Page 147 of His Christmas Temptation

Since Evan Frost had blazed onto the scene, he’d completely shaken her world. He’d cracked the protective shell around her heart, leaving her vulnerable not just to him, but for him.

Standing to wrap her arms protectively around herself, she wondered how she’d survive the emotional upheaval he’d brought into her life.

Mere moments later, her cell phone chimed. Crossing the room slowly, she opened her purse to grab the device.

Don’t masturbate.

Holding her breath, she waited, expecting more. But no other messages arrived. The behavior was typical Frost—ensuring she would think of him, and only him, for the rest of the night. Agreeing to be his pretend wife was the most reckless decision she’d ever made.

And if she wanted to save herself, she needed to take an immediate, emotional step back.

As if that was possible.

Sometime between surrendering at the club and playing with him at his house, she’d fallen for him. The damnable, relentless Dominant had chipped away at her resistance.

And now, her rear still tender, worn out from their time together, she went to bed and immediately drifted off to sleep.

A short time later, a dizzying nightmare awakened her. She’d been falling through a long, dark void, screaming for help. Hundreds of people watched her plunge past while she frantically reached out her hand for help.

Drenched in sweat, heart pounding, she got up long enough to change into a pair of shorts and a tank top.

Even after she climbed beneath the blankets again, she tossed and turned, unable to vanquish the horrific images from her mind.

Sometime after midnight, in total frustration, she gave up the struggle, threw back the covers, and headed for the living room to watch television. With a sigh, she flipped from show to show, but nothing held her interest, and her mind drifted to Frost.

She hit the MUTE button, and once the distraction was gone, he consumed her thoughts. Memories rushed back: their wild sex, the lovemaking, their time at the club. Then, unbidden, an image of the owl on his duffel and on his cuff links returned.

Who was Evan Frost, really?

Giving in to her curiosity, she walked across the room to grab her laptop computer. Once she was back on the couch, she began a search.

Secret society, owl symbolreturned only a few results, but there was a magazine exposé that captured her interest.

Intrigued, she opened it and asked for the words to be summarized.

People who were quoted in the article refused to be named, which meant any information could be conjecture or even false.

But according to what the journalist discovered, an organization, known as the Zeta Society, had been formed in the 1800s. They supposedly held annual meetings—known as the Oak Valley Gathering—on a Louisiana estate. In the comments below, readers added their insights, naming people who were suspected to be Titans. Rafe Sterling. The President of the United States. A Texas senator. The richest, most controversial man on the planet.

Going back in history, she found an article written almost a hundred years ago by a reporter who happened to see some of the country’s most influential men—from playwrights to scientists and doctors and politicians—at a New Orleans hotel. In his newspaper column, he’d referred to the men as Titans. Interestingly several of the gentlemen carried bags with an owl logo on the side.

Much like Frost’s?

She slammed the computer lid down and placed the machine on a cushion. Then she stood to pace the floor. Considering everything she’d just learned—as well as the guesses that he hadn’t denied—Kaylee had no doubt the Zeta Society existed and that he was a member.

The information unsettled her even further.

What kind of world was unfolding in her own life?

Still, she wanted to know more, even if it drew her deeper into a vortex.

With a sigh, she paced to her laptop, snatched it up, then carried it to the counter and began a new search on Frost himself.

More than a hundred results popped up, including his business wins and losses, along with details of the scandal.

The man garnered as much press as a celebrity.

Stretching, she lifted her hair from the back of her neck. Really, that’s what he was. A billionaire Titan.

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