Victoria herself.
There was no line he wouldn’t cross to achieve his aims.
And he proved it by abandoning his home, his ambitions, and the life he knew to go after her.
Victoria stared at her reflection as the handmaidens adjusted her robes for the ceremony ahead. Her eyes were red-rimmed, bloodshot, bruised from lack of sleep and too much crying.
She’d forgotten who Max was, seeing him only through smitten eyes, failing to remember that he was a Hunter and next in line to ascend to the Council. He’d spent centuries working toward his goal, and two weeks working on her-one of many assignments in his past, with more to come in his future. He would forget her in time.
The thought made her heart hurt, the pain so piercing she panted with it.
Waving her attendants away, Victoria caught the edge of the vanity and gulped down desperate breaths. She’d been out of the loop so long, she had no idea who Gabriel was, but the handmaidens raved about her luck. Yes, she would pine for the man who’d taken over her body and filled it with mind-numbing pleasure, but perhaps, in a decade or two, she could come to tolerate Gabriel’s touch…
“You’ll never know, kitten,” rumbled a deep, familiar voice behind her.
Her gaze lifted and met stormy gray.
“Max,” she breathed, her palms growing damp at the sight of him. Bare-chested, barefooted, wearing only trousers that hung low around his lean hips. His shoulders so broad, his golden skin stretched over beautifully defined muscles. A predator.
Her mouth dried, her breasts swelled with desire, as if he hadn’t just fucked her into exhaustion mere hours ago.
He came toward her with his sultry, long-legged stride. She was held motionless by his stare, forgetting to breathe until her lungs burned, then she gasped and cried out as his hand cupped the back of her head. His strong fingers pinched strands of her hair and tugged roughly, bending her to his will. She stared up at him in a haze of fear and desire, the flush of anger on his face enough to frighten her. And arouse her.
“I’m keeping you,” he rasped, just before he took her parted lips with possessive hunger.
Having thought him lost to her, she melted in his arms. He anchored her, even as he brought her to heel. His breathing labored, he turned his head, his cheek rubbing against hers, absorbing her tears.
“The Council will punish you,” she cried, her voice breaking. “I-I can’t bear to lose you.”
“But you were about to.” He licked deep into her mouth, making her moan and open to him, silently begging for more. He obliged her, groaning, his tongue stroking along hers with so much skill it left her breathless. One arm supported her back, the other hand cupped her breast and kneaded it with the aggressive pressure she’d come to relish and crave.
“Let me be the instrument of your revenge,” he whispered darkly, his lips moving against hers.
A gift. For her.
Victoria swallowed hard, stunned by his statement and the ramifications of it. “Max.”
He held her gaze. “You have your business interests to occupy your daylight hours, but your private hours are mine. You will serve, obey, and please me. You will never question an order or deny me anything. I’ll do things to your body that will test your limits. Sometimes, you’ll want to tell me ‘no,’ but you’ll do what I want regardless. That is your commitment to me.”
He hugged her tightly to him, burying his face in the tender space between her neck and shoulder. His voice lowered and came gruffly, “My commitment is to care for you, and provide for you in every way. If you need your revenge to be free of the past, I will deliver the means to you. You are my greatest treasure, Victoria. I will always value and treat you as such.”
Her arms came around him, her lashes wet and vision blurry. “I want the Triumvirate.”
To give her this, he would have to skirt the very Council he’d aspired to for so long. There was more to that long ago night than she knew, and the danger was mortal.
Max nodded his understanding and agreement without hesitation, but the tic in his jaw betrayed him. “Will you love me like you loved him? Can you?”
She released a deep breath in an audible rush. Her heart reached out to him, revealing the many facets of her affection and adoration, the feelings she had for Max so different from what she’d felt for Darius, but just as powerful, and growing every day. She was beginning to see how much of herself she’d kept away from Darius, and how much of herself she’d already shared with Max-the man who’d shown her how to embrace her nature and revel in it. Safe in his embrace.
“Yes, Max,” she promised. “So much.”
His power swelled in response to her passion, flowing into her, and she enhanced it. The soul-deep thrumming that coursed through them was almost overwhelming. They would have to train, relearn everything they knew, find a way to control it. Together.
I can’t wait to get started. Max’s confident voice in her mind gave her courage.
The task ahead wouldn’t be easy…
You don’t like things easy, kitten.
Victoria offered her mouth to him and he took it, his chest rumbling with laughter as her lips curved against his in a catlike smile.
SYLVIA DAY is the multi-published author of erotic romantic fiction set in most sub-genres. A wife and mother of two, she is a former Russian linguist for the U.S. Army Military Intelligence. Her award-winning books have been called “wonderful and passionate” by WNBC.com and “Shining Stars” by Booklist. They also regularly appear on bestseller lists, such as Bookscan and Barnes & Noble. Please visit her at www.SylviaDay.com.
Quick Silver by Vivi Anna
One
As the communicator buzzed in her ear, Sangria Silver pulled her Hummer off Ventura Boulevard and onto the shoulder, knowing the significance of the call. Only important, influential clients had her private number.
After adjusting the miniature microphone attached to her ear down toward her mouth, she pushed the red connect button on the dashboard. “Yes.”
“I have a package for delivery.” The feminine voice was commanding and cold. Sangria noted that the caller was certainly no underling but most likely the main contact herself. This was indeed an important call.
She was used to dealing with intermediaries when it came to pickup and delivery. Usually the cargo that she transported around the country was illegal in some manner. She didn’t know that for sure, and she didn’t ask. Her discretion was the reason she was the number one Conveyor in the New States of America.
“Size?” she asked.
“A metal case. Six feet by three feet by four.”
Sangria sketched out the measurements on a pad of paper she had lying on the passenger seat. She had to make sure it would fit into the false bottom in the back of her Hummer. “Weight?”
“About two hundred and fifty pounds.”
She scribbled that down. “Explosive or toxic?”
“Neither.”
Sangria breathed a sigh of relief. She hated those jobs and was planning to avoid taking on any more. About a year ago, she transported a toxic case that was supposedly airtight and safe. When she arrived at the designated address, she was whisked inside a large warehouse by two men in white suits and facemasks and put into a detox station.