Page 72 of Ruthless Vow

And he’s right there with me, his cock buried all the way inside me, his fingers biting into my ass cheeks as he groans his release, his body shuddering against me.

I don’t know how long we stay like that. After a time, he pulls out of me, takes off the condom, cleans me and then himself with a handkerchief he takes from his pocket.

Then he hooks his index finger under my chin and tips my head so I’m looking at him. His expression is intense, his eyes obsidian fire.

“I need you,” he says.

I shake my head, uncomprehending. “You just had me.”

He only stares at me a little longer and then places a gentle kiss on my lips before leading me from the room.

A quick tripto the ladies room reveals that other than smeared lipstick, there’s no obvious evidence that I just had incredible sex in the storage room. I fix my lipstick, fluff my hair, check the back and front of my gown for wrinkles or stains. Good to go.

I head to the bar. As the bartender pushes my drink across the bar top, a white-gloved server approaches me.

“Ms. Milano?”

“Yes.”

“I was asked to deliver this note to you.” He hands me a small white envelope with my name written on the front.

“By whom?” I ask.

“One of the other servers,” he says.

“Okay, thank you.”

I turn from the bar and take a sip of my drink, searching the area for Leo, but I can’t locate him.

I slip the note out of the envelope and casually scan the message.

But there’s nothing casual written on the ivory card.

Meet me at your father’s grave. Come alone. Tell no one or your sister will pay the ultimate price for your betrayal.

No signature.None needed.

The tone, the message, the handwriting.

Bianca.

Heart racing, I shove the note into my clutch, and scan the party again for Leo.

My aunt sent me into the desert with Danila to die. To be murdered and buried in the sand. I have every certainty that she will show no hesitation, that shewillkill Sofia if I don’t obey her.

My pulse races. Anxiety gnaws at me.

There’s no time to think it through, to make a plan, to play it safe.

My safety doesn’t matter.

Tonight, one way or the other, this ends. I will not cower, I will not hide—not behind my oversized dresses and slumped shoulders, not in Leo’s gated compound, not protected by a flank of bodyguards. If Bianca is threatening Sofia, that means my sister is still alive.

And where there’s life, there’s still hope.

I arriveat the cemetery a half an hour later. It’s dark, but the air is warm and dry. There are a few lights along the pathways to help lead my way. The ground is soft, and my high heels sink in with every step I take. I won’t lie—I’m frightened, but I press on.

I pause about fifty feet from my father’s grave, scanning my surroundings. I don’t see anyone. Not Bianca. Not her bodyguards.

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