Page 44 of His Wild Seduction

“Was she your girlfriend?” I asked, needing to know.

“No. She was just a friend.”

“Was he a friend too?” I asked, biting my lower lip.

“I thought so. But it turned out I didn’t really like Diggs. I sure as fuck didn’t cater to his misogynistic attitude.”

“What did you do?”

“I followed him. And I killed him,” he said, letting that sit between us.

“I’m not a good man. I see the way you look at me, and you have to stop, Meredith. You’re too young. Too innocent. And you should know what kind of man I am. I’m a killer. I’m not for you,” he said.

But he was wrong. He was the only one for me. I felt the truth down to my marrow.

I belonged to Josef Aziz, and he belonged to me.

“I know what kind of man you are, Josef. And believe me, you’re good.”

“I tell you I murdered someone, and you call me good?” he scoffed.

“No. You told me a story of a woman who’d been killed. And you avenged her.”

“She killed herself.”

“No, that’s just what other people say. My mother committed suicide, but it was my father’s callous treatment that drove her to it. I don’t know why he acted that way, but he was cruel and terrible to her,” I told him.

“That sergeant killed your friend when he raped her. And I know it doesn’t have to end that way for everyone, but it was the end for that soldier. Just like it was for my mother. You avenged her. You’re a hero. So don’t tell me you aren’t a good man.”

“I’m sorry about your mother,” he whispered.

“Me too,” I said, and then I stepped over the invisible line he’d drawn between us.

I hugged him.

Right there, in the middle of the Morristown Green, I wrapped my arms around him, and I held on tight.

From that moment on, my heart belonged to Josef Aziz.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

JOSEF

Aweek after our Las Vegas wedding.

Volkov Towers stood tall and ominous against the graying skies.

We were expecting another fucking thunderstorm.

Nothing unusual for New York City in the Spring. But it was so damn tedious.

Summer was just around the corner, and any day now, there would be nothing but blue skies and sweltering heat.

I usually hated the summer. But I was looking forward to it now.

Maybe I hated it because it used to remind me of her. Of what I lost. But she was here now. With me.

My wife.

---