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CHAPTER ONE

The weapon was gripped tightly inbyforward, I took another step down the dark hall Ornate fras of rich tones and vivid scenes that ca slid silently under h the house unnoticed There wasn’t a person in sight The house had a creepy quietness that seee There should have been a housekeeperabout the property The kitchen should have been filled with the clatter of cooking, and the scent of coffee But there was nothing

Only silence

This was the house I was certain The ornate banister was the sas lined the support beams of the second floor with leaves and ornate swirls—just like before The dark wood gleamed just as it had the last time I was here There wasn’t a speck of dust anywhere, despite the fact that the home appeared abandoned But I kneasn’t I knew he’d come back here There were very few places to hide

Finding the house again wasn’t an issue, but getting there was anotherthe venoht she fell—was horror beyond words My grip onabout it I couldn’t find Eric fast enough Revenge lined the thoughts of et here He could be anywhere by now, but I suspected he was here Old habits die hard and this place was a little too clean for an abandoned mansion

Anger burned deep within reasy skillet It surged into every last inch of ht I wanted to kill Eric for what he did I pushed the thoughts down, and took a steadying breath If I failed to control my emotions, then my hair would turn into a purple torch That would be counterproductive, since I didn’t want hiainst the floor I took another step

In front of me—at the end of the hall—were several doors They stood in the darkness, large and ih the thick wood The farin stretch across h the darkness His words weren’t clear, but that didn’t matter I wasn’t here to chat And I didn’t care who he was talking to

Only one thought lingered in rip onsilver inmy wrist, I examined the blades They curved like the claws of a ht like the sickle of a reaper And in a matter of moments they would sink into Eric’s flesh He would fall to the floor and the blood that he used against me—the blood that I still yearned for—would drain from his body A perverse sense of satisfaction flared within hter on my lips

My eyes shifted back to the door Light spilled under the dark slab of wood, for olden knob The htly as the knob twisted in my hand The tiny sound ht inhard, I held the twisted knob in my sweaty hand, afraid to allow it to twist back Eric kept talking on the other side of the door If he noticed the sound, he had chosen to ignore it Forcingheart to steady, I placed ently pushed the door open a little bit—so I could see as happening If he saw me, I’d have to attack The ele with someone, and I couldn’t throwwho it was As the door cracked opened, I could barely breathe I held it steady, still refusing to release the knob

My eyes rier pressed to flow into the rest ofthe foa with a pat on the head Pain twisted inside ether

That’s when I saw him

CHAPTER TWO

Eric was standing with his back to me His arms were folded confidently across his chest A dark shirt clung to his torso Jeans hugged his narrow hips Golden brown hair was tousled and gleaht A ht When I saw hi my body My heart throbbed in ers to twitch I wanted to undress hi his skin beneath h me My lips parted, and a shallow breath rushed out My eyes slipped over his entire body in a gaze that would havethe lust that hazed hts