LA

the collar of my trench coat tighter, trying to shield myself from the biting wind as I stepped into a 24-hour pharmacy th

. No hesitation. I knew exactly what I was looking for. My hand closed around the s

n't want a paper trail. As I walked out into the gray light of the city, my fingers ins

ried to trick my Rogue instincts into submission. I swallowed the bitter pill with a gulp of lukewarm b

ng. I barely had time to drop my purse at my desk before the mahogany doors of the

oal suit. "You're late," he said, his voice dangerous

of the room. I scrambled to my feet, my heart hammering

ical weight, an oppressive force. My sudden movement caused my trench coat to fall open, and the collar of my blouse

se with an unnerving, hypnotic intensity. I saw his pupils dilate, a primal, predatory darkness swirling in

ed the edge of the mark. Then, his eyes dropped, and hi

I'd forgotten to toss in my haste. His eyes scanned the small slip

entence. He looked at me, his jaw clenching so hard I tho

ing with a volatile mix of fear and defiance. "You boug

my clumsy, desperate resistance, the single tear that had escaped when he first pushed inside me, and the dark stain of blood he'd seen on the

torn, sounding more like a wounded animal than a ki

p out of my chest. "Does knowing I was the first make your ego feel

e glass vase on my desk shattered into a thousand glittering shards from the sheer pressure of

are marked, Cilla. In the blood, in the soul. You

the suffocating tension. The loud, angry cl

n a meeting!" a shrill,

ess that screamed for attention, her face a mask of practiced arrogance. She froze, her eyes taking in

she spat at me, the word a slur. "What is a worthles