1
Not anymore, the beast inside me roars. You’re no longer employed by Storm Industries. You can do what you want. The temptation to take her, to make her mine, has grown into a savage hunger which won’t be satisfied...Magda Alexander
2
The moment I met her she struck me dumb, deaf, and stupid. At only eighteen, she’d had everything– brains, beauty, class. And she’d known it too. In the eight years since, I’ve watched her toy with one man after another, sometimes for a weekend, sometimes for a couple of months. But the affairs always ended the same. With her handing him his hat and a don’t-slam-the-door-on-your-way-out.Magda Alexander
3
She’s lying on her bed reading. Not a girlie magazine, but a technical journal of some kind going by the cover. She’s bathed and changed into another delectable baby doll, a black one this time, which shows more skin than the one from the night before. So, of course, my cock rises to the occasion. Damn.Magda Alexander
4
I’m only doing my job.” That’s what I am. His job. He’d stopped my floor shows at the cantina. Not only that, the break-ins had ceased. At least until now. While the staff barely gave me the time of day, they were practically ready to canonize him. “They see you as the one in charge now.Magda Alexander
5
I’m so exhausted with worry, I go to bed early that day. But hours later, I’m still awake. I can’t seem to fall asleep. Not without him by my side. When did I become so addicted to Jake? Why do I crave his company? Since forever, my conscience responds. After my father’s death, I went off the deep end because he was not there. I sought the BDSM lifestyle, not because I yearned for it, but because I wanted the pain. If Jake had been there, somehow I could have muddled through the aftermath of my father’s funeral without looking for someone to tie me up and administer punishment. I wanted to be beaten as an outlet for my agony. Not that it made any difference. Even after I flew to Brazil, the pain was still there. It still is. And I know why. Because he’s not by my side. As much as I want him to be here with me, he never signed on to babysit me for life.Magda Alexander
6
The thought I may never see her again streaks through me. The time’s all wrong. We only have twenty minutes before we head out. But right now, I don’t give a damn. I grab her and push her against the door. No time to do anything except in the most primal of ways. I kiss her hard...Magda Alexander
7
She breathes a soft sigh, and in the tried and true ways of time immemorial, she welcomes me home.Magda Alexander
8
Come back to me, to my bed. Where we can make love. Every single night. For as long as we both shall live. That’s the vow you made. Remember? Well, it’s time to prove you meant it. Come back and stay. Forever. That’s my offer. Take it or leave it.Magda Alexander
9
He pulls me into the steel of his chest. In between kissing me, he whispers, “You don’t have to be jealous of them, you know. None of them hold a candle to you.Magda Alexander
10
I miss breathing in your scent, the feel of your body next to mine. I miss you, Elizabeth, so much I hurt with it sometimes. So forgive me if I can’t be happy about this venture of yours at Payne Industries.Magda Alexander
11
I never wanted to be you. I saw what the weight of being the heir did to you. And I’m not talking about what our mother did to you. I’m talking about the mantle of responsibility thrust upon you. Hell at fourteen you practically ran the castle. God knows our father never did. And all Mother wanted to do was throw one grand party after another.” /“Well, somebody had to take responsibility. The place was falling apart.”.Magda Alexander
12
I’ve always had an ear for music so one day I sat at the piano and picked out some notes. I tried to improve, but without formal instruction, there was only so much I could learn. When I went off to school, I demanded my studies include piano lessons. By the time I was ten, I could play Mozart concertos.Magda Alexander
13
I shiver at the command. Why do I love the way he orders me around when I won’t stand the same from another man?Magda Alexander
14
An image pops into my head of Gabriel Storm in my bed, his golden skin sheened with sweat while I ride him to paradise. Oh. My. God. Where did that come from? I’ve sworn to stay away from men.Magda Alexander
15
His power, his intense masculinity, hit me like a semi, sucking the air out of my lungs. He doesn't help matters when he steps closer, forcing me to look up at him. My five seven is no match against his six three.Magda Alexander
16
His rough-pad fingers travel down my throat, across my collarbone, down the swell of my chest, a simple caress which has me quaking inside. My flesh aches for him, burns for his touch.Magda Alexander
17
His lips follow a trail from my mouth to my jaw, down to my throat. As he nuzzles, he suckles, nips my skin before circling back to my mouth to taste me, ravage me, own me.Magda Alexander
18
THREE MONTHS HAVE GONE BY without the taste of Gabriel Storm in my mouth, the scent of his skin in my nostrils, the rush of his powerful body pounding into mine.Magda Alexander
19
A zing travels up my arm from the contact. My nostrils flare, and I catch a whiff of her female scent. She may not wear perfume, but there’s a bewitching essence to her that ensnares my senses.Magda Alexander
20
Mr. Tall, blond and delicious?” She’s a huge fan of Gabriel’s. Maybe it’s because he kissed her hand, or because he showed her nothing but courtesy during that weekend in the castle. Or maybe, just maybe, it’s because she knows I’m in love with him.Magda Alexander
21
As I unbutton him, I kiss his skin– warm, fragrant, smelling of soap, his expensive cologne and him. Done, I slip him out of the garment and lay over his heart which thuds heavy and deep beneath my breast. Except for my gossamer-thin robe, we're almost skin to skin.Magda Alexander
22
Pride? What are you talking about?” “You wear your independence like a badge of honor. Bound and determined to allow no man to take care of you.Magda Alexander