the rest, but also
ordinary. She barely had a chance to smile before I dismissed her too. “This
is all you have, Jerome?” Jerome was basically a pimp for the criminal
underworld, but his girls were more than just whores. They were fantasies,
commanding top dollar. That was how I found Camille in the first place.
“These are my finest girls, Grave.”
“Really?” I grabbed the drink on the table and downed it. “Then you’re
losing your touch.” Booze and cigars weren’t enough to alleviate my
frustrations. I had two enemies, one known and the other unknown, and I’d
lost the one woman who made sex feel good again. When it came to whores,
they were constantly trying to figure out what you wanted rather than just
living in the moment. It made the sex robotic at times.
Jerome took the seat beside me. “Better get on one of the dating apps, then.”
A smirk moved on to my face. “Wouldn’t that be fun.”
“A nightmare for them.”
We shared a drink before we went into the main room, an exclusive bar in
Paris. Upstairs was a café that served crepes and cappuccinos, but below was
a world of pleasure for the criminal underworld. Men sat at the tables with
their drinks, and the waitresses behind the counter were all topless. I walked
up to the counter and tapped my fingers to get the girl’s attention.
She came to me right away. “The usual?”
“Make it a double.”
“I thought the usual was a triple?” She smiled.
I smiled back.
She poured the drink and slid it to me.
At that moment, a commotion erupted.
“Touch me again and see what happens.” A woman entered the bar in an
expensive pea coat. She wore black leggings and booties underneath. With
thick dark hair all over her shoulders and down her back, along with full
lashes and beautiful red lips, she didn’t look like a waitress or a whore. More
like a model.
A man walked behind her, wearing a three-piece suit. “Elise.” He looked ten
years older than me and not nearly attractive enough to know a woman like
that. He grabbed her by the elbow and tugged her hard. “Elise—”
She struck him so hard the smack made the room go quiet. “What did I just
tell you? I said we’re done. Business relationship over. You understand?”
He slowly turned back to her, and the hatred in his eyes reeked of vengeance.
She strutted away. “Jerome, let’s go.”
He left my side immediately, abandoning his drink on the counter, and
followed her back into the room from which we’d come.
I turned all the way on my stool to catch a final glimpse of her before she
disappeared behind the door.
The man adjusted his cuff links before he walked out of the bar.
Couldn’t stand the humiliation.
“Who was that?” I asked the waitress.
“You heard her name. Elise.” She poured other drinks and set them on a tray
so she could deliver them to a table.
“That didn’t answer my question.”
“She’s one of Jerome’s girls. Just at a higher tier, I guess you could say.” She
lifted the tray and walked away.
I stared at the door for a few seconds before I made my move. I walked inside
and heard their raised voices.
“Do you have any idea what you just did?” Jerome yelled. “He could kill
you.”
“Well, I told him my rules, and he chose to break them.”
“Elise, he’s from the Russian mob—”
“It’s your job to protect me, so do it!”
“That’s a bit difficult when you smacked him in front of all the gentlemen in
the room.”
“Gentlemen?” She issued a laugh as she stripped off her black coat, revealing
a skintight dress underneath that showed a fine ass downstairs and perky tits
upstairs. “Assholes. That’s the word you’re looking for.” She walked over to
the table where the cigars lay and lit one up before she put it in her mouth.
I was utterly mesmerized.
She hopped on the table, crossed her legs, and took a big puff before she
released the cloud of smoke.
Jerome stood there, rubbing the back of his head as he tried to solve his
dilemma.
She must have felt my hot stare because she addressed me without looking at
me. “What do you want?”
She was a million times sassier than Camille had ever been. I liked it.
I walked over and took the cigar out of her mouth.
Both of her eyebrows rose like she might slap me for the indiscretion.
I drew the smoke into my mouth before I handed it back. A moment later, I
released the cloud from my mouth.
It took her a second to take it, a bit shocked that I’d pulled a stunt like that
when she was clearly pissed off and ready to swing.
I turned to Jerome. “You didn’t mention her.”
“Because she’s not available.”
“Pretty sure she’s available now.” I looked at her again, seeing her sitting on
the table, smoking her cigar. She could make a disgusting habit look so damn
pretty.
Jerome grabbed me by the arm and directed me into the other room. “She’s
not like the other girls.”
“I can see that.” I stopped and looked past his shoulder. She was still on the
table, her dress hiked up her thighs, sitting with a straight back with her hair
across one shoulder. She seemed to sit there and enjoy her cigar, looking
toward the main bar where she’d just caused a scene. “That’s why I want
her.”
“There’s a waiting list.”
My eyes shifted back to his. “A waiting list?”
“Yes. And there’re about twenty-three guys on it right now.”
“A waiting list. For a whore.”
“Yep.”
I stared at him and swallowed my own disbelief. Her popularity only made
me want to bed her more.
“And her payment structure is different. Not by night or weekend, but by
month.”
“I don’t have a problem with that.”
“Well, Kyle has been checking in with me about her every month, so I’m
sure he’ll hear about what happened tonight.”
“Who the fuck is Kyle?”
“The next guy on the waiting list.”
“I’ll pay double her fee if I’m next.”
Jerome gave a loud sigh. “It doesn’t work like that, Grave. I can’t just let you
cut.”
“Everything comes with a price.”
“In the regular world, but not in our world. If any of the twenty or so guys
find out I did you a favor, it’ll be my neck on the line.”
“Then I’ll just kill them all.”
“Be real, Grave.”
I was. Life had been pretty shitty lately, and my patience was nil.
My stare must have said it all, because he shrank back a bit. “I’m guessing it
didn’t work out with Camille.”
My stare hardened.
“Grave, there’s nothing I can do—”
“How long did that asshole have left on his contract?”
“Uh…” Jerome faltered as he thought. “Maybe a month…I’m not sure.”
“Then I’ll buy out his remaining contract. Problem solved.”
“That’s never been done before.”
“Well, now it has.”
He glanced at Elise over his shoulder. “She has the final say, you know?
Can’t make her do anything she doesn’t want to do.”
“She won’t say no.” I stepped around him and returned to the room where she
sat, sucking on that cigar the way I wanted her to suck on my dick, smearing
her lipstick over the edges. When I came close, she blew the smoke right in
my face.
“What’d he do?”
She held the cigar with a lazy wrist like it was a cigarette. “Broke one of my
rules.”
“Which is?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know.”
I held her gaze without blinking. “I would.”
She held my gaze for a moment before she cracked a smile. “Hold your
horses, big boy. There’s a long line ahead of you.”
“A man like me doesn’t wait.”
“Is that right?” she asked, taking another puff of her cigar.
“I’ll buy out the remainder of Pavel’s contract. You’ll be mine for the next
month.”
“You should make sure you can afford it first.”
I smirked. “Trust me, I can.”
“I’m not like the other girls, you know.”
“I can see that.”
“I need more than just money.”
“Such as?”
“I don’t like a wuss. Are you a wuss?”
All I did was stare.
“I need a man who owns every room he steps into. A man who can take me
places. A man who can make me feel like a queen rather than a whore.”
“Consider it done.”
“A man who can make me come.”
I smirked. “I thought that was your job.”
She blew more smoke into my face. “Like I said, I’m not like the other girls.
I’m more than just a woman you pay for. I’m a woman men reserve years in
advance because that’s the only way they could be with a woman like me.”
“Meaning?”
“Why do you pay for sex?”
“Because it’s easier.”
“Exactly. Imagine if you could have more with a woman, experience real
passion, real emotion, without having to worry about marriage, commitment,
childbearing, all that bullshit they drop on you? That’s what I offer.
Something real—but temporary.”
Now I was even more intrigued. “None of those things interests you?”
“Nope.”
“You’re young now. You may change your mind.”
“Trust me, I won’t.” The cigar was halfway burned, so she put it out right on
the table she sat on like it was an ashtray. “Here are my conditions. No
bullshit. Tell me how it is. I can take it, and it saves a lot of time.”
“Alright.”
“Lay a hand on me, and it’s the last thing you’ll ever do.”
“I’m not into that.”
“Last but not least, I’m never going to want anything more, so don’t bother.”
“Alright.”
“I’ll make you feel like my king, but trust me, I’m not your queen.”
Damn. “Alright.”
“Do you understand?”
My eyes narrowed. Her sass was intoxicating and infuriating simultaneously.
“I just said I did.”
“Gotta make sure that sinks in.”
“If men want a no-strings-attached relationship, why are you concerned about
this?”
She gripped the edge of the table and leaned closer to me, her head tilted far
back to look at me. “Because they always want more.”
EIGHTEEN
 ELISE

“He’s paid in full.” Jerome held out the envelope to me.

I took it and stuffed it into my purse.
“That means you like him?”
“He’s handsome. Got that strong and silent type of energy I like. What do
you know about him?”
“He’s rich. In the trafficking business. Doesn’t cause any trouble that I know
of.”
“Does he butcher women into tiny pieces and put them in oil drums?”
“You think I’d let him near you if that were true?” he asked, smiling slightly
like this guy was harmless. “He’s a man of his word. Pays what he owes. A
bit of a socialite too.”
“Good to know.” I turned toward the bar and saw him sitting alone at a table,
smoking a cigar and staring right at me. It was a hard stare, the kind that
fucked me with my clothes on. He was a big guy, a powerhouse body
underneath that long-sleeved shirt. That was how I liked my men, bulky with
muscle, with arms as thick as my waistline. I’d fuck him for free, but the sex
would be even better if I was getting paid for it. I put on my coat then walked
across the room, heads turning in my direction. I locked eyes with him before
I walked out the door.
Once I made it to the top of the stairs, I moved to the rear of the building to
depart.
He appeared behind me. “I’ll take you home.”
“Fun doesn’t start until your tests come back clean.”
Jerome had drivers on standby to get us home safely, so I waved my hand
and got the attention of one of the drivers.
“Let’s have dinner tomorrow.”
The car pulled up to the curb.
I liked that he never asked me anything, just stated what would happen. He
took the reins and steered. “Or we could skip to the good part.”
“I want to know you.”
“Why?”
Without answering the question, he opened the back door for me to get
inside. “Tomorrow at seven. Le Reginald.”
I gave him a slight nod before I got into the back seat.
He shut the door then stepped back, sliding his hands into his pockets. The
windows were blacked out, but he stared exactly where I sat like his eyes
could pierce through the solid barrier.
I studied his face and his frame, the way his clothes fit his strong body, the
way his eyes looked darker than the underworld. I’d been with some bad
men, but he seemed to be a different cut than the rest. When the car pulled
away and I couldn’t see him anymore, I still thought of him. Thought of him
as one hunk of man.

When I showed up at the restaurant, he was already there.

He had a private table in the back. The room was packed with tables side by
side, but he had one that took up the entire back wall. Lovers sat close
together over their candlelit dinners, and waiters in tuxedos moved around to
attend to their guests. I walked across the room to where he sat, in a little
black dress with a single strap across the shoulder. A bottle of wine was
already at the table, and he didn’t wait for me to arrive before he started
drinking.
I liked that.
He didn’t pull out the chair for me either or get up to kiss me on the cheek.
He watched me with those mysterious eyes, his fingers resting on the stem of
his wineglass. He didn’t break the silence with obnoxious questions like
“how are you” and “how was the drive?” His eyes did most of the talking.
He poured the wine into my glass.
I swirled it a few times before I took a drink. “It’s bold. French or Italian?”
“Italian. Barsetti Vineyards.”
“Ah, yes. They make good wine.”
The waitress appeared and brought an appetizer that he’d ordered without my
input. I liked that too.
I looked at my menu even though I knew there were only a handful of things
I could order. If I ordered anything too heavy, my thigh gap would disappear.
No carbs. No sweets. Basically nothing that made life worth living. “What
are you having?”
“The steak.”
“Right on brand…”
He smiled slightly.
“You must eat meat every thirty minutes to look like that.”
He gave a subtle shrug.
“And work out a ton.”
“It’s a lot easier to get shit done if people are afraid of you. Any man can
carry a gun, but not all men can kill you with their bare hands.”
“And have you done that? Killed someone with your bare hands?”
The silence dragged on as he stared.
“Don’t kiss and tell, huh?”
That subtle smile was back. “How did you get into this line of business?”
“For the same reason everyone else does—I needed money.”
“But I know you make a lot more than the premium girls.”
“But that’s not how it started. I started at the bottom—just like everyone
else.”
“And how long have you been doing this for?”
“Five years, probably.”
“Then you have a nice nest egg at this point.”
I shrugged.
“And yet, you keep doing it. Does that mean you enjoy it?”
I drank my wine as I considered how to answer the question. “I have a lot of
debts. Let’s leave it at that.”
His eyes focused harder on my face, his interest piqued.
Just then, the waitress came over and took our order. She gave Grave a lot
more attention than she gave me, and I suspected that was how he was treated
everywhere he went. She walked away, and so far, neither one of us had
touched the appetizer.
“What kinds of debts?” he asked. “Fancy cars? Diamond necklaces?”
“My mother has advanced dementia and is in a care facility, so I pay to give
her the support she needs and keep her comfortable. The government-funded
ones are terrible. They’ll let their patients go days without eating. My dad
needs financial help as well, so I pay for his apartment here in the city. He
visits my mom all the time, so he can’t work anymore.”
His eyes dropped momentarily.
“So, no fancy cars and diamond necklaces.”
“That was an asshole assumption on my part.”
“Yeah, kinda was.” I gave him a slight smile to show there were no hard
feelings. “I also have two little ones at home, and I want to give them a good
life.” I didn’t always mention this to my clients. Fucking a woman who had
given birth wasn’t a turn-on for most guys.
He had no distinct reaction, as if he was still processing that information.
“The father isn’t in the picture?”
“Nope.”
“Did he die?”
“No, unfortunately.”
“You were married.” This time, it wasn’t a question.
“For a couple years.”
“What happened?”
“Our kids are only sixteen months apart, so child-rearing became too much
for him. He became attached to his assistant at the office and bailed. You
know what’s ironic about the whole thing?”
His eyes were fixed in place, giving me all his attention.
“They got married and had two kids. So he left me just to have the same life
he already had. Makes no sense.”
“The fact that he left you at all makes no sense.”
“Well, after I had the kids, I carried a bit of weight. Well, a lot of weight.”
“Which is why you hardly eat now.”
He was quite observant for a manly man. “I guess you could say that.”
“You’ll find a better man.”
“Oh, I’m not looking.” I shook my head. “No romance for me until my kids
are out of the house.”
“And why is that?”
“My kids watched their father abandon them. Not going to let them
experience that a second time. And I doubt any man would settle for being a
dirty secret.”
Without judgment, he listened.
“I’m not proud of what I do, but we live in a beautiful apartment in one of the
best neighborhoods in Paris. My kids get to go to the best school. I have a
chef’s kitchen where I can cook with my kids, and the live-in nanny has her
own quarters away from us. We can afford a nice vacation every summer,
and once they’re grown, I’ll have enough savings to help them get a place
right here in the city.”
“Never be ashamed of what you have to do to survive.”
“Exactly.”
“Your kids will be proud of you when they’re old enough to understand what
you’ve done for them.”
That was the dream, for my kids to appreciate my hard work and understand
the depth of my love. His words resonated with me, just the way they would
with any mother who heard them. “Being a mother is the hardest thing I’ve
ever done, especially doing it alone. But it’s always been worth it.”
His eyes remained glued to my face for the entirety of the conversation, like
listening to me go on about being a mom was somehow interesting to a
bachelor like him.
The waitress brought our dinners and interrupted the tension. He had a rare
steak on his plate, and I had soup and a salad.
“Are you close with your mother?”
“She’s dead.” He said it as he cut into his steak.
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
“Our relationship was complicated.”
“Complicated, how?”
He stared.
“You ask me every question under the sun, but I can’t ask you anything?”
He sliced into his meat, took a bite, and then answered. “My mother didn’t
always have altruistic motivations. She was a bit of a gold digger and would
do anything to get her hands on wealth. It was the sole reason she married my
father. I have a half brother, and her meddling tore our relationship to
pieces.”
“That’s sad. So, you don’t speak to your half brother at all?”
“Up until this past week, almost never. But we’re starting to talk again.”
“That’s good. What changed?”
He cut into his steak again, taking his time as he stalled for an answer. “I’ve
got some big enemies on my back, and he got worried.”
“Jerome said you were in human trafficking.”
“I sell organs and perform transplants on the black market.”
That was some serious criminal activity.
He addressed my silence. “People will get on the waiting list for a transplant,
but those lists are long, and compatible organs are scarce. Recipients can get
what they need quicker, and donors can make serious money for their
families.”
“People do that?” I asked in surprise.
He gave a nod. “Mainly people from impoverished countries. In order to give
their family a better life and a visa to move to a more developed country,
they’ll make the sacrifice. Their family will move to Western Europe with
enough money to start a new life.”
Speechless, I just sat there.
“Sometimes, men will pay me to capture their enemy and harvest their organs
as vengeance for something they’ve done. Just a couple weeks ago, I
captured the wrong man, and now that man’s family wants me dead.”
My clients were always dangerous men, but they were arms dealers or drug
dealers, something along those lines. First time I’d met someone in this field.
“How did you get into this line of work?”
“Family business.”
“So, your brother works with you?”
“He does his own thing. Diamonds.”
We sat in silence after that, eating our dinner while thinking about what the
other had said. He ate his entire steak as well as the mashed potatoes and
greens on the side, washing it all down with the red wine he ordered. For a
man his size, he’d probably eat another steak before bed.
When the bill came, he slipped his card inside the folder and immediately
handed it right back.
“You have a place here in the city?”
“Yes. As well as other places.”
“Such as?”
“The countryside. Tuscany. London. New York.”
“You travel a lot for work?”
“No. Just have a lot of money.” He swirled his glass before he finished it off,
a tiny pool of red at the very bottom.
The tab was returned, and he left a fat tip even though tips weren’t expected.
“Come to my apartment.” He slipped his wallet inside his coat pocket.
“Yeah?”
“We only have a month. Don’t want to waste it.” He left the chair then
extended his hand to me.
I took it, my fingers delicate in his enormous palm. His test results had come
in earlier in the day, so I didn’t hesitate. He guided me out of the restaurant,
and the second he was at the curb, a black car appeared to chauffeur him
away. He opened the back door for me, treating me like a lady rather than
what I really was, and then joined me in the back.
The car ride to his apartment was spent in complete silence. He looked ahead
or out the window, perfectly calm and contained. Sometimes when men were
about to get laid, they were twitchy, constantly changing their position
because they were restless. But he was utterly stoic.
We pulled into a private parking garage of a building on the corner and then
took the elevator to the foyer. The apartment was prepared for our arrival,
two glasses of wine on the counter along with a board of various cheeses and
cured meats. The lights were dimmed, giving a romantic glow to an
unromantic evening.
He took off his jacket and tossed it over the back of one of the couches,
showing his muscled mass in his long-sleeved shirt. He headed down the
hallway and into an open doorway, probably his bedroom.
Wouldn’t let the wine go to waste, so I downed it in a single go then followed
him inside.
He’d already started without me.
Shirt was on the floor. His slacks were too. His thick mass was on display,
bulging arms and strong pecs underneath beautiful skin. His boxer briefs
were tight on his muscled thighs, all the different muscles indicated by the
shadow that separated each one of them. He slowly walked up to me,
towering over me despite the height of my pumps. He looked down at me, his
dark eyes shifting back and forth between mine. “On your knees.”
A jolt of heat flushed through me at his command. That’s exactly what it was.
A command. Not a request. Not a suggestion. But an order with life-and-
death consequences. I hesitated before I lowered myself to my knees, my
dress rising over my hips until it bunched around my waist. His eyes watched
me all the way, watched me dig my fingers until the waistband of his bottoms
and tug them down.
Just like every other part of his body, he was enormous.
He studied my face like he wanted my reaction, just like every other man
wanted my reaction when I saw his dick. But it meant nothing to me at this
point. Just another job.
Except that wasn’t the case with Grave.
I was impressed.
With my nails deep in his thighs, I got to work, getting his thickness in my
mouth then my throat. I timed my breaths appropriately, making sure I got air
before his cock took up every inch of my windpipe. It started off slow and
easy, my head and his hips moving together in a gentle dance.
His stoic expression remained, watching me as he slid his hand underneath
my hair and gripped the back of my neck. That was when things got wet and
sloppy. He tugged me into him and commanded the pace, and I struggled to
breathe as his enormous package was shoved into my mouth over and over,
saliva dripping out the corners of my lips and down my chin. He seemed to
like that, because his face started to tint and he began to tug on me like a rag
doll. A preliminary blow job turned into a full-on skull fuck.
He must have decided this wasn’t the way he wanted to come because he
edged himself by pulling out.
My dress was unzipped, my heels were slipped off, and my thong was tugged
off my hips by his big hand. I figured he’d want a view of my ass as he took
me from behind, like all men did, but he flipped me over with his strong arms
and got me flat on the bed. His naked body sank on top of mine, his muscular
thighs separating mine, folding me underneath him until he had me in the
position he liked.
I felt it push inside me, and no matter how wet it was, it was a tough fit. It
took a couple strokes, a couple thrusts for his thick head to fit past me and
sink the rest of the way. His arms locked behind my knees, and he moved
until there was nowhere else to go.
Until it actually hurt.
I winced because the pain of a man’s dick against my cervix was always
unbearable. His tap was especially painful because of his length and
thickness.
He recognized my discomfort and pulled back enough to minimize the pain.
Another man would have gotten off to it, but he seemed to want me to enjoy
it.
With my body pinned the way he wanted, he fucked me with his big dick,
careful not to hit me as hard as he did the first time. He did all the work, the
muscles of his beautiful body working to thrust into me over and over, his
strokes deep and even, his grunts masculine and sexy.
I always recognized a man’s tell for when he was about to come. It was the
hardness in his jaw and the change in his eyes. It didn’t surprise me that he
was ready so quickly after that great performance on my knees, but I was still
disappointed that he didn’t offer me more. I just needed a little more time.
His fat dick was doing all the work my fingers did, but better.
He gave a masculine grunt as he finished, his cock throbbing inside me. He
didn’t even ask permission, just took what he wanted. He kept up his pace all
the way, coming and thrusting at the same time.
He didn’t stop.
He kept going, like the climax never happened. His dick was still at full mast,
still rock hard, still anxious.
“Damn…”
He fucked me harder now, like that was just a warm-up.
My hands planted against his hard chest then explored his shoulders and
back. He was hard everywhere, a man made out of stone. I loved the way the
blood moved to the muscles under his skin as if he’d just hit the gym. I loved
his high stamina, that he could keep going and going.
A minute later, I felt it creep from my extremities to my core, felt the lit fuse
travel to the detonator. My head rolled back, and my nails latched on to his
arms. I became restless before the explosion, knowing how good it would be
with a fat dick like that. It came closer and closer…and then.
Oh lord.
I writhed underneath him, let my moans echo against the crown molding of
his ceiling, felt my tears spill over the corners of my eyes just the way the
saliva had spilled over my lips. It was so good. So damn good. I couldn’t
believe I was the one getting paid for it.
He fucked me relentlessly, spurred on by pleasure. Now his dick tapped
against my cervix, but the pleasure was so good that I didn’t even notice. My
back arched, my nails dug deep, and I enjoyed the high that this man gave
me.
He finished too, and this time, he came to a stop afterward.
Both sweaty and panting, we looked at each other, our bodies stuck together
with our come.
He leaned down and kissed me between the tits, swiping his tongue over one
nipple before giving me a playful bite. Then he unhooked his arms from
underneath me, unfolded my body so I was flat, and then lay next to me like
he was about to go to sleep.
In most cases, this was the moment I took my leave and found my way home.
There was a big distinction between whore and lover, and I never forgot my
place. I was paid handsomely to maximize pleasure and minimize headaches.
Once my body relaxed and my breathing slowed, I started to leave the bed.
“I have you all night.”
I sat at the edge of the bed, steadied by his deep voice.
He threw all the decorative pillows off the bed and tugged back the sheets.
My nanny would be with my kids until I returned, so I lay on the soft sheets
beside him.
He stayed on his side and kept the sheets at his waist, one hand behind his
head, the other on his hard stomach.
It was easy to get comfortable, to lie there in his warm bed. The curtains were
already pulled over the windows, so the city lights didn’t penetrate the
darkness. With this big man beside me, I didn’t have a care in the world. Just
when I closed my eyes and started to drift off, he was on top of me again.
“Face down. Ass up.”
When I woke up the following morning, he was gone.
I put on the same clothes I’d worn the night before then headed into the
foyer.
Grave was seated at the dining table in the other room, next to the windows
that gave a view of Paris. The newspaper was open in his hands, and the table
was laden with his breakfast. He was in nothing but his sweatpants, looking
fresh, like he’d already showered. The skin over his biceps was a little red,
like he’d already hit the gym before I even cracked my eyes open.
I approached his seat. “Morning.”
He lowered the paper and looked at me directly, his dark eyes more
noticeably brown in the sunlight. He gave a slight gesture to the chair across
from him. “Have some breakfast, and I’ll take you home.”
I took a seat. “I’ll take myself home.”
His eyes watched me closely, as if he wanted to protest but kept his mouth
shut.
I liked that about him. He thought about his words before he spoke them
aloud. He thought about everything before he did it. He didn’t waste his
words but used them carefully and sparingly.
His butler entered the room and placed the egg white omelet in front of me
then poured me a fresh cup of coffee.
Grave went back to reading his newspaper.
The silence was oddly comfortable. I barely knew the man, but it was easy to
exist with him. It was easy to fuck him too.
I only had a few bites of my breakfast because I wasn’t a breakfast person.
I’d rather hit the gym during a fast than feel sluggish from a meal. “I should
get going. Thank you for breakfast.”
He folded the paper and stood up, like he intended to walk me out. The
sweatpants were low on his hips, showing that carved figure. He was like a
bison in human form.
“I can let myself out, Grave.” I drew close then kissed him on the cheek.
“Call me.”
He was still as I kissed him, not turning into my lips or reciprocating. “I have
a dinner on Saturday. I’d like you to join me.”
“Dinner?” I asked. “As in, a party?”
“Yes.” His eyes were like stone, lifeless.
“I’m supposed to be a dirty little secret.”
“You’re supposed to be whatever I pay you to be.” He didn’t raise his voice.
Didn’t look pissed off. But he controlled the room and everything in it,
including me. “I’ll see you then.” He returned to the chair and opened his
newspaper again, acting as if I had already walked out of the room.
NINETEEN
 CAMILLE

We grabbed coffee at the café then walked past the shops in the village. I
didn’t need anything, but when he asked if I wanted to go shopping, I didn’t
refuse. It was rare to spend time with him outside the house, so I didn’t pass
up the opportunity.
He had a black coffee, while I loaded mine with all kinds of sugar and cream.
We walked by the shops together, and he carried my bags.
“See anything you want?”
His answer was a shrug.
“How do you normally get clothes?”
“They appear in my closet.”
Of course. “So, you never go shopping?”
“Not my thing.”
“Then why did you ask me to come today?”
“Because it’s your thing. Buy whatever you want, and I’ll carry it.”
I appreciated the gesture, but he didn’t need to buy me pretty things. “Can I
pick out something for you?”
“No.”
“No?”
“I’ll never wear it, and it’ll hurt your feelings.”
“Wow. So, you wouldn’t put it on once in a while to make me feel better?”
“No.” He said it without the least bit of remorse.
“Alright, then,” I said with a slight laugh.
When we approached a lingerie store, he nodded toward the door. “I’ll wait
here.”
“I have lingerie.”
“A woman can never have too much.” He nodded again. “Now, go.” He took
a seat on the bench with the bags beside him. One arm moved over the back,
his watch catching the light on his wrist.
I headed inside and tried on a couple things. After an hour, I walked out of
the store with several different pieces that he would like. “Got some good
stuff.”
“Show me when we get home.”
We continued on our walk then stopped in front of a high-end dress store.
“Pick something out.”
“I don’t wear gowns for fun.”
“We have a party on Saturday.”
“Hugo usually gives me dresses for that sort of thing.”
“Well, you can pick out your own now.”
“Want to come with me?”
He sat down again and pulled out his phone. “No.”
“You don’t want to give your input?”
He was already typing. “Make sure your tits are popping out, and I’ll be
happy.”
I rolled my eyes and walked inside. It didn’t take long to find something I
liked, and after trying it on and the seamstress taking my measurements, I
walked out of there with an appointment to pick it up later.
Cauldron was on the phone. “Glad to hear it. All the derailments for the last
few months have really slowed us down. About time we picked up speed
again.” More words were exchanged then he hung up.
“Sounds like things are back to normal.”
He dropped his phone into his pocket and looked at the new bag in tow.
“Yes, I got a couple things.”
“Let’s go home so you can show me.” He took the bag and carried it for me.
I walked beside him as we headed back to the car. “Taking a girl shopping…
holding her bags…doesn’t really seem like your thing.”
“It’s not,” he said. “But you asked me to try—and I’m trying.”

I stepped out of the bathroom in the black lingerie, finding him seated upright
against the headboard, naked and waiting for me. His dick was already hard
because he’d been excited just thinking about the moment I appeared. His
dark eyes trailed over my body, took a good look from head to toe. The man
always had a poker face, emitting no emotion, but his eyes still gleamed with
excitement.
I strutted to the bed then crawled on top of him, climbing up his legs then his
waist.
Once I was close enough, his thumbs slipped under the straps of my G-string
and pulled it down.
Lingerie never made sense to me. To spend a fortune on clothing that you
wore for a few minutes before sex seemed like a poor investment. You
couldn’t wear it anywhere else, and it was usually too uncomfortable to wear
under everyday clothing. But when I saw the way his eyes lit up for me, it
was all worth it.
With my bottom bare, he positioned me on top of him and directed me onto
his length. The second his warm skin came into contact with my wet one, he
squeezed me hard, sucking in a subtle breath. With his hands on my hips, he
guided me downward, all the way down his length until I sat directly on his
balls.
It hurt a little bit, but I felt like I was right back at work, so I didn’t exude any
discomfort.
He held me there as he stared at me, fully inside me, claiming me. “You’re
beautiful.”
His words brought me out of the lust, made my heart connect with his. It
didn’t feel like a line, but a sincere confession that made my entire body go
soft. Then he guided me up and down, slowly, over his length, like it was our
first time together.
My hands planted against his hard chest, and I deepened the curve in my back
as I rocked my hips. Together, we moved, our slick bodies in unison. I’d
come here for protection in exchange for sex, but now, I was a free woman. I
could leave whenever I wanted, starting the new life I dreamed of for myself.
But I knew my new life had already begun.
With this man.

I woke up slowly the next day, gently coming into consciousness but clinging
to sleep. I grabbed the sheets and tugged them farther up on my shoulder
because the cold air was hitting me right on the skin.
But the sheets were stuck and wouldn’t move.
I tugged harder until my hand slipped altogether.
Smack.
“Jesus…”
My eyes opened, and I saw Cauldron grip his nose with his hand. “Oh my
god…I didn’t know you were there.”
“So you normally throw punches in the middle of the night?”
“I was trying to get the sheets up, and they were stuck.”
He rubbed his nose and dropped his hand.
“Sorry…I wasn’t expecting you to stay.”
He dropped his hand above his head and closed his eyes like he could go
back to sleep. “I hope this is as romantic as you pictured.”
I scooted closer to him in the bed and slipped my leg between his. My arm
draped over his stomach, and I rested my head on his shoulder, suddenly
warm without the sheets. “It is.”

He clasped the diamond necklace around my throat before he let the cold
jewels touch my skin. They had a distinctive density whenever they sat on
my skin, a weight that belied their size. I never got used to the frigid touch of
their surfaces. I also had diamonds in my ears, diamonds around my wrist.
I basically walked around covered in millions.
In the tight dress that I had picked out and my heels, I was ready to go.
“Ready?” He was in a tuxedo, looking fit with his broad shoulders within the
material.
“Yes.”
We were at his apartment in Paris, and we took the elevator down to the
bottom floor before the car took us away. A couple minutes later, we arrived
at the Four Seasons and entered their private ballroom. Crystal chandeliers,
banners along the wall for the charity organization hosting the event, and
waiters carrying beverages moving across the elaborately decorated hall. We
were right on time, but it was already a packed house, like people chose to
come early.
“This is pretty elaborate for charity.”
“You gotta spend money to make money, right?” He kept his hand in mine as
he walked me forward and parted the crowd. Mr. Popular saw people he
knew immediately and struck up conversations about their lives as if he’d
memorized every detail. Every time he introduced me to someone new, he
always said, “This is my woman, Camille.”
It was nice.
We made our way through the crowd and continued the endless chitchat. My
mind started to glaze over, to think about other things besides the
conversations the men were having. It was usually about finance or golf, two
things I couldn’t care less about. My eyes turned rigid when I saw someone I
recognized.
Grave.
In a tuxedo that emphasized his large frame, he sipped a glass of champagne
as he spoke with a man I didn’t recognize. His arm was around a woman—
someone else I didn’t recognize. She was pretty. Really pretty.
Seemed like he’d forgotten all about me.
When Cauldron came up for air, I grabbed his arm. “Grave is here.”
His expression didn’t change. “I assumed he would be.”
“Oh, okay…just wanted you to know.”
We continued to make it through the party, and of course, the diamonds were
the biggest subject. Constantly admired around my neck, they were like a
lighthouse beacon shining to shore. Moth to a flame, everyone came to see.
My job was to smile and say nothing, to let the jewels do all the talking.
Right in the middle of a charity gala, Cauldron sold my diamond necklace for
ten million dollars.
Didn’t have to do anything other than strike up a conversation about the
weather.
We walked away, and I absentmindedly touched the necklace I’d have to part
with.
“You’ve sold more diamonds than any other marketing scheme I’ve ever
implemented.” He grabbed another glass of champagne and handed it to me.
“Should have started this a long time ago.”
“Maybe you should start paying me,” I teased.
He grinned before he took a drink. “I should start paying you for other things
too, then.”
TWENTY
 GRAVE

Elise wore a tight black dress that attracted attention the entire night. Men
stared at her like I wasn’t even there, and jealous women gave her dirty
looks. She didn’t look like a woman who had two children, and she didn’t
look like a woman who ate a single carb once in her life. Her arm was hooked
through mine, and despite being a whore, she played the part of a refined
woman well.
“What charity is this for?” she asked, sipping a glass of champagne.
“I don’t know.”
“Does anyone know?” she asked as she looked around. “Just an excuse to go
out and flaunt their riches.”
“And do business.”
She turned to look at me, tilting her head back to meet my gaze. “Are you
doing business?”
“I’m always doing business.” My eyes spotted her across the room. Long
blond hair and brightly colored eyes. Her eyes were even brighter than the
diamonds around her neck. Her hand was in Cauldron’s, trailing behind him
like an obedient dog.
She chose wrong.
“What do you keep looking at?” Elise was shrewd, always aware of her
surroundings and always reading people. She was street-smart. That was how
she’d survived this long.
It could be annoying, but I respected it, nonetheless. “You see that man with
the blonde wearing the diamond necklace?”
“Yes.”
“That’s my brother.”
She stared for a while, studying him from across the room. “The resemblance
is faint.”
“Because we’re only half related, as I said before.”
“That’s unfortunate for him because you’re the better-looking man.”
I didn’t crack a smile at that. “You think so?”
“He’s too thin for my taste.”
I turned my gaze back to her. “So, you like a mountain, huh?”
She gave me a flirtatious smile. “I like to be under a mountain.” She finished
the last few drops of her champagne and walked off to the bathroom, putting
the empty glass on a passing tray as she went.
I watched her nectarine ass until it stepped off the stage. My eyes turned back
to my brother afterward, seeing him speak to Camille off to the side. She
must have said something interesting because he smiled, something my
brother hardly ever did.
Seeing them together infuriated me, but I knew my revenge would come.
Once he saw that I’d moved on with someone else, a woman infinitely sexier
than Camille, he would lose interest quickly. Camille would see that I was
right, realize what she had with me, and once she came crawling back, I
would slam the door in her face.
I grabbed another drink before I headed across the room.
Camille spotted me first and tugged on Cauldron’s arm to get his attention.
She positioned her body slightly behind his, as if I intended to grab her by the
arm and drag her out of there. My eyes were only on my brother. “How long
are you going to pretend you don’t see me?”
“I pretended nothing,” he said. “Just working. See the necklace she’s
wearing? Just sold it for ten million.”
“Nice to see you do so much for the kids.”
“The charity is for kids?”
I shrugged before I took a drink. “I don’t know what the fuck it’s for.”
Camille shifted her gaze back and forth between us as we talked.
“How’s business?” Cauldron asked.
I nodded toward an empty table. “Let’s take a seat.” When I looked at
Camille, I silently commanded her to disappear. She’d lived with me long
enough to read my looks plain as day. She walked off exactly as I wanted,
probably just to get away from me.
Cauldron didn’t seem to care. We took a seat at the nearest round table that
was unoccupied. Music played overhead, and the sound of conversation filled
the entire room, so there was no chance of being overheard.
Cauldron pivoted his body toward mine as he looked into his glass. “So?”
“I have a couple of leads.”
“Yeah?”
“Georgio seems to be his biggest nemesis.”
“Georgio Scadoni?”
“Yes. I think he’ll be the first I interrogate.”
“I asked around, and it seems like Roan hates him even more,” Cauldron
said.
“Roan from Croatia?”
“Yes. With Karl out of the way, he’d have unchallenged territory in Paris and
Eastern Europe. I think it’s more likely that he’s the culprit.”
“He’s got a big crew. He doesn’t need to hide in the shadows.”
“But why do things the hard way when you can do them the easy way?”
Cauldron asked. “It’s smart, if you ask me. Plus, it throws off suspicion
because of the reasons you just said.”
“I suppose,” I said. “So I capture Roan and get him to confess to Karl?”
“Not a bad idea. You could get Karl to do the dirty work.”
“No. I want to get my hands dirty this time.” Roan snuck into my ranks and
set me up for both death and ruin. Retribution would be vital.
“I say we move quickly. Karl has a target on your back.”
“You don’t need to get involved in this, Cauldron.”
He held my gaze. “I know I don’t. But it’s part of our deal, isn’t it?”
“Our deal was to be brothers again. Not you risk your life for my bullshit.”
“If we’re brothers, I think it’s one and the same.” He stared.
I stared back.
“We’re a lot more formidable if we combine our forces. Right now, it’s two-
on-one. Let’s make it two-on-two.” His eyes shifted behind me as if
following someone across the room. His gaze shifted past my shoulder,
directly next to me.
Tight fingers moved across my shoulders then down my back. Her perfume
gave away her identity, jasmine on a summer morning. Her hands slid down
my chest as she cupped my body with hers, giving me a hug from behind.
“I’d recognize that back anywhere.” Her hands slid away, and she sat in the
chair beside me, her toned legs crossed, her dark hair a beautiful curtain of
softness. “You must be Cauldron.”
Cauldron looked at me momentarily before he extended his hand to hers.
“And you are?”
“Elise.” After she shook his hand, she was back to being all over me. “What
are you boys talking about?” Her arm was through mine, a bit of hair on my
shoulder.
“Business,” I said.
“Oh…then I’ll let you get back to it.” She pressed a kiss to my cheek and
walked off.
Cauldron watched her leave before he looked at me again. “You bounced
back quickly.”
I stared at him. “And she bounces with me.”

“Is it always that tense between you guys?” She sat beside me in the back
seat, her legs crossed and her arm propped on the door as she looked outside.
“It used to be worse.”
She turned to look at me. “You guys are in business together?”
“No.”
“But you talk about business?”
“We talk about killing people.”
Her expression didn’t change, so she must have eavesdropped on criminal
conversations throughout her career. “Who do you want to kill?”
“It’s a long story.”
“And we’re stuck in traffic.”
“I told you I killed the wrong guy by mistake?”
“I remember.”
“Well, that man was one of the Buttoni brothers. Now, his brother Karl has it
out for me. To make matters worse, Cauldron and I think it was all a setup by
Roan, a big drug dealer out of Croatia.”
“Why would he do that?”
“So I’ll either kill his biggest competitor, or his biggest competitor will kill
me. And while his biggest competitor is occupied killing me, he’ll kill him.”
“Wow. That is the perfect setup.” She didn’t bat an eye over it. Didn’t look
remotely uncomfortable.
“That doesn’t scare you?”
“I’ve seen it all at this point.” She looked out the window again.
The rest of the drive was spent in silence, and wordlessly, we agreed that she
would come to my place. We took the elevator to the top floor, and I tossed
my jacket over the nearest chair. The obnoxious bow tie was ripped from my
throat and tossed on the floor.
She followed me, her heels tapping the entire way.
We entered my bedroom, and the rest of my clothes were dropped across the
floor. Without waiting for her, I got into bed and sat against the headboard,
waiting to get a handsome return on my investment.
She took her time getting undressed, unzipping the back of her dress and
letting it fall to the floor. She didn’t wear a bra, so it was just her naked skin
in a little black thong. That came off too, followed by the heels that were
kicked away. She sauntered toward me, eyes locked on me, and crawled up
the bed like a wild jungle cat.
She moved into me, straddling my thighs and coming close to my chest. Her
arms hooked around my neck, and she pressed her tits into my body, the hard
nipples dragging slightly. I could feel her bracelet against the back of my
neck, feel the cold touch of one of her metal rings. “For what it’s worth, I
hope you kill them both.”
My hands gripped her narrow waist, and I sank my fingers into her tight
stomach. She was a petite little thing, but hard to the touch. Her belly button
was pierced, and her skin was so flawless it was hard to believe that she’d
birthed two children. “Yeah?”
“You’re too sexy to die.”
“You say that to all your clients?”
The corner of her lip lifted in a slight smile. “Yes. But this is the first time I
mean it.”
TWENTY-ONE
 CAMILLE

“What happened with Grave?”

He tossed his jacket aside then stepped out of his dress shoes. “We talked.”
“About?”
He worked his bow tie, staring at me all the while.
“He gave me this look… He used to do it all the time.”
“That’s just how he looks—like a pissed-off asshole.”
“No.” I shook my head. “It’s a get lost kind of look. So, are you going to tell
me what you spoke about?”
Once he got the material loose and then unbuttoned his collared shirt, he
looked at me. “You weren’t the subject of conversation.”
“Then what was?”
“Baby.” His temper came out in his voice, faint. It was accompanied by a
loud sigh.
“The fact that you won’t tell me worries me. And saying baby isn’t going to
fix anything.” I was still in my dress, sitting on the edge of the bed as I
watched him drop every piece of clothing until he was in his boxers. The
sight would be a much bigger turn-on if I weren’t so concerned by what I
saw.
His chiseled body sauntered toward me, lean and toned, each muscle distinct
from the line that separated each one. Grave was a moving mountain, but
Cauldron was shredded, lithe and limber, like a soccer player or a swimmer.
He took the seat beside me. “What are you worried about?”
“You know what I’m worried about.”
He stared ahead, his look blank. “None of this would be happening if you let
him die.”
“Are you saying you wish I had?”
“No. But this is a consequence of your decision. You have to accept it now.”
That meant all my fears were confirmed. “You’re going to help him kill all
those men.”
“He’s my brother, Camille.”
I looked away from his profile, scared I would lose the one thing that
mattered to me. “I can’t lose you, Cauldron.”
“I’ve been in this game for a long time, baby. You aren’t going to lose me.”
“You weren’t there…you didn’t see what I saw.”
“I know that was traumatic for you—”
“Cauldron, those guys were something else.”
“And you killed them—so what does that say?” He turned to look at me.
“He didn’t know I was there.”
“Doesn’t matter. You still won.”
The dread still impaled my heart like ice crystals.
“You saved my brother for me, right?”
After a long bout of hesitancy, I gave a nod.
“I have to save him too.”
Fall deepened with the arrival of mid-October. Green leaves were now gold
and red, and the wind didn’t carry the summer heat like it once did. A fog
drifted over the property from the ocean in the morning, and with every
passing day, it took longer and longer to burn off.
Now that I was free to go where I wanted, when I wanted, I took one of the
cars and did my shopping. Cauldron was usually occupied during the day in
his office, his eyes either glued to the screen or the phone to his ear, so I kept
myself busy with my own hobbies. I went shopping and had lunch alone, one
of the few people in the restaurant because all the tourists had left for the
season.
I got a hot coffee before I headed home, flavored with pumpkin and
cinnamon even though it was still a little too warm for that. When I returned
to the house, I walked past Cauldron’s office, and he was still inside talking
on the phone, sitting on the couch facing the burning fireplace.
I headed upstairs with my bags and entered my bedroom.
But it was different.
All my stuff was gone.
The books beside my bed had disappeared. All my makeup and toiletries
were missing. When I opened my closet, I saw that all my clothes had been
taken. “What the fuck…” I slammed the doors shut and tossed my bags on
the bed before I stormed out and flew down the stairs to the bottom floor.
“The idea is bullshit,” Cauldron said. “You know it’s bullshit, but you still
told me anyway—”
“What the fuck?”
Cauldron shifted his eyes to me.
“You have something to tell me? Be a man and say it. Don’t toss all my shit.”
His eyes narrowed like he was pissed off. “I’ll call you back.” He hung up
and set the phone on the coffee table in front of him. “Toss your shit?”
“My bedroom is empty. All my stuff is missing.” From the first word I spoke,
I yelled, and I was still yelling now. “You wait for me to leave the house and
then order Hugo to clear everything out? That’s just sleazy.”
Cauldron got to his feet, in an olive-green long-sleeved shirt and black jeans.
He immediately towered over me, his eyes shifting back and forth as they
peered into mine. “Baby, what are you saying? That I’m kicking you out?”
The second he called me baby, my temper felt out of place. My feet had been
firmly planted against the floor a second ago, and now I was in free fall.
His eyes continued to switch back and forth as he waited for my response.
“Then…where’s all my stuff?”
He stared at me for so long it seemed like he would never say anything.
“Look in my bedroom.”
The warmth I should have felt was swallowed by humiliation. Potent and
heavy humiliation.
“I mean, our bedroom.”
It was like a slap in the face.
He moved back to the couch and sat down again. He grabbed his phone and
tapped the screen so it lit up. Now he ignored me, like I wasn’t even there,
like that conversation never happened.
“I’m sorry…”
He hit a button, and then the phone started to ring once he made a call. He put
it to his ear. “You should be.”

When I stepped into the bedroom, it felt like a place I’d never been. Instead
of just his masculine energy, there was another presence. The books that had
disappeared were now on one of the nightstands.
I guess that was my side of the bed.
I explored his bedroom, something I’d never done before because it’d been
prohibited. Now I opened his closet and saw all his clothes carefully
organized hanging from the rack and his shoes on the shelves and his watches
in the glass case. It was all consolidated to one side of the closet—to make
room for my things on the other.
My dresses and skirts were hung up, my heels underneath, my jewelry pieces
in the glass case. He must have tossed half of his wardrobe to make room for
mine. My other clothes were in the drawers, my loungewear and underwear.
The invitation was so surprising that I still couldn’t believe it—even when it
looked me straight in the face. I turned off the light then headed to his
enormous bathroom. There were two sinks, two vanities, a gigantic bathtub
that looked like a spa, and a walk-in shower with two showerheads. When I
opened the cabinets, I found all my toiletries organized inside.
This was real.
Grave let me go. And I had Cauldron.
Seemed too good to be true.

I heard his footsteps down the hallway. I was on the couch reading a book,
dreading the impending conversation. He might not say a single word, but his
look would say it all. He rounded the corner, his sleeves pushed up to his
elbows, and then gave me the exact look I’d been expecting.
I shut the book without saving my place.
We stared at each other, having an entire conversation in silence.
He strode closer to the couch then leered over me.
I could tell he was still pissed off. “You can’t exactly blame me.”
One eyebrow cocked. “You think I’d throw you out on the street without
saying a word? Pretty fucking offensive.”
“I didn’t think you’d do that. It just seemed more plausible than moving me
in with you.”
“I didn’t want to have a big conversation about it.”
“Well, looks like that happened anyway,” I snapped.
He took the seat beside me, still looking angry. He looked out the windows in
front of us, one hand grabbing the opposite wrist. “You have a pretty low
opinion of me.”
“Can you blame me?” I snapped again.
He turned to look at me, and now he was more than just angry. He was hurt.
“I thought you forgave me.”
“I do—”
“Obviously not. You clearly don’t trust me.”
“I just… It was just confusing to come home to all my stuff gone.”
“And you thought I threw it all in the garbage?” he asked incredulously. “Just
like that?”
“I don’t know, okay?” I said, frustrated. “I overreacted.”
“You didn’t overreact. You reacted wrong.”
I looked away. “Can we just forget about it?”
“There goes my romantic gesture…” He left the couch and walked away.
“It wasn’t a romantic gesture. You wanted to move me in here without saying
a word about it, which means you don’t want to acknowledge it, which means
it’s not something you really want.”
He stopped then slowly turned around to look at me. “You want me to try or
not? Because this is me trying. It’s not conventional, it’s not traditional, it’s
not fucking romantic. But it’s me. This is the best I can do, and if it’s not
fucking good enough, then you should go find someone else.” With that, he
stormed out of the bedroom and slammed the door behind him.
TWENTY-TWO
 CAULDRON

It was a chilly night on the patio, but I sat out there anyway, the frigid air
soothing on my endless heat. There was warmth packed in my chest, constant
over the surface of my skin, bubbling inside my brain. Or maybe it was just
rage with fumes. I poured more scotch into my glass then dropped the lid
back onto the decanter.
Camille didn’t come after me.
Guess she was pissed off too.
A light flicked on in my bedroom, and my eyes immediately jumped up to
look at it.
Her dark silhouette passed by the window and disappeared.
Looked like she was staying.
I didn’t even notice Hugo when he approached the table. “Is there anything
else you need this evening, Mr. Beaufort?” It was late. I’d had dinner out here
alone, and then the time passed until it was almost midnight.
“No. You can go to bed, Hugo.”
He continued to look at me.
I turned and met his stare head on.
“She doesn’t deserve you, sir.”
I held his look as I let those words sink in. “Well, I don’t deserve her either.”
He gave a slight bow then departed. The lights were left on so I could make
my way upstairs when I was ready. But knowing him, he would wait until he
heard me on the stairs before he turned everything off and closed up the
house.
When I cut myself off from the scotch, I returned to the house and headed
upstairs. Camille’s cold shoulder told me a lengthy conversation was
imminent, with lots of shouting and profanity. She’d probably end up in her
old bedroom by the end of it.
But when I walked in, I realized I couldn’t be more wrong.
She stood in front of the mirror in my closet in a black lingerie ensemble,
checking her appearance like she wasn’t confident her shapely ass and perky
tits could pull it off. She pushed her hair past her shoulder then put it back in
front of her body, trying different combinations like it made any difference at
all.
It was amusing, seeing a goddess question herself.
She hadn’t noticed me, her focus trained on herself rather than the man who
emerged behind her. I pulled my shirt over my head, and when I looked at the
mirror again, her eyes were on me, like a wild animal that had been caught
with its guard down. She stopped playing with her hair. Her body stiffened,
her spine straightened.
We shared a long stare connected by the mirror before she turned around.
Now the look she gave me was confident, like she’d just punched the clock
and was ready to get to work. When she sauntered toward me, her heels
echoed against the hardwood, turning muffled once they hit the rug. When
she came to me, her hands hit my chest, and she rose on her tiptoes to kiss
me.
With her lips slightly open, she landed on my mouth, eyes down to watch us
come together.
My eyes flicked to the mirror behind her, seeing her pressed up against me,
that ass perkier than a nectarine in the summer. My fingers slid into her hair,
and I tilted her head back as I kissed her, escalating the subtle landing into a
collision. My hand gripped her ass, my fingers sliding under the fabric of her
little thong. I’d sat on the patio for hours, dreading the conversation awaiting
me inside, but if I’d known this was waiting instead, I’d have ditched the
scotch a long time ago.
I squeezed her into me as I lost all control. My mouth devoured hers. Open.
Close. Tongue. Breath. I turned her soft hair into knots as my fingers
explored the curtain at the nape of her neck. I backed her up into the bed
before I lifted her ass onto the mattress. My thumbs hooked into the lace at
her hips as I kissed her, and I tugged it over her ass and to her knees. By the
time I got her ready, she had my jeans and boxers pushed to my knees.
I tugged her hips toward me and made her slide across the bed closer to me.
Launched back in time, I picked her out of the lineup and paid the premium.
Now she was mine for the night.
My forearms were pinned behind her knees, and I slid inside her, sheathed by
her tight softness. I sank as deep as I could go, stopping when I hit the dead
end at the end of the road. Buried deep inside her, I stared at her underneath
me, her hair across the bed, her eyes glittering like wet diamonds.
Her small hands gripped my forearms, her tits nearly falling out of the
material that barely kept them in place. “I don’t want someone else,” she said
in a breathy whisper. “I want you.”

It was a long night.

Once. Twice. Three times. Couldn’t stop. By the end of it, she had to close
for business, she was just too sore. Not a single word was exchanged between
us. There was no pillow talk in the breaks in our passion. Like magnets, we
just snapped together.
I woke up to the morning light through the parted curtains. I woke up to her
little body on top of mine, her hair up against my neck, her leg tucked
between my calves. The second I came into consciousness, I was aware of
her quiet breathing, and now I wasn’t able to focus on anything but the
sound.
I had a long day ahead of me, and if I didn’t hit the gym first thing in the
morning, it would never get done. I got drowned in meetings and emails and
a couple heated phone calls. But she was right on top of me, and if I managed
to sneak out without waking her, she would open her eyes to an empty bed.
And that would be a disappointment.
So, for the first time in my life, I lay in bed like I had nowhere to go and
nothing to do. I entertained myself by watching her sleep, seeing the way she
held on to me like my hard body was a fluffy teddy bear.
She fell asleep when I did, but she managed to sleep far longer than me. Her
lips were slightly parted, showing her small teeth as she breathed, and her
palm stayed over my heart like the beat was her lullaby. She eventually
reached out to tug the comforter farther over her body, but it was tangled and
wouldn’t budge. She continued to sleep without it.
I tugged it up for her and dropped it above her shoulders, just like tucking in
a child before bed.
She slept on.
I never sat still unless there was a drink in my hand to numb my thoughts, but
now I was forced to stay motionless and reflect, to let my thoughts wander to
my current predicament and the drastic life transition. I’d been alone in this
bedroom since I’d bought this house. Now I shared it with someone—my bed
too. My free time used to be spent with a dozen whores on a yacht for
threesomes out at sea. Now my mind and body were reserved for a single
woman.
Camille.
How the fuck did I get here?
Minutes later, she stirred. Her eyes slowly opened, and she stared at nothing
for a while, slowly coming into consciousness. Her soft body suddenly
tightened, and her breaths became labored instead of soft like clouds. Then
she turned her head and looked at me.
Her eyes locked on mine with the grip of a viper, and she stared at me in
calm disbelief. Seconds ticked by without movement or voice. Her hand
remained over my heart, and her fingers slowly started to dig into my chest as
she gripped me. Then her eyes changed, turning soft like a warm sunset over
the ocean, like the morning light as it filtered through the branches in the
trees. It was a look I couldn’t describe…but it chased away all my opposition.
She moved farther on top of my body and kissed me.
Not a good-morning kiss, the simple kind that was a tap between mouths. But
the kind of kiss that happened after dinner, in a dark bedroom with lit
candles, where clothes dropped to the floor and heels were kicked across the
room. It was that kind of kiss, and it was hungry and fiery.
She yanked the sheets down then straddled my hips, her sex resting right on
my hard cock. It all happened so fast. She slid down my length and made me
bury myself in her as deeply as last night.
We both gave involuntary moans.
Then she dug her fingers into my shoulders like they were reins and rode me
like a stallion.

With summer officially over, Camille didn’t have the same hobbies she did
before. Her time was usually spent in the pool or lounging in the sun beside
it. Without that, she had nothing to occupy her time, so she started a new
habit of sitting in my study. She usually had a book, so she kept to herself
and didn’t distract me from work. But I found it peculiar that she wanted to
be in the room even though she couldn’t interact with me. I had a grand
fireplace in the study, so perhaps that was what attracted her fascination.
I sat at my desk and looked at her feet as they were propped on the armrest,
her toes painted a shiny black color. She wore sweatpants that cinched around
her ankles and a baggy sweater that drooped down one shoulder. I found her
irresistible in lingerie, but I found her beautiful like this.
I should be looking at my laptop, but I found myself glancing up repeatedly.
Fucking distracting.
The doorbell rang.
I didn’t expect company, so my eyes immediately shifted to the open doors
that led to the hallway. Hugo’s footsteps were heard before he appeared in
my line of sight, walking past the threshold in his butler’s tuxedo and dress
shoes. Seconds later, I heard the door open, but the words were swallowed by
the distance.
There wasn’t a price on my head yet because no one knew I was Grave’s ally,
but that didn’t mean a bunch of men didn’t want me dead. The shotgun was
strapped underneath my desk, and there was an automatic rifle underneath the
couch Camille lay on. My eyes remained ahead, waiting for Hugo to enter
and tell me who it was.
He entered a moment later, casting a barely concealed scowl at Camille as he
passed. “It’s your father, Mr. Beaufort. Shall I usher him in or send him
away?”
My father? “What does he want?”
“Didn’t say.”
“Did you ask?”
“I always ask, Mr. Beaufort.”
I shut my laptop and sat back in my chair.
Camille was upright now, watching our conversation.
“And he ignored your question?” I asked.
“He said that was between you and him, not him and your butler.”
That sounded just like my father. “Send him in.”
“Right away, Mr. Beaufort.” He departed and returned to the front door.
Camille rose from the couch and approached me at the desk. “I’ll give you
some privacy.” She leaned down and kissed me on the cheek, excused the
way I ignored her affection. She turned to walk out, book in hand.
My father appeared in the doorway, dressed in a sports coat with a long-
sleeved shirt underneath. His eyes immediately turned to Camille as he
passed, taking her in during the brief second they were in the same room
together. His head turned slightly to get another glimpse of her before she
was gone.
“Would you stop staring?” I knew my father’s stare wasn’t sinister, but it was
still invasive.
He straightened his coat before he took a seat. “That’s her?”
“Yes.”
He gave a blank stare. “The source of all your contention with your brother?”
“Yes.”
He gave a slight shrug, as if unimpressed.
“She doesn’t walk around in a mini dress and heels all the time. She lives
here.”
He crossed one ankle on the opposite knee, getting comfortable in the chair
as if he intended to stay awhile. “She looks more like a wife than a whore.”
“She’s not a whore. Say that again, and I’ll unstrap the shotgun under my
desk and shoot your face off.”
The corner of his mouth rose in a smile. “Now I see.”
“See what?”
“Your fascination with her.”
“Meaning?”
He continued to wear his smirk and never gave an answer. “Bring her in here.
I’d like to meet her.”
“Why?”
“I’m your father. And this seems like an important relationship for you.”
“We had dinner one time,” I snapped. “Let’s pump the brakes on the father-
son shit.”
“I’m your father, whether you recognize the relationship or not. I’d like to
meet the woman of the house.”
I stared at him hard, frustrated that he’d dropped in without warning, and
more frustrated he was making requests he wasn’t entitled to make. Like a
mirror, the same pair of eyes stared back at me, marred by decades of loss
and heartache I hadn’t experienced just yet. After a pointless staring contest, I
called for Hugo. “Hugo?”
As if he was hiding just around the corner, he popped into my view. “Yes,
Mr. Beaufort?”
“Bring Camille. Tell her my father would like to meet her.”
He gave a slight bow. “Right away, sir.”
I rose from the desk when he was gone and pulled out the decanter of scotch
and two glasses. I carried them to the coffee table and took a seat.
My father followed me with his gaze before his body did the same. “Hugo’s
been in your employ for a long time.”
“He gets paid too much to leave.” I uncapped the crystal stopper and poured
the glasses.
He brought the glass to his lips and took a drink. “You’re that insufferable?”
I relaxed in the chair with the glass in my hand. “If I am, that’s on you.”
“Really?” he asked, testing the waters.
“Listening to your mother get raped can turn you into an asshole.”
The mention of her dampened his mood. Wiped that smirk off his face. Aged
his eyes by a couple decades. His gaze remained on me, but he seemed to be
looking elsewhere, to a different time, a different place.
I almost felt bad for mentioning it. Almost.
“You and I are more alike than you realize.”
An insult. “How so?”
“Because you have a woman you love, and yet, you continue this ruthless
life.”
“A woman I love?”
“If she’s not your whore, she’s your woman. And a woman only becomes
your woman when she makes monogamy worthwhile.”
“Or when she’s so good in bed that you don’t need the others,” I snapped.
“Don’t pretend to know me. You don’t know anything about me, asshole.”
He gave a subtle shrug and let the argument die.
Camille walked in a moment later, in a new outfit of jeans and a long-sleeved
shirt. Her hair was down around her shoulders, but her face was still free of
makeup, probably because she didn’t have time to put it on. Her confident
posture had been replaced by timid uncertainty, and she approached the
couch like she didn’t know whether she should sit or stand the entire time.
She eventually decided to take the seat beside me.
My father locked his gaze on her as he took a drink.
“Camille, this is my father, Lorenzo Toussaint.”
She gave a quick nod. “Nice to meet you, Lorenzo.”
There was no handshake. Just a constant stare.
My father put his glass down. “My son tells me you’re an important person in
his life, so I thought we should meet.”
I didn’t say that.
“I’m glad that the two of you are reconnecting,” she said. “Family is always
worth fighting for.”
His eyes shifted to me, a look of approval in his gaze. “Well said, darling.”
Another stretch of heavy silence ensued.
I drank my scotch, but today, it just wasn’t strong enough to fight the unease.
“How’s Cauldron treating you?”
The question seemed to surprise her, because it took a while for her to
answer. “We have our good days and our bad days. Right now, they’ve been
really good.”
“Cauldron and I haven’t really spoken in almost ten years. The only reason
we are now is because of you—so thank you.”
“Technically, you can thank Grave,” I snapped. “Because he’s the one who
took her and forced my hand.”
His eyes shifted back to me. “But she’s the only thing that could force your
hand, so I think the credit goes to her.”
Camille gave me an uncertain look, like she knew this conversation would
spark a firestorm that she’d have to put out later.
“Tell me about yourself, Camille.” My father looked at her.
She sat with her legs crossed and her hands on her knee. “Well, I’m sure you
know about my history with Grave…which means you know what my
profession is. Or was. I’m not ashamed of what I had to do to survive, but I’m
also not proud of it either. It was my hope to leave all of that behind…but
Grave didn’t accept that decision.”
My father stared, as if waiting for her to say more.
Camille continued. “My mother passed when I was barely an adult, so I
didn’t have a lot of options. That’s how I ended up in the profession. It
allowed me to save money and led me to Cauldron…so I don’t have any
regrets.”
“I can tell my son cares deeply for you.”
I shot him a glare, but he didn’t see it because he stared at Camille.
“I care for him too,” she said. “I know he has a lot of issues, but he’s worth
my patience.”
My father stated the obvious. “Grave was a paycheck, but Cauldron is a
hobby.”
“I guess you could put it like that…”
“Are you done interrogating her?” I asked. “Because she has more important
things to do than talk to you.”
“I don’t mind, Cauldron,” she said.
“He’s an asshole,” I said, looking at her.
“Honestly, it’s not much different from talking to you…”
My father couldn’t suppress the laugh that came through. “Told you,
Cauldron. We’re a lot alike.”
TWENTY-THREE
 CAMILLE

“Let’s have dinner on Saturday.” Lorenzo reached the front door first,
prepared to let himself out. “And bring Camille.”
“How about the two of you go, and I stay home?” Cauldron asked like a
smartass.
He turned to look at his son, a grin on his face. “That wouldn’t be the worst
thing.” He reached for his shoulder to give him an affectionate grip.
Cauldron dodged the touch.
Lorenzo brushed off the rejection. “Let’s invite Grave too. Would be nice to
have both my sons under one roof.” He walked out to his car parked in the
roundabout.
Cauldron shut the door and locked it, giving a loud sigh of relief. “Fuck, glad
that’s over.”
“He wasn’t that bad.”
The look he gave me could kill.
“I just mean, he’s more pleasant than Grave.”
“Because Grave is an even bigger asshole.” He walked past me, his shoulders
tight and his demeanor angry. This last week had been like a fairy tale, but
now, it was a torched pile of ash.
“At least your father wants to know you. Mine walked away and hasn’t
thought of me twice.”
He had the humility to flinch.
“Just remember, things can always be worse.”
He stared at me coldly, like he had a comeback loaded in his throat, but he
had the sense to keep it locked away. He abruptly turned and entered his
study once more. He didn’t say anything, but he made it abundantly clear I
wasn’t welcome.
Back to square one.

Cauldron had a separate living room in his bedroom, so I sat on the couch
and watched TV. Hugo brought a dinner tray, and that told me we wouldn’t
be dining together. Whenever Cauldron came to bed, it would be with a bad
temper.
Black lingerie wouldn’t fix it.
Hours later, he entered the bedroom, his hair disheveled like he’d been
fingering it all afternoon. He smelled of booze too, even from across the
room. His eyes were bloodshot, as if he’d passed out on the couch then woke
up with a bad headache.
He stripped off his clothes and went straight to bed.
I didn’t want to deal with his temper, so I turned off the TV and got
comfortable on the couch, using one of the decorative pillows to sleep on.
There was a blanket over the back of the couch, so I pulled that over me and
got comfortable.
“Get your ass in here.” He said it in a raspy voice, like he was tired from the
shitty day.
I returned to the bedroom and dropped my bottoms before I got in beside
him. The plush mattress was much better than the lumpy couch in the other
room, and the soft sheets were the perfect cocoon to keep me warm and
comfortable. But the tension emitting from his hard body took away the
feeling of contentment.
I didn’t bother talking about it. Addressing the thing we were both thinking
about would just piss him off. I’d come to learn that silence was the best
medicine, at least with him.
“You might find him charming, but I find him despicable. He’s the reason I
don’t have a mother. He’s the reason I’m irreparably fucked up. He’s the
reason I feel so empty. He’s the reason I can be on a state-of-the-art yacht,
surrounded by beautiful women, and feel utterly alone. He’s the reason I
can’t give you what you want.”
I turned onto my side so I could look at him, see him lying flat on his back
and staring at the ceiling.
“I hate him.” It came out as a whisper, but it still packed a serious punch.
“He’s not the reason you feel this way, Cauldron. You are.”
He turned his head to look at me.
“I know it’s hard, but…you have to let it go.”
His eyes shone with betrayal.
“Hating your father won’t bring back your mother. Giving him another
chance will enhance her memory. He probably has stories about her that
you’ve never heard. Knows things about her that you never knew. I’m sure
your mother would want the three of you to be together, despite what
happened.”
“Grave isn’t her son.”
“But he’s your brother—and that’s good enough.”
He looked at the ceiling again.
“Your father loves you.”
He was still.
“And I can tell he still loves your mother. You can see it in his face every
time you mention her. He still carries that grief. You hate him for what he’s
done…but I doubt you could ever hate him more than he hates himself.”
“But I could try,” he said coldly.
My hand reached for his torso under the blanket. “Or you could try to be
happy—with me.”
“It’s complicated…”
“It’s not that complicated, Cauldron. The only reason you’re unhappy is
because you choose to be.”
“You know I still hear her screams? All this time later?”
I didn’t know what to say.
“In my dreams… Happens at least once a week.”
“I think about the moment my mother passed away every day. I remember
the instant her hand went limp when she took her last breath. I remember how
pale her face was. I remember how weak she was. I remember the first time I
slept with a man for money. I remember the first time a man beat me once he
was done with me. I remember all the horrific things that happened to me—
but that doesn’t stop me from being happy with you.”
He released a heavy breath, his eyes focused on the ceiling.
“You have to move forward, Cauldron. Otherwise…this is all there is.”
TWENTY-FOUR
 GRAVE

“You need to be careful, Grave.” My father sat across from me in the booth at
the bar, a cigar in his hand.
I drew the smoke into my mouth and let it sit there a moment, just savoring
the taste before I released it again. I didn’t smoke cigarettes because they
didn’t have the taste of a cigar, and they were for pussies anyway. “I’m
always careful.”
“Not just going after Roan. But from Karl coming after you.”
“Men are always trying to kill me, Father.”
“And you’ve been lucky up until this point.”
I gave a chuckle before I pulled another cloud into my mouth. “Trust me, it’s
not luck.” Camille saved my ass that night. She picked up that gun and fired.
That wasn’t luck to me.
“I saw your brother last week.”
“Yeah?”
“He agreed to the four of us having dinner.”
“Four?”
“Including Camille.”
My throat soured at the thought. “Make it five. I’m bringing someone.”
“The pissing contest continues?”
I ignored the question.
“If you need to bring a woman to prove you’re over another woman, then you
aren’t over the woman.”
“Thanks for the observation.” I grabbed the glass in front of me and took a
drink. It was a quiet night in Paris. Raindrops splattered the windows. The
pavement outside was dark. People covered in umbrellas passed along the
sidewalks.
“I think he loves her.” He stared at me, waiting for the reaction he provoked.
“I’m sure he thinks that too.” I set the glass down, the burn dripping from my
throat to my stomach.
“You don’t think it’s real?”
“I think the high will fade quicker than he realizes.”
“I thought the two of you buried the hatchet.”
“We have.” Camille was dead to me. Now I had a far better woman to keep
my bed warm.
“Then why does it sound like you want this relationship to fail?”
“I don’t. I just know my brother. He was only interested in her because of
me. Now that he sees me interested in someone else, the victory will grow
stale, and so will his desire. He’ll be back to his old ways.”
“I hope you’re wrong. Cauldron hasn’t been happy in a long time.”
“And he’s not happy now.”

My relationship with my father was different from the ones other men had
with theirs. Nothing was off-limits. Murder. Money. Sex. It was all on the
table. The details were spared, but the subjects were broached. That was why
we got along so well.
My coat was sprinkled with raindrops before I got into the back seat of the
car. My driver immediately headed to my apartment, and I pulled out my
phone and made a call.
“Hello?”
“Hey, sweetheart.”
A door closed. Noises turned muffled. Her voice returned a moment later.
“How can I help you, Grave?”
“Free tonight?”
“I’m spending time with my kids.”
“They’ve got to go to sleep sometime, right?”
A quiet chuckle came over the phone. “I guess I didn’t satisfy you the other
night.”
“You never satisfy me.”
“I guess I’m not very good at my job.”
“Too good, actually.”
There was a pause. We shared the silence.
She spoke again. “I can’t leave them alone, even when they’re asleep.”
“Then I’ll come to you.”
“I don’t have clients sleep over.”
“Who said anything about sleeping?”
She turned quiet.
“Come on, sweetheart.”
To my surprise, she caved. “Come by in two hours. I’ll text you the address.”
I parked at the curb then walked up the stairs to the front door. The lights
upstairs were off, but the ones below were visible through the closed curtains.
I texted her my arrival then waited for her to open the door.
When she did, she pressed a finger to her lips to hush me.
I entered her living room, seeing an elegant sitting area with white couches
and a gray rug. There were pictures on the walls and in the entryway, of a
boy and a girl who looked to be six and eight. I didn’t let my eyes linger out
of fear it’d make her uncomfortable.
She took my hand and guided me across the living room to a bedroom. The
stairs must lead to the second floor where her kids slept. The bedroom was
like the rest of the house, decorated with elegance, with classy French taste.
She pressed her fingers to her lips.
I didn’t like talking anyway.
I stripped off my coat and the rest of my clothes, and she watched me with
hungry eyes. Maybe it was just part of her job, to act like a woman who
wanted to get fucked, but I chose to believe it was real. When I stripped off
her clothes, I felt the heat ignite me. With every piece of skin revealed, it was
like another log on the fire. I guided her to the bed and sank between her
thighs, making myself right at home inside that slick pussy. She was already
wet when I walked in the door, so she must have lubed up before I got there
or was just ready to go. I held myself on top of her, savoring the tightness
around my dick in forced silence.
“Quiet,” she said against my lips.
I started to rock into her, but the bed creaked when I moved too much. It
forced me to slow my pace, to keep our bodies close and tight. Our breaths
became the loudest noises we made, and there was nothing we could do to
sheathe them.
She was folded underneath me, nails sharp against my shoulder blades, her
hips working to meet my thrusts in silent unison. She pulled me close and
breathed next to my mouth, her breaths slowly rising to writhing whispers.
“God, you feel so good…”
I suppressed my moan as best as I could, but it came out as a loud breath.
She tugged on me tighter, her hand dragging down my back until she held on
to one cheek. She yanked me into her, forcing me to speed up so she could
take my dick how she wanted. The bed creaked. The headboard quietly hit
the wall. She heard all of it, but she still tugged on me anyway.
“Yes…yes.” Her head rolled back, and she whimpered in pleasure, squeezing
tears out of her eyes. Her breaths rose to moans. Moans that were distinct and
loud, possibly loud enough to be audible outside the door.
My mouth sealed over hers, and I kissed her, tasted her tears, swallowed the
pleasure my throbbing dick provided.
She moaned through her kisses, sliced up my back like she was trying to
climb a mountain with her bare hands. We rocked together the whole way,
and I couldn’t wait for her performance to finish before I released. With my
mouth still on hers, I came. I filled her with the load I’d been anxious to give
her the last two hours.
The climax came and went, but her lips still caressed mine. The kiss
continued as her fingers made their way into my hair. She pulled the strands
gently as she gave me her tongue, as she kissed me like the night had just
begun rather than ended. She could kiss as good as she could fuck, and I
found myself ready to go again.
“Fuck me again…just like that.”

When the fun was done, she lay there like she could fall asleep. Her sexy
body was on top of the bed, all her curves on display in the limited streetlight
that came through the closed curtains from the window above her bed. My
shoulder was her pillow, and my body was her heater.
I knew I should leave, but it was hard to walk away from a woman like that.
When her breathing deepened, I knew she’d fallen asleep.
Didn’t want to be a dick, but I had to. “Sweetheart.”
Her eyes flashed open immediately.
“I should get going.”
“You’re right.” She sat upright, her hair falling down her back. “Whenever
I’m with you, I’m out like a light. But when I’m alone, I’m an insomniac…”
She ran her fingers through her hair, flipping it to the other side. Her eyes
were tired, her makeup smeared from the sweat and the sleep.
“Why can’t you sleep?” I sat up next to her, pressing a kiss to the back of her
shoulder.
“Can’t turn off my mind, I guess.” She left the bed, her petite frame moving
to the clothes she’d tossed. She pulled her thong over her perfect ass then
turned to me, perky tits on display.
How did a woman look like that after having two babies?
She clasped her bra closed behind her back and pulled the straps over her
shoulders. “So, what made you want to stop by tonight?”
“You.”
A slight smirk moved on to her lips. “Had to be more than that.”
I held her gaze, thinking about the conversation with my father. “Rough
night.”
“And rough nights make you horny.”
“More like lonely.”
She pulled her shirt over her head and looked at me, her eyes softened with
pity. “I get lonely too.”
“I don’t see how a mother of two does.”
“I’m their mother. Not their friend.” She sat beside me on the bed, fully
dressed while I was still naked. “And even with a nanny, being a mother is
hard. Really hard. It would be nice to have someone to share it with.
Someone who cares about all those little things.”
“You mean it would be nice to have a man.”
“I guess.”
“You could find someone if you broke your rule.”
She stared ahead, her mind far away. “I don’t know…”
“You’re beautiful, Elise. You could have any man you wanted.”
She turned to look at me, her eyes searching my gaze. “You think?”
“Yes.”
“Even with what I do for a living?”
“I think it’s irrelevant. Assuming you aren’t still doing it.”
She looked away again.
Right now, she was a very different woman than I remembered. She was
usually feisty and abrasive, no-nonsense and no emotion. And now she said
things I could hardly believe. “I can’t afford my life without this job. I’m
stuck.”
“Your man will provide what you need.”
She smiled slightly.
“What?”
“Not all men are like you, Grave.”
“Like me, how?”
“They don’t say those kinds of things.”
Unsure what to say, I continued to stare at her.
She sat there, legs crossed, hands on her lap. “We only have two weeks left.”
I tried not to think about the expiration date. Elise was a great distraction. A
great lover. Even a great friend. I paid a fortune for her time, and I’d pay
double that to keep this going.
“I don’t want it to end,” she whispered.
I stared at the side of her face, seeing the way her eyes glazed over like I
wasn’t even there. “Neither do I.”
TWENTY-FIVE
 ELISE

I said goodbye to my kids then got into the car Grave sent for me. After a
short drive, I arrived at his Parisian apartment, escorted into the elevator
before I arrived in his parlor. His butler was there to take my coat and offer a
glass of champagne, even though it was just a Tuesday night. “Mr. Toussaint
will be out shortly.” He dismissed himself and left me alone in the parlor with
a tray of small appetizers and the bottle on ice. It all looked delicious, but I
couldn’t eat a single thing, not this late in the evening.
I heard Grave’s angry voice from down the hallway but couldn’t make out
what he was saying. Seemed to be on the phone with someone. I sipped my
champagne and waited, his voice growing louder than flatlining.
This should be a fun evening.
He emerged into the hallway a moment later, in nothing but gray sweatpants
low on his hips. His enormous torso was visible because he was shirtless,
bulky and shredded at the same time. He was barefoot too, completing the
sexy, I-don’t-give-a-fuck look. I was about to take another drink from my
glass until my eyes became glued to his mass, seeing him move toward me
like a bull shark in the deep ocean.
Couldn’t believe I was getting paid to sink my teeth into that.
His eyes locked to mine as he moved down the hallway and entered the
parlor.
I finally let the champagne slide onto my tongue.
“Sweetheart.” His arm slid around my waist effortlessly, and with one big
hand on my ass, he pulled me in for a kiss. A kiss that took the champagne
right off my lips. He had to angle his body down to meet mine as he stood
over six feet, and even my heels couldn’t compete.
I hadn’t expected that kind of affection, and I literally felt weak in the knees.
My glass almost tumbled out of my loose fingers and shattered on his thin
rug.
He gave my ass another squeeze before he pulled away.
My lips felt cold the second he was gone, and like waking up from a dream, I
forgot my reality.
“Let me get dressed.”
As in, put more clothes on? “Uh, why?” I blurted.
His eyes shifted back and forth between mine before a handsome smirk
moved into his face. “We’re going out.”
“Must we?”
The smirk turned into a full smile, and it was the first time I’d ever seen it.
He was always quiet and brooding, a living statue that could say a couple
words. It was a nice look on him, a beam of sunshine in his shadow. “What
did you have in mind?”
I set the glass down and gave his body a shove.
He fell into the armchair behind him, his smirk long gone now.
I hiked up my dress and straddled his hips. His bottoms were pulled down,
and my panties were yanked to the side. Anxiously, we came together, both
of us releasing a pleasurable moan at the same time. His butler would
probably walk in at some point, but I didn’t care what he saw.
My little body sheathed his big dick, and it hurt so good. We were near the
windows, the skyline of Paris visible behind us. It was hard for both of us to
fit in that little chair, especially him, but we made it work. Up and down, I
moved, moaning every time I took that dick inside me.
He gripped my hips and ass as he followed my pace, his eyes focused on
mine, his dick rock hard as if he liked everything I was doing. He grabbed the
strap of my dress and yanked it over my shoulder, stretching the fabric so he
could get one of my tits out. Then his mouth was on me, kissing my
collarbone and shoulder, his big hands tugging me inside him over and over.
We turned into animals, grasping and pulling on whatever we could find. My
hips hooked around his neck, and I kissed him as I felt the fire between my
legs. He felt so damn good, so much better than anyone else ever had. With
quivering lips, I came. My hips bucked, my nails clawed, my eyes shed
tears…it all happened in a rush of feeling. “Grave…”
With his forehead against mine, he came, a subtle moan that couldn’t
compete with my cries and tears. His fingers dug into my ass, and once he
was finished, he gave me a hard smack, hard enough to leave a subtle mark.
I didn’t mind in the least.
“Now are you ready to go?” he asked, his dick still hard inside me.
I pulled down the zipper at the back of the dress and pulled it over my head.
His eyes immediately went down to my tits.
“No.”
He looked at me again.
“I’m not ready to go anywhere.”

I lay beside him in his enormous bed, silky-soft sheets, a log-burning

fireplace casting a nice glow across his bedroom. His butler must have started
the fire when we were in the parlor, suspecting we would end up in bed at
some point. Grave’s thick arm cocooned me into him as I snuggled into his
side, his heartbeat my pillow.
I couldn’t stay there forever. “I’m hungry.”
“No surprise there since we missed our dinner reservations.”
I grinned. “Worth it.”
His arm was big enough to wrap around my back and flatten his palm against
my tummy. His fingers could span the entire thing. “My staff will bring
dinner any minute.”
“You ordered something?”
“No. But they know we didn’t leave the house.”
A life of luxury I would never know, having a house full of people who
anticipated every need without you even needing to ask for it.
His phone vibrated on the nightstand, and he glanced at it before he put it
back down. Then he slid away from me and got out of bed, buck naked,
muscular, and oh-so sexy. He opened the door and picked up a dinner tray off
the floor before he carried it to the dining table he had in his living room.
Silver platters covered all the food, and there was a bottle of red wine with
the meal.
I sat up in bed to take a peek. “What’s for dinner?”
“Steak.”
I smirked. “Do you ever eat anything else?”
“Not really.”
I hopped out of bed and approached one of his dressers. “Mind if I take a
shirt?”
He’d already sat down at the table. “All yours, sweetheart.”
I smiled before I pulled out a black t-shirt, something he must wear around
the house or during his workouts. It fit me like a dress, hitting me at the
knees. The sleeves were past my elbows to my forearms, looking like a long-
sleeved shirt that didn’t reach my wrists. I joined him at the table, seeing that
my dinner was different from his. There was still steak, but it was sprinkled
on top of a green salad with goat cheese crumbles, walnuts, and slices of
avocado. I had a soup too.
We ate dinner in silence. His attention was mostly on his food, but he
occasionally looked up at me, his visage hard and impossible to read. He had
the most beautiful eyes, dark but warm like a fresh espresso.
This had stopped feeling like a job a long time ago. “I’m sorry about our
reservations.”
“We’ll go another time.”
“You know, you don’t have to take me out to dinner at all…” I was paid to
do whatever he wanted, and he didn’t have to wine and dine me.
“I’m aware.”
“Then why do you do it?”
He cut into his steak and took a big bite, a bite that took seconds to chew. He
washed it down with a sip of his wine. “I told you.”
“Told me what?”
“That I’m lonely.” He said it without a hint of emotion, without self-pity. It
was a simple statement of fact, nothing more. “And I like talking to you.” He
continued to eat like his confession didn’t dig right into my soul.
My heart felt heavy, but my body felt like it was floating in the clouds. “Most
men find me annoying.”
His eyes lifted to mine as he drank his wine. “Why is that?”
“Because I can’t keep my mouth shut.” That was why my husband left. I
didn’t put up with his bullshit and called him out on all his cheap stunts. “I
say how it is…give it to ’em straight.”
He watched me with those intelligent eyes. “You mean, you don’t put up with
bullshit.”
“Yeah, I guess.”
“Of course they don’t like that. They want a woman who lets them get away
with sin.” He finished his steak, leaving the bone in the center sitting in the
juices. “Most people think I’m an asshole, if that makes you feel better.”
“Why is that?”
“Because I am an asshole.” He drank from his wine until the glass was
empty.
“If you are, I haven’t noticed it.”
He refilled his glass. “Give it time.”

I lay in his arms as he ran his fingers through my hair. Large fingers combed
through the strands, touching them with a gentleness that belied his
appearance. His head was propped on one of his arms, and he stared at the
fire with a blank look in his eyes. It was almost midnight, but he didn’t seem
tired.
“What are you thinking about?”
His answer was immediate. “My brother.”
“And what about him?”
“We’re supposed to have dinner with my father on Saturday. All together
under the same roof.”
“Isn’t that a good thing?”
“It’s complicated.”
“What made the two of you estranged in the first place?”
“It’s a long story,” he said with a sigh. “A really long story.”
“Well, we’ve got all night.”
He turned quiet, letting the silence trickle by. “My father had enemies, and
those enemies killed Cauldron’s mother while he was away. More than killed
her. Raped her and tortured her first. Cauldron was not much more than a
toddler at the time, and hidden away in the closet, he heard everything.”
I felt my entire body go stiff.
“My father married my mother shortly afterward. I was always resentful
because my father made it very obvious he preferred Cauldron to me. He was
the favorite. He was the firstborn. My mother was a bit of a gold digger, so
when we were older, she made plans to kill Cauldron, something I had no
part in. To this day, he doesn’t believe me, because our relationship had
always been so strained. My father believed her lies that she had nothing to
do with the assassination attempt, so Cauldron cut ties. To him, it was the
second offense, because he thinks our father is solely responsible for his
mother’s death. That was a decade ago, and we’ve had very limited contact
since—until recently.”
I didn’t know what to say.
“I told you it was a long story.”
“And a sad one…”
“That’s life,” he said noncommittally.
“Is your mother still around?”
“She died a while ago.”
“I’m sorry.”
He continued to wear that same blank look. “She wasn’t a good person
anyway.”
Cocooned in his arms, I rubbed his hard chest, feeling the steady beat of his
strong heart. “It sounds like you have the chance to reunite your family.”
“I’m not sure if Cauldron hates me or my father more.”
“I don’t think he’d agree to help you if you hated you at all. I don’t think he’d
give your relationship another chance either if he did.”
His eyes remained locked on the fire, his thoughts somewhere else.
I wanted him to say more, but I could tell he was empty. “You want me to
stay until morning?”
The change in subject brought him out of his trance. “Yes.”
“I like sleeping with you. It’s comfortable.”
He turned his head into mine and pressed a kiss to my forehead.
I closed my eyes because the affection felt so nice, so natural that he didn’t
even seem to notice what he did. “Will you come with me on Saturday?”
“To dinner with your family?”
“Yes.”
“You want me there…?”
“Cauldron will bring Camille. I can bring you too.”
“Is Camille his wife?”
His lips rested against my head as his fingers continued to caress my hair. “I
have no idea what she is to him.”

We arrived at the house first.

It was an apartment behind a gate, with a fountain in the front and double
doors that were over twelve feet high. Grave held my hand in his as he
entered and greeted the butler with a subtle nod.
I wore a nice black dress with a thick coat on top to fight the cold, and the
butler immediately took my jacket to hang in the closet. Grave led me farther
inside, and we entered a grand dining room that could accommodate at least
twenty people. Windows were all around, showing the courtyard just outside.
The table was already set for dining, and there were open bottles of wine
ready to be poured.
An older man sat at the head of the table, dressed in a maroon long-sleeved
shirt. His eyes went to Grave and remained there for several seconds before
he rose from his seat to greet him. They exchanged a hug along with a clap
on the back. Then his father looked at me, taking me in with eyes identical to
Grave’s.
“Elise.” That was all Grave said, like he’d already mentioned me to him.
He took my hand in his and kissed my cheek. “Lorenzo. Please make yourself
comfortable in my home.”
“Thank you,” I said, slightly caught off guard because he had the same
energy as his son. This silent and deadly aura that said he could break your
neck in a second if he wanted to. Like father, like son. He was kind to me,
smiled at me, but the cloud over his head was unmistakable.
Lorenzo sat at the head of the table, and Grave pulled out my chair before he
sat down.
Knowing the history of his family changed my perspective on their
interactions. Now when I looked at Lorenzo, all I could think about was
Cauldron hiding in a closet as he listened to his mother suffer. I thought about
how unfairly Grave was treated by every member of his family.
“Elise,” Lorenzo said. “That’s a very pretty name.”
“Thank you. It was my grandmother’s name.”
Grave moved his hand to my thigh under the table, his large fingers taking up
all my flesh.
“Tell me about yourself,” Lorenzo said.
I didn’t know what to say. I doubted Grave wanted his father to know I was a
whore.
Grave answered for me. “Elise is a single mother of two. We met at the
Underground, where I cut to the front of the line so I could pay for her time.
We’ve been enjoying each other’s company ever since.”
I was a bit shocked that he told him the truth, and that made me realize this
was a different kind of family. Sometimes brothers were in business together,
but the rest of them hid their lives from family members. They pretended to
be accountants or financial advisers.
Lorenzo seemed unsurprised by this. “Would you like some wine, Elise?”
“Sure.”
He poured me a glass then filled his. Unperturbed by the information, he
treated me like I was still welcome in the house.
Made me wonder if he paid for women too.
“How’s work, son?” he asked before he took a drink.
“The same. There’s a long waiting list that I can never catch up on.”
A waiting list for people who needed organs? Or a waiting list for those who
wanted to give organs?
“That’s always a good problem,” Lorenzo said.
That didn’t answer my question.
Conversations sounded from outside the room like Cauldron and Camille had
arrived. They walked in a moment later, Cauldron in the lead, dressed
similarly, casual in his long-sleeved shirt. Camille was in a dress like I was,
with long sleeves and stockings underneath.
Lorenzo rose to greet his son.
I could see the tension between them, the long stare between their eyes.
Lorenzo extended his hand to shake Cauldron’s.
Cauldron didn’t take it.
I felt uncomfortable just watching it, but I had to admit, I was on Cauldron’s
side.
Camille allowed Lorenzo to kiss her on the cheek.
Then Cauldron looked at Grave.
Grave gave him a nod.
He nodded back.
That was it.
When I looked at Camille, she was staring straight at me, her eyes flicking all
over the place to take in my appearance. There was no smile. No warmth.
Nothing. She was just as cold as Cauldron.
Grave didn’t look at her, and she didn’t acknowledge his presence.
This was going to be an interesting dinner.

Staff served our dinner and refilled our wine while the men talked. Cauldron
never spoke to Camille, and every time he spoke a word to his father, it was
with barely suppressed rage.
Honestly, I felt out of place there. I wasn’t sure why Grave had wanted me to
join him.
Camille kept her eyes on her food, playing with it for a while before taking a
bite, as if she wanted to make it last because she had nothing else to do.
Whenever Grave wasn’t eating, his arm was over the back of my chair or his
hand was in my lap. He showed the same kind of affection as if we were
alone together.
“This is nice,” Lorenzo said. “Having my boys together again. We haven’t
done this since—”
“Christmas ten years ago, three weeks before that gold digger tried to kill
me.” Cauldron’s words slashed through the room like a sharp butcher knife,
slicing everything in its path. “Let’s not forget why everything changed,
Lorenzo.”
My heart literally stopped beating.
Grave had no reaction, as if he’d heard it all before.
I just couldn’t believe Cauldron referred to him as Lorenzo.
Lorenzo had no reaction, as if he was unsurprised by his son’s outburst. “We
can’t move on unless you let the past go.”
“Let the past go, huh?” Cauldron took a big drink.
Camille put her hand on his wrist, and he immediately took a breath, like
simply her touch soothed him.
Grave’s eyes flicked to Camille and stayed there.
“We made a deal, Cauldron,” Lorenzo said. “And you aren’t holding up your
end.”
Cauldron looked pissed off all over again. “You didn’t hold up your end of
the deal as a husband or a father. You’ve got a lot of nerve saying that to me,
asshole.”
“Cauldron.” Grave’s eyes were on his brother again, commanding the room.
“We’ve all had shit to get over. You just gotta do it and move on.”
Cauldron held his gaze, an entire conversation passing between them.
The silence stretched to a full minute.
Cauldron grabbed his glass, raised it slightly like making a toast, and then
took a drink. “Salut.”

It was a quiet drive home. We sat in the back seat together, separated by the
unoccupied middle seat. His elbow was propped on the armrest, and he
looked out the window with such focus he seemed to be reading words on an
invisible page.
We arrived at his apartment and entered the parlor. His butler had a spread of
food and drinks awaiting our arrival, which was strange because Grave never
seemed to eat anything left out. Made me wonder if the display was just for
me.
I followed him to the bedroom. “I’ve got to say…that was quite the family
affair.”
He immediately stripped off his shirt and threw it in the hamper in his closet.
He discarded the jeans the same way. His butler or his maid would come in
here during the day and take care of his mess. He came back toward me in his
boxers, a behemoth of a man with eyes dark like shadows. “I told you it was
complicated.”
“Do you not like Camille?”
His eyes immediately flicked back and forth between mine, provoked by the
question.
“Just seemed like you hate her…”
He turned away and headed to the bed. “Your observation is correct.” The
bed was already prepared for the evening, so all he had to do was pull the
sheets back to get inside.
“Why do you hate her?” I got into bed on the other side, lying beside him but
not touching him.
He didn’t answer.
“She didn’t seem to like me.”
“Ignore her.” He raised his voice a bit, like the last thing he wanted to do was
talk about that awful dinner.
“Why’d you want me to come tonight?”
He turned on his side to face me, hiking my leg over his hip so our bodies
would be close together. “So you’d be here when it ended.” He tugged me a
little closer, strong enough to drag me across the bed with a single arm. His
face was close to mine on the pillow, our eyes locked together, our lips
almost touching.
The heat swept through me, the fire seeping into a single vein then spreading
like wildfire. I could feel it invade every piece of me, from the tips of my
fingers to deep between my legs. Handsome men came and went, but Grave
was something else. It was more than just his looks, but the way he carried
himself, the sound of his voice, the way he wasn’t afraid to show affection. It
was everything.
We had a little over a week left together, and I’d never dreaded the end of a
contract so much. To imagine him replaced by somebody else, a man who
meant nothing to me, someone I had to lube up for in the bathroom because
there was no attraction whatsoever…sounded like torture.
He rolled me onto my back and settled between my thighs, pushing his
boxers down so his heavy log could drop on my clit. He folded me
underneath him, towered over me like a mountain over a valley, and pushed
inside.
My nails dug into him, and I moaned when I felt him, moaned like it was the
first time again. “Grave…”
He dipped his head and kissed me, taking the lead like he did with everything
else. I was supposed to make his fantasies come true, but he was the one who
gripped the reins, the one who did all the work, the one who made me feel
like the client.

I walked through the bar, all eyes on me as I passed. I could feel the heads
turn and turn and turn until their necks couldn’t move any farther. Once I was
in the hallway and was blocked by the wall, I felt all their necks release
simultaneously.
When I saw another woman inside Jerome’s office, I leaned against the wall
and waited outside.
He opened his safe on the floor, pulled out the envelope of money, and
handed it over. “I’ll have your next client this week.”
She thanked him and walked out, wearing a thick fur coat and boots.
I made my entrance. “Hey, Jerome.”
“Hey, Elise.” He opened the safe and pulled out another envelope of cash,
much fatter than the one he’d just handed over. He set it on the desk, the
envelope stretched to capacity from all the cash.
I took a peek inside, seeing all hundred-euro bills crammed inside. It was the
biggest paycheck I’d ever received because Grave paid far above the usual
premium to have me. Instead of being elated like everyone was on payday, I
almost didn’t want to touch it…like it was tainted.
“It’s all there.”
I raised my head to look at him, forgetting he was there. “I’m sure it is.” I
tucked it inside my purse.
“Kyle is very eager to get started.”
“Who’s Kyle?” I asked, still thinking about the money in my purse. It felt
like blood money, money I shouldn’t keep.
“Your next client. He’s in the bar, actually.”
“Oh…”
He ignored his laptop and paperwork and furrowed his eyebrows as he
looked at me. “Everything alright, Elise? Has Grave done something?”
“No, he hasn’t done anything,” I said immediately. “He’s been great…” I
looked at the money again.
“Well, you seem a bit off.”
Yeah, I feel off. “I have a stomachache. Must have been whatever I ate for
lunch.”
That got him to back off. “Then I’ll see you next week.”
“Yeah…next week.” I left the office and headed back to the bar. I booked it
across the floor, trying to get out of there before Kyle noticed me. But I’d
only made it halfway to the door when I heard someone say my name.
“Elise.”
I stopped and slowly turned around, doing my best to put on my poker face.
But once I made eye contact with him, my stomach somersaulted. He was an
ordinary guy with an ordinary appearance. No red flags. But it still felt
wrong.
“Kyle.” He was in a suit, like he was a criminal banker or someone who
fudged the numbers for taxes. He was tall, an Omega watch on his wrist, his
cologne smelling like money. He was just like every other client I had, but
now, I was utterly disgusted. “I’m really looking forward to our time
together. Been waiting eight months for this.”
I didn’t know what to say. I literally froze on the spot.
His eyes flicked back and forth between mine. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah…I just ate something bad for lunch.”
His eyes studied me a bit longer, and that was when I realized he was more
just a guy in a suit. He was intelligent, observant, seeing right through my
excuse without calling me out on it. “Feel better.” That was all he said—and
then he walked away.
TWENTY-SIX
 GRAVE

I left the car and walked through the open double doors into the three-story
mansion positioned on the cliff. It was November now. Down south, it’d
become foggy and cold, the yachts permanently docked until spring.
Hugo let me inside then ushered me to the study.
A roaring fire was in the hearth, and my brother sat behind his desk in a long-
sleeved shirt and sweatpants. His laptop was open in front of him, and he
glanced up to see me enter the room.
“Well, that was a fucking shitshow.” I dropped into the armchair facing his
desk.
He stared at me for a while before he shut his laptop.
“Nice place.” I’d never seen much of it, just the outside. It would be pleasant
to live near the ocean, but I preferred the city life. I’d been spending more
time in my apartment than ever before, because Elise lived just a few miles
away.
He ignored the half-assed compliment. “We need to hit Roan soon. If we
don’t, it’s gonna be your head on a spike.”
I shrugged. “Not too worried about it.”
“No one’s tailing you?”
“Not that I can tell.”
“Then you should get your guard up even higher.”
“It can’t go any higher.”
“What about Elise?”
Just hearing her name out of his mouth made my body go rigid. “What about
her?”
“You don’t think she’s a mole?”
Fucking insult. “No.”
“Because the timing—”
“She’s not a mole.”
Cauldron relaxed back in his chair.
“It may come as a surprise to you, but women want me.”
“Aren’t you paying her?”
My eyes narrowed.
“Just saying…”
“She’s not a mole.” That was the last time I’d say it.
Cauldron let it go. “It’s nice to see you move on.”
It was worded as a compliment, but it still felt like an insult. “I moved on the
moment she made her decision. And I promise, she’ll come to regret that
decision.”
A slight smirk moved on to his lips. “You don’t have a lot of faith in me, do
you?”
“Men don’t change, Cauldron. Especially men like you.”

When I got back to the car, I saw a missed call from Elise, along with a text.
Can I come over tonight?
She was the one working for me, but sometimes it felt otherwise. I’m out of
town until tomorrow.
Oh.
I could feel so much disappointment in that single word.
Where are you?
I didn’t answer those kinds of questions, but I made an exception for her.
Cap-Ferrat.
Well, I’ll see you get back, I guess.
What’s wrong, sweetheart? Living in the criminal underworld had made me
more perceptive and intuitive than the average man. I read between the lines,
because dead space was more indicative than actual words.
Nothing. I’ll see you when you get back.
I wasn’t buying it. I called her.
She waited three rings before she picked up.
Yep, she was definitely upset.
“Hey,” she said in a quiet voice. “What’s in Cap-Ferrat?”
“Cauldron.”
“It’s good that you guys are spending more time together.”
Despite the tension between us, it was nice to sit across from him in his
home, to be an invited guest rather than an assailant. “What’s bothering
you?”
“What makes you think anything is bothering me?”
“A hunch.”
She was quiet.
“Sweetheart.”
There was a long pause. “We just don’t have that much time left…”
Five days, to be exact. “I know.”
“And now there will only be three when you get back.”
“Four,” I corrected. “You can come over tomorrow.”
She was quiet again.
I knew her contracts expired all the time, and I doubted it was always this
hard. I wasn’t excited about it either, but I’d known from the beginning that
this wouldn’t last forever. She was a temporary solution to my wounded
pride, and she did a phenomenal job of making me feel like me again. “I’ll let
you know when I’m home.”
“Alright.”
“Bye, sweetheart.”
“Bye, babe.”

My butler took my suitcase, and I sent a car for Elise. I jumped in the shower
in the meantime, washing off the private plane. By the time I returned to my
bedroom, Elise was already there, making herself at home in my bed. Her
naked shoulder peeked out from under the sheets, and I imagined how the
rest of her body looked underneath.
I was in nothing but a towel, and she glanced down at the material like she
was anxious to see it drop. “I hope you don’t mind that I made myself at
home…” She propped herself on her elbow, the sheet dropping a little
farther. Her eyes shone like sunlight, and her long dark hair fell everywhere.
I fisted the sheets then tugged them down, revealing her pure nakedness in
my bed. Beautiful skin over endless curves and sexy tits. I leaned over her
with my feet still on the floor, and after a long stare, I pressed a kiss to her
soft mouth.
Her eyes immediately closed, and she released a satisfied breath.
Her heat transferred to me, journeyed down my spine, and made everything
hot like a wildfire. I kissed her again, dominating her lips and taking her
breath away. Every time I touched her, every time I went near her, she melted
like a stick of butter. Maybe it was just an act that her premium included, but
no woman could act that enthused and not mean it. I left her lips and traveled
down her throat and collarbone. When I made it to her tits, I kissed those
harder than her mouth.
She was writhing at that point, pushing her tits into my face and fisting my
hair.
I moved down her stomach, and then lowered myself to my knees as I went
farther south.
She gave a loud breath this time, her excitement too great to be contained.
I tugged her hips toward me and landed a kiss against that pretty pussy. It
was just a single kiss, my lips to hers, and that was enough to elicit the
sexiest moan from her mouth. She was the one being paid to get on her knees,
but I didn’t mind eating pussy that tasted so good. I started off slow, letting
her breathe with the movement of my tongue. Then I sealed my entire mouth
over her body and kissed her over and over, swiping my tongue over the spot
she craved most.
Soon, she was tugging on my hair and pushing her body harder into my face.
I scooped her ass and hips into my arms to stabilize her and kept going,
kissing her, rubbing her, making her writhe on my bed, her moans echoing
off the ceiling. I pushed my tongue harder when I felt her on the edge, her
fingers gripping my hair even harder. Her body turned rigid as stone before it
released, her hips grinding against me, her moans turning to shouts.
“Grave…” She said my name like a prayer, full of overwhelming gratitude.
I waited until the tears were on the bed and her nails released my scalp before
I got to my feet with her ass still over the edge. My dick had been hard from
the moment I’d kissed her, and it was so anxious for that wet pussy that it
throbbed in my hand before it slid inside.
She moaned like she’d forgotten how big it was.
One arm pinned behind a knee, and I snatched her by the throat. My fingers
gripped her so tight that she was locked in place, only able to breathe. Her
hands flew to my wrists and held on as I fucked her mercilessly, her body
shaking with my thrusts, her moans muffled by the tightness around her
throat.
I was so hard that it took less than a minute to finish. Her pussy was slick
from my kisses and her arousal, but she was so tight from the climax I’d
given her a minute ago. I fucked her to the finish line, fucked her until I hit
the best high I’d ever felt.

“Are you hungry?” She lay in my arms in front of the grand fireplace, the
flames crackling and popping every few minutes. Heat slowly made its way
over the bed, deepening the fog that masked the windows.
“If you keep feeding me like this, you’re gonna make me fat.”
“Bigger tits and ass…that doesn’t bother me.”
She chuckled in my arms, holding me like I was a soft teddy bear rather than
a mass of steel. “Are you hungry?”
“I’m always hungry.”
“No surprise there. When do you work out?”
“In the mornings.”
“You must be in there for hours.”
“An hour of cardio. Then an hour of lifting.”
“Every day?” she asked incredulously.
“Six days a week.”
“Are you trying to get on a calendar or something?”
“You can’t always rely on a gun or a knife.”
She must have felt the implications of my words, because she went silent.
I reached for my phone on the nightstand and texted my butler. “Dinner
should be here soon.”
“That’s so nice. Room service in your own home.”
We turned quiet, her body small when it was cocooned against mine.
“How was Cauldron?” she asked.
“Fine.”
“That’s a long trip for a conversation.”
“I have my own plane.”
“Of course you do.”
“I told you that we were talking about killing people at that dinner.”
“Yes.”
“We resumed that conversation.”
“That sounds fun…”
Minutes later, a knock sounded on the door.
“That was fast.”
I left the bed and opened the door buck naked.
My butler gave no reaction as he handed over the tray and walked away.
I kicked the door shut and carried our dinner to the dining table.
“Guess he’s already seen you naked?” she teased.
“More times than he wishes.” I set everything down and took a seat.
This time, she helped herself to my drawer without asking, picking out a gray
shirt I used to work out, and took the seat across from me. Her makeup was
smeared from fucking and resting, but there was something sexy about it. Her
lipstick had rubbed off on my dick, and her eye makeup had smeared across
her cheeks from all the tears. I preferred her this way, thoroughly fucked.
We ate in silence, our eyes sometimes on our food and sometimes on each
other.
Her mood suddenly dropped. I could see it on her face, see it in the way her
body slouched. She hardly looked at me.
“What is it?”
Her eyes immediately lifted to my face, a bit alarmed, like she’d been lost in
her thoughts.
“Something’s bothering you.”
“How do you do that…?”
I shrugged. “Years of practice. Learning people’s tells is essential to staying
alive.”
“I thought you used to be married or something…”
I drank from the wineglass.
“Have you ever been married?” she asked when I didn’t respond.
“No.”
“Girlfriend or anything?”
We'd broached a subject I wanted to ignore, but she shared her life with me
and I should do the same. “I had a relationship for three years.”
“Oh…” She set down her fork and looked at me, like she couldn’t believe
that fact. “I didn’t realize that. Why did it end?”
I didn’t want to talk about her. Didn’t want to think about her. “What’s
bothering you?”
She took a moment to digest the question before she allowed me to change
the subject. “I’m sad this is going to end soon.”
“Do you say that to all your clients?”
She went rigid on the spot, her eyes hardening into savageness.
I’d clearly said the wrong thing.
“No,” she said. “I’ve never said that to anyone.”

The days passed quickly.

She had her nanny stay with the kids every night so she could be with me,
and while we never addressed our upcoming end, it was the topic of every
stretch of silence. Her mood sank deeper and deeper, and despite her best
effort at keeping the conversation light, there was always doom in her eyes.
I took her out to dinner the last night, a fancy place with reservations a year
out, but I could walk in whenever the fuck I wanted because I owned the
place. I didn’t tell her that, and she didn’t raise any eyebrows when we
walked inside without even giving a name. She’d quickly become
accustomed to my life, the ease of it all.
We finished our dinner and enjoyed our wine, exchanging long looks across
the table. “Why did it end?”
It took me nearly a minute to deduce her meaning. Camille. “She left me.”
Her eyebrows jumped up her face in utter astonishment. There were no
follow-up questions.
I hoped that was the end of it.
“Wow, what a stupid girl.”
Our relationship would end in the morning, so I didn’t bother sharing the
story, sharing the parts of me I wasn’t proud of.
“Looks like we have something in common.” She drank from her glass. “Did
you refuse to marry her?”
“No.”
“Did you refuse to have kids with her?”
“No.”
“Then what the fuck did this girl want?”
It was hard not to smile, to find the situation ironic. “Not me.”
Her eyes started to fall, like she pitied me.
“Don’t do that.”
“What?”
“Feel bad for me. I’m over it.”
She continued to study me. “I know what it’s like to watch someone you love
just walk away. It gets better…but the scar will always be there.”
I turned my attention to the other people eating in the restaurant, wanting this
conversation to die and never return from the dead.
“Are you sad this is over?”
My eyes shifted back to hers.
Her eyes were glued to mine, desperate for the reaction she wanted.
“I knew our time was limited.”
“That didn’t answer my question.”
“I’m not happy about it, but I’ve been prepared since the beginning.” I
enjoyed our time together, but I never got attached. She was just on loan, a
temporary solution to a much bigger problem. When I thought about her
fucking a new client, it soured my mood, but I didn’t let it anger me. “It is
what it is.”

I ordered the car around to take her home, and I walked her out to the
sidewalk to say goodbye. It was a cold evening, a cloudless night that let the
chill deepen even more. My breath escaped as vapor, and I watched the same
release from her nostrils.
She stared at the car for a moment, as if the last thing she wanted to do was
get inside and drive away. She turned back to me, sadness heavy in her eyes,
her emotions visible on her sleeve.
My arms circled her to protect her from the cold. “I’m always here if you
need anything.”
She swallowed before she gave a nod. “You’re a good man, Grave.”
She didn’t know me at all. “Goodbye, sweetheart.”
Her hands held on to my arms, and she looked at me like she didn’t want to
go. She rose on her tiptoes and kissed me. It was brief and cold, all our
passion long gone in our memories. Then she walked away without looking
at me again. She didn’t say goodbye.
TWENTY-SEVEN
 ELISE

I’d never wanted to do anything less in my life.

But I had kids to feed. Private school to pay for. A nanny on my payroll. I
didn’t have the luxury of quitting. I didn’t have the luxury of choosing my
clients. I forced myself back to the Underground bar because I had no other
choice.
The second I walked inside, I felt his stare.
White-hot and possessive. It came from all the way across the room, but the
heat was unmistakable. When I turned to look, I found him sitting in the
corner with a drink in hand, in a three-piece suit, a victorious smirk on his
lips.
Fuck, can I do this?
I headed to the back and found Jerome in his office. I dropped down into the
chair, feeling sick to my stomach.
He fished out the money from the safe and dropped it on the edge of his desk.
My last paycheck from Grave.
I let it sit there because it felt wrong to take it.
“Kyle has already paid in full. He’s eager to get started.”
“Yeah, I saw him.”
“His term is three months.”
“Three months?” I asked incredulously. I had to screw that asshole for three
fucking months?
He turned in his chair to look at me. “Elise, what’s up? You’ve had terms
longer than that.”
“I know, but…”
“But what?”
I stared at the money on the table, a wad of cash stuffed in an envelope which
had already started to tear at the corners. It was impossible not to see Grave’s
face, not to feel his hand on my wrist, not to feel those lips on my mouth. To
go out there and let Kyle touch me…nothing ever felt so wrong. “I can’t do
this, Jerome.”
He cocked his head slightly. “What are you talking about?”
“Give Kyle his money back. The deal’s off.”
His eyes practically popped out of his head. “What the fuck are you saying
right now?”
“I’m saying that I’m not screwing Kyle, so give him back his money.”
“Are you insane? I can’t do that.”
“Then you’re gonna screw him for three months.”
He slammed his hand down. “What the fuck has gotten into you, Elise?”
Grave. He got me deep.
“Elise, you have bills to pay.”
“I know…”
“And this isn’t a guy you say no to. I have a waiting list two years out for
you.”
“I know…”
“We can’t just stop. I figured you’d understand this better than anyone
because you actually spend time with these guys. You can’t just say no. If I
go out there and tell Kyle this, we’re both gonna end up in an oil drum.”
“I thought you were supposed to protect me?”
“This is different, Elise. We’re the ones breaking the contract, okay? We’re
the ones not keeping our word.”
“He can find someone else—”
“He’s been waiting eight months. He doesn’t want anyone else.”
Fuck.
Jerome stared at me, his eyes frantic. “You’re doing this.”
“I can’t…”
“You’re fucking doing this.”
“No!” I stormed off down the hallway and pulled my phone out of my purse.
Jerome went after me. “What are you doing?”
I called Grave and listened to it ring. We’d said goodbye last night, and I
hadn’t gotten more than a few hours of sleep because of it. I felt so shitty.
He answered, his voice slightly surprised. “Elise?” It wasn’t sweetheart
anymore.
“I need help. Could you come to the bar?”
He didn’t ask any questions. He didn’t panic. With a voice as calm and
smooth as scotch, he said, “I’ll be right there.”

When Grave spotted me in the hallway, he looked me over with his dark
eyes, checking for bruises or mistreatment. When he found none, he
immediately rounded on Jerome, assuming he was the reason for the distress
call. He was in black jeans and a long-sleeved tee, cords visible up his neck.
I grabbed on to his forearm and pulled him close to me.
“You want me to kill him?” His eyes were still on Jerome.
Jerome booked it out of there so fast.
“No.”
He finally looked at me, his eyes angry because he’d expected to rip someone
apart.
“Look…I can’t do it.”
Now his eyes narrowed.
“I can’t screw this guy… I can’t screw anyone.”
Once he finally understood the direction of the conversation, he stopped
looking so angry.
“You’re the one I want.”
He continued to stare at me, empty of words.
“I wanted to ask…if you could be my client again. A long-term client. I hate
to ask for money, but I need to provide for my family, and Jerome needs his
cut. I just…can’t be with someone else—”
“Yes.”
The words died in my mouth when I heard his answer. “Really?”
He dipped his head like he might kiss me, but he didn’t. “Really.”
The flood of relief was indescribable. I wanted to hold on to it as long as
possible, but I had a big problem on my hands. “I don’t know what to do
about Kyle…or the other guys on the list. Jerome says—”
“I’ll take care of Kyle.”
“Jerome says he’s dangerous—”
“And I’m more dangerous.”
“I just don’t want anything to happen to you because of this—”
His hand cupped my face, and he kissed me. Kissed me good. Kissed me the
way I loved. “I said I’ll take care of it.”
TWENTY-EIGHT
 GRAVE

I didn’t know Kyle personally. But I knew who he was.

He worked with the Skull Kings to get automatic weapons into Northern and
Eastern Europe. It was a job he inherited from his father, shot and killed on
the job. He and I had that in common, except my father was smart enough to
stay alive and enjoy retirement. It was against protocol to enter the bar with
weapons, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he was carrying anyway. If I could
get him to pull his gun on me, he would be banned from the bar permanently,
and that might fix my problems altogether.
I crossed the room and found him sitting at a table alone in the corner,
wearing a three-piece suit like he was some kind of bank teller. I hardly ever
wore suits, and it wasn’t because I didn’t mean business. I could accomplish
that buck naked if I wanted to.
I helped myself to a seat across from him.
He was typing on his phone a second ago, and once he realized I was there,
he studied me for a few seconds before he slipped the phone into his pocket,
never taking his eyes off me. He assumed I was a threat—and that was the
right assumption to make.
“Listen to me.”
He relaxed in the chair, his eyes focused on mine without blinking.
“Elise is out of the game. That means your contract, and every contract after
you, is void.”
His arms slowly crossed over his chest. “You aren’t Jerome, so why the fuck
are you telling me this?”
“Because I’m not afraid of you.”
His eyes flicked back and forth between mine.
“Elise asked me to be a long-term client, and I’ve agreed. This is what she
wants, and before you give her any grief about it, let’s settle this. Man-to-
man.”
He was quiet for a long time, like he might not say anything. Then he got to
his feet. “This is between her and me. Not you.”
I got to my feet and stepped into his path.
Now everyone in the bar had turned to watch us. We didn’t raise our voices,
but our body language did all the shouting.
His eyes narrowed. “Don’t fuck with me.”
“Same to you.”
Another bout of silence.
“I’ve been on the list for eight months. I’m not waiting another day.”
“I said she’s out of the game. What don’t you understand?”
“Asshole, just because you don’t want to stop fucking her doesn’t change
anything. She made a deal. I’ve paid up. She’s mine.”
“I told you to listen. She asked me to be her client. Not the other way around.
Elise doesn’t want to fuck you for money, or any other guy on the list. It’s
nothing personal. Jerome will give you your money back—”
“I don’t want the money. I want the woman I paid for—”
“And that’s not going to happen!” My voice echoed off all the walls. The
silence that followed it was even deeper than before. “I’ll pay you an
inconvenience fee. Name your price.”
“Get out of my way, or I’ll kill you.”
“Shut your goddamn mouth, or I’ll kill you.”
He cocked his eyebrow. “You know who I am?”
“Do you know who I am?” I snapped. “I can have your organs in three
different people by tomorrow morning. A man can have your heart. A woman
can have your eyes. A child can have your kidney. Then you’ll just be a
leftover carcass.”
His eyes continued to flick back and forth.
“Take the money. Buy another woman.”
“You buy another woman.”
“How many times do I have to say it? She picked me.”
Judging from the look on his face, this wasn’t over. Far from it.
“Twenty million in cash. I’ll have it dropped off at your doorstep in three
hours. That’s my one and only offer. Twenty million for literally doing
nothing.”
“Nothing? That’s the price of my inconvenience—and that’s far too cheap.”
TWENTY-NINE
 CAMILLE

When I walked down the stairs, I halted when I saw the enormous tree that
stretched toward the ceiling. It had to be nearly twenty feet tall. White lights
were wrapped around the branches, and shiny ornaments took up the empty
spaces. Hugo was on an enormous ladder, putting a few more in place.
“A Christmas tree?” I asked in surprise.
Hugo ignored me, like that was the only way he could tolerate me.
I headed downstairs and entered the study. The fog outside clouded the
windows, and the fire in the fireplace lit up the dark room. Cauldron was at
his desk in front of his computer, running his fingers through his hair as he
stared at the screen.
“I didn’t expect you to have the Christmas spirit.”
His eyes immediately flicked up to me. I could tell when he liked the way I
looked or what I wore because of the way his eyes focused on me. They did
that now, like they appreciated the maroon sweater that hung off one shoulder
and showed off my gold necklace. I wore leggings underneath, my feet
barefoot. “Not me. Hugo.”
“Well, that’s sweet you allow him to put up a tree.”
“Allow him?” he asked with a slight chuckle. “I could threaten to fire him,
and he would still do it.”
I sat in one of the armchairs facing him. “Christmas must mean a lot to him,
then.”
“I guess.” He closed the laptop slightly so the top of the screen didn’t
interfere with our conversation. He used to ignore me whenever I came to
visit, but now he stopped whatever he was doing to give me his full attention.
He slept beside me every night. He shared his life with me fully without
complaint. It was nice. “Do you know what you guys are doing about Roan
yet?”
“I haven’t talked to Grave in a few days. Hasn’t returned my calls.”
Both of my eyebrows rose. “And that doesn’t concern you?”
“I called his butler, and he said he’s been in and out. Just busy.”
“Busy doing what?”
He gave a shrug.
“Maybe he’s busy with Elise…”
“Maybe.”
“She’s really pretty.” Way prettier than I was. I was sure she made him forget
I ever existed. “It’s nice to know he’s found someone else.”
Judging by the look in his eyes, Cauldron didn’t agree.
“What?”
“He’s paying her.”
“So? He was paying me.”
“If you have to pay a woman to be with you, then she’s not really with you.
Sometimes men get lost in their egos and forget it’s fake—including Grave.”
I thought I saw more than that, saw the way she looked at him, the way she
found any reason to touch him. I could spot a real from a fake, and I thought I
saw the real thing. But I left it alone, because this topic seemed to sour his
mood. “Can we go out to dinner tonight?”
“Tired of my staff’s cooking?” he asked, smirking slightly.
“No. Just thought it’d be nice to get out of the house…”
“Whatever you want, baby.” He opened the laptop fully again and dropped
his eyes to the screen, dismissing the conversation.

I always let Cauldron choose the restaurants because he knew all the best
places to go. Besides, he could walk into any of them without a reservation
like he owned the place. We ended up at a small place in town, a cozy
restaurant that was open all year-round for the locals. He ordered something
meaty with greens while I got a pasta dish with lots of carbs. I’d packed on
the pounds since living with Cauldron, making my pants tight and my shirts
uncomfortable, but Cauldron didn’t act like he noticed.
He sat there, one arm on the table as he leaned back in his chair, handsome
and mysterious. People always turned their heads to look at him, because he
was just too beautiful to be an average person. If he noticed, he didn’t act like
it. He swirled his wine then took a drink, his eyes looking into mine as he
enjoyed the bottle that cost a thousand euro. “What do you want for
Christmas?”
“Nothing.”
“Come on, baby. Make it easy on me.”
“I’m being honest,” I said. “I already have everything.”
He stilled with his glass in his hand.
“I live with the man I love in a beautiful home…what more could I want?”
He remained completely still, not even breathing.
I didn’t realize what had just tumbled out of my mouth until I saw his
reaction. I’d implied it before, suggested it in the letters he’d read, but never
had I actually said that word in any context. And judging by his reaction, he
wasn’t ready to hear it.
And he didn’t feel the same way either.
I did my best to push past it. “Let’s not do gifts. That’s not what Christmas is
about anyway. Besides, what could I possibly buy for a man who already has
everything? I already have beautiful clothes and diamonds. There’s nothing
you could buy me either.”
He took another drink of his wine before he set the glass down.
I could still feel the awkwardness. It was so palpable, it felt like someone had
cranked on the heater up way too high and now it was difficult to breathe.
Too much humidity in the air.
He subtly raised his hand and got the attention of the waiter to get our check.
To combat the panic I felt, I told myself to give it a couple days. We would
forget this dinner. We would forget what I said. Our lives would go back to
normal, and maybe in time, he would feel comfortable enough to say he felt
the same way.
THIRTY
 CAULDRON

I stepped into the bar, quiet except for a few people in the back.
Grave was already there, sitting on a stool with his hand over the top of his
glass. He looked at me with a blank look in his eyes, like he didn’t care that I
was there.
I took the seat beside him and tapped my fingers on the counter to order my
drink—scotch on the rocks. “You look tired.”
He ignored my statement. “Back in Paris already?”
“We need to lay down our plan with Roan.” And I needed to get out of the
house. Away from her.
“Didn’t realize you were so concerned with my well-being.” He stared at me
as he drank from his glass.
“My sources tell me he’s coming to Paris in two weeks. Has a deal with
Bartholomew.”
He gave a slight nod but didn’t seem that interested.
“Something you aren’t telling me?”
“I’ve got my hands full at the moment.”
“What the fuck did you do?”
He gave a hard chuckle. “Why do you assume I did anything?”
“Because that’s how it works.”
He took a drink before he answered the question. “It’s a long story.”
“Well, it’s only eleven, and the bar is open until two.” I swirled my glass.
“Alright. My contract with Elise ended. She’s got a long waiting list, so I said
goodbye and thought that was the end of it. But when she went back to work,
she refused her next client and asked if I could be her permanent client
instead.”
My expression didn’t change, but I felt the surprise.
“I said yes. But her next client has been on the list for eight months, and he
wasn’t happy. I offered him cash, but that wasn’t good enough. So now I’ve
got another guy who wants to kill me.” He shook his glass. “Good times.”
“Why does Elise want you to be her permanent client?”
He shrugged. “I didn’t ask.”
“She derailed her entire business for you.”
“Seems that way.”
“But you’re still going to pay her.”
“She said she felt bad taking my money, but she needs to support her kids
and get Jerome his cut. Makes no difference to me. She can have the money.”
I stared into my glass, seeing the ice cubes in a pool of amber.
“If he bothers Elise, I’ll have to kill him.”
My mind drifted away, back to Camille in Cap-Ferrat. I told her I had
business to take care of, and when she asked to come along, I told her I
wouldn’t have time to see her. It was an excuse to have space, and I wasn’t
sure if she realized that or not.
“You okay?”
I lifted my eyes to his. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Because you haven’t listened to a word I said.”
“You just said you’ll have to kill him if he bothers Elise.”
“And what about everything after that?”
Guess I wasn’t listening. “Are you sure this is a good idea?”
“What?”
“You think Elise would do this just because she prefers you as a client? It’s
probably more on her part.”
He gave a shrug. “She told me one of her rules is never wanting more. I think
she just prefers me as a client, and she’d rather get paid to fuck someone she
likes than another asshole.” He drank out of his glass until it was empty.
When he set it on the counter, he tapped the wood for another refill. “And I
like her.”
“You do?”
“What’s not to like? She’s beautiful, smart, easy to talk to.”
“You see it going anywhere?”
“No.” He watched the bartender pour another glass. “But it’s perfect for
now.”
THIRTY-ONE
 CAMILLE

Cauldron came home a few days later.

It was depressing being alone in the house, especially during Christmastime,
and I wasn’t sure how he’d done it for so long before I came around. His
home was full of staff, but that wasn’t the same thing at all.
Finally, the double doors opened, and his men brought in his suitcase. I
watched from the top of the stairs as they carried it upstairs, and then another
guy brought his bag with his laptop into the study.
He entered a moment later, in jeans and a hoodie, his jawline a little darker
because he’d skipped the shave over the last few days. Hugo appeared at his
side. “Dinner will be ready momentarily. Is there anything else I can get you
in the meantime?”
“No.” He took the stairs and started up.
Hugo immediately headed into the hallway and didn’t seem remotely
bothered by Cauldron’s coldness.
If I were his butler or maid or whatever, I wouldn’t put up with that shit.
He made it to the top of the stairs and then looked at me, like he hadn’t
anticipated my presence. His eyes shifted back and forth between mine, and
he stared me down.
It was not a warm greeting. There was no kiss. No hug. Nothing. It was as if
he’d forgotten I lived there.
“Everything okay?” I asked, even though I knew nothing was okay.
“Air traffic control delayed my flight. I was stuck on the tarmac for three
hours.” He walked past me and headed to the bedroom.
“Why don’t I believe you?”
He kept walking, acting like he didn’t hear me when I knew full well that he
did.
Shit.

He took a shower then pulled on a pair of sweatpants. His chest was bare, a
drop or two of water still on his skin. His hair was still a little damp even
though he scrubbed it with the towel he tossed on the floor.
I sat on the couch in the living room, waiting for him to acknowledge me.
He moved to the bedside and grabbed his phone off the nightstand. He sat up
in bed, going over emails and texts.
I continued to wait.
He couldn’t ignore me forever, right?
Nope, that seemed to be exactly what he was doing.
“Are we going to talk or what?” I didn’t mean to yell, but it came out as quite
the outburst.
His eyes flicked up from his phone.
We stared at each other.
“Let’s talk in the morning.”
“In the morning?” I asked incredulously. “You expect me to sleep tonight
with this hanging over my head?”
“I’m tired—”
“I don’t give a fuck if you’re tired. You’ve been weird since before you left,
and we’re going to talk about it. So get your ass over here.”
His eyebrows slowly rose up his face.
“You heard me.” I slammed my hand onto the cushion beside me.
After a long stare, he obeyed. He took the seat across from me, leaning
forward with his elbows on his knees. He looked at the coffee table between
us for a while before he lifted his gaze and met my look.
“Can we just forget what I said? It just slipped out.”
His eyes narrowed.
“It’s not like you didn’t already know I felt that way. Literally nothing has
changed.”
“Everything has changed, Camille.”
Camille. Slap in the face. “I don’t expect you to say it back. I don’t expect
anything from you at all. I’m happy with the way things are.” I wanted things
to change someday, but I wasn’t in a hurry right this second. He already
moved me into his bedroom, and that gesture was plenty.
His angry look told me that wasn’t enough. “This isn’t working.”
“What? You want me to go back to my old bedroom?” All the progress we’d
made just gone?
He lowered his head and looked at the table for a while. “This relationship
isn’t working.”
It was like a baseball bat to the heart. “What…?”
After a sigh, he lifted his gaze and looked at me again. “This is why I wanted
to talk in the morning—”
“Because dumping someone in daylight is easier?” I asked incredulously.
“Camille—”
“You got pissed off at me when I thought you were throwing me out for no
reason, and not a month later, that’s exactly what you’re doing.”
“I’m not throwing you out—”
“You’re dumping me because I love you. But you knew I loved you when
you showed off those letters to Grave. Didn’t seem to bother you then,
asshole.”
He gave another sigh.
“This makes no sense, Cauldron. You’re this much of a coward?”
The look he gave me turned sinister. “On the contrary.”
“Really? You’ve been a major asshole since I said those words at dinner.
They’re just words, Cauldron. They scare you that bad?”
Now he raised his voice. “They scare me because the past is becoming the
present, and soon the present will be the future.”
What? “I’m sorry?”
“My mother loved my father, and look where she ended up.”
I still wasn’t following.
“I’ve got a lot of enemies. I’ve got even more because Grave keeps getting
into more shit. The solution is to walk away and end this way of life, but I’m
not willing to do that. I’m not willing to give up my empire for anyone—even
you.”
I was so shocked that I couldn’t form words on my tongue.
“I’m doing what my father should have done—because I’m not a coward.”
“Cauldron, I know the risks—”
“I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to you.”
“Then don’t let anything happen to me. You don’t need the diamond
business. You already have more money than you could ever spend—”
“And do what with my life?” he countered. “I’m too young to sit around and
do nothing.”
“You wouldn’t do nothing. You’d have me. We could have a family—”
“No.”
“Cauldron—”
“I’m not interested in cleaning up shit all day and staying up all night.”
“Having a family is a lot more than that—”
“I said no.” His eyes were like concrete, not letting anything in or out. “If you
stay with me, something’s going to happen. Maybe not tomorrow. Maybe not
this year. But eventually. I’m not willing to stop my criminal enterprise for
you, which means I’m not good enough for you. I can’t give you all the
things you want. We’ve just been playing house up until this point. It was
never going to work, but we lied to ourselves and pretended it would. We
pretended because of this heat between us, but that’s all it is—heat.”
Another slap in the face. “It’s a lot more than that, and you know it.”
“I’m not husband material. I’m not father material. You thought you could
change me, but you can’t.”
“I never wanted to change you, Cauldron. I just loved you…and wanted to be
with you.” I kept my voice steady, but the tears were hot in my throat and my
heart ached in my chest. He’d clearly made up his mind, and nothing I said
would change it.
It was the first time he dropped that menacing look.
“I wanted a man who wanted the same things I do. To fall in love, have a
family, celebrate our fiftieth anniversary…but then I fell in love with you,
and those things didn’t matter anymore. I just wanted to be with you,
however our lives looked, because you became the single most important
thing in the world to me. I would have made any compromise for you, would
have accepted our lives in any condition, because you’re worth it.”
His eyes remained down, as if ashamed of what he said.
“But you’re right. I deserve better. I deserve better than the way you’ve
treated me since the beginning. I forgave you, made excuses for you, because
my love made me blind. But that’s over.” I rose from the chair and walked to
the door. “I’ll leave in the morning, and my final request is you not be here
when I do that.” I stepped into the hallway and shut the door quietly behind
me, and the second I heard the click of the latch, the tears sprang from my
eyes. I held my breath to stay quiet as I moved down the hallway to my old
bedroom, the place where this life began. I got inside and locked the door
behind me, and once my privacy was secured, I let everything out.
I curled up into a ball on my bed and sobbed.

I fell asleep at some point during my cries, and then I woke up to a small
headache. I pulled the duvet on top of me in the night, so the bed was a
complete mess. I lay there for a while, wishing last night were just some
nightmare.
Nope. It was real.
I sat up in bed and stayed there for a long time, unsure where to go, how to
start over. I came here for my freedom, and now that I finally had that, I
could move on…but it didn’t feel exhilarating.
I thought Grave had ruined me, but I realized Cauldron was far worse than
he’d ever been.
Maybe I should have just stayed.
I finally got to my feet and moved to his bedroom door. A part of me hoped
he would be there on the couch, ready to apologize and take it all back. But I
knew once I opened that door, I would be met with disappointment.
I stepped inside—and realized I was right.
He was gone.

The staff helped me load all my things into the back of the Range Rover.
Everything was done in silence, and Hugo didn’t have the nerve to gloat. I
wasn’t sure where Cauldron was, but I suspected he was still in the house, in
one of the guest bedrooms no one ever occupied.
“I’ll drop off the car later.”
“You can keep it.” Hugo handed me an envelope. “He wants you to have this
as well.”
I knew it was stuffed with cash. Cash I didn’t need. “I’ll just take the car.” I
moved around the car to the driver’s seat.
Hugo followed me. “He knew you’d say that, so he insists.” He continued to
hold out the cash.
I stared at the envelope without taking it. “It’s really sad that he thinks I care
about that. That the money is even remotely desirable to me. Unlike every
other woman he meets, I loved him for him, for his flaws, for his bullshit, for
everything. The money is the last thing I cared about.” When I looked at
Hugo again, his entire expression had dropped. “Take care of him, Hugo.”
He dropped the envelope to his side and opened the door for me. “I’m sorry
that it’s ended this way.”
It was the first nice thing he’d ever said to me.
“Despite our differences, I know you cared for him…and he was happy.”
We shared a long look before I got into the car. I pulled around the
roundabout slowly, taking my time as I approached the open gates at the end
of the driveway. Once I left, I would never come back. This would all be just
a memory, a memory that I would never share with anyone. It’d be as if it
never happened—because it was just too hard to talk about.
I pulled onto the road and drove away, the house disappearing in the rearview
mirror.
And then it was over.
I was gone.
How can this be happening? There’s no way it’s really over for them, right?
To find out, keep reading Harder Betrayal.

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