Page 45 of The Wages of Sin

And who was to say it would be just one woman? A man as hot as Dorian could easily have a whole harem.

Images of him out there in the city, holding someone else, kissing her, making her cry out in passion, filled my head…until I walked into the darkened living room and spotted his unmistakable silhouette sitting in one of the chairs.

Instantly, I breathed a sigh of relief.

“Hey,” I said gently. “I got worried when I woke up, and you weren’t in bed. Is everything okay?”

“Everything’s fine.” His words might have been reassuring, but his dark tone was anything but. “You can go back to bed. I’ll join you soon.”

I hesitated. “Why don’t you come with me now?”

“I need to finish my drink first.” He jiggled his hand just enough for the ice to clink against the sides of the cut crystal tumbler.

“Then I’ll stay up with you until you’re finished,” I said, setting myself down on the sofa next to him, legs bent and feet curled up by my side.

“If that’s what you want.” He raised the glass and sipped the contents. The low light made it impossible to identify what he was drinking, but the rich, earthy scent made me guess bourbon or scotch.

He was quiet after that, not saying a word as his gaze focused on some faraway point out the window. We sat in silence like that for a while…long enough for my eyes to adjust the rest of the way to the darkness and see that, at some point, he’d put on clothes.

And not a pair of comfy old sweatpants but a full suit—black and sleek and perfectly tailored.

The knots in my stomach were back in a heartbeat.

“Did…Did you go out?” I asked.

He nodded before taking another sip. “It can’t be helped sometimes, but you’ll always be perfectly safe in my apartment.”

Maybe…but for the first time in a long while, personal safety wasn’t my biggest concern.

“Where did you go?”

I knew my heart was in trouble when he didn’t answer right away.

“Careful, Kiera,” he said. “There are some questions I’m not sure you want to know the answer to.”

That was definitely true, but I couldn’t seem to stop myself. “Is there another woman?”

He snapped his head away from the window, his eyes locking instantly with mine. Even in the darkness, I could see the cold blue fire burning deep within them.

“Absolutely not.” His tone was as direct as I’d ever heard it. “And as long as I’m by your side, there never will be.”

I didn’t know how to respond. My heart loved the sound of his words, but my rational brain was skeptical.

“How can you be so sure?” I asked. “We barely know each other.”

His voice dropped down low. “After today, I know every inch of you.”

Suddenly, I was glad I’d resisted the urge to turn on a light when I entered the room. Now, the darkness helped to cover the blush that was starting to burn my cheeks.

But as suggestive as his words were, they weren’t the whole truth.

“There’s more to me than just my body.”

“Are you afraid I don’t know that?” he asked. When I hesitated to answer, he shifted in the chair, turning to face me head-on. “Then let me reassure you. I may not have discovered every detail of your life yet, Kiera, but I know you—the parts that matter, at least.”

“What parts are those?”

“Your bravery, your compassion, your heart—you’re a survivor.”

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