Page 5

“What were you doing out there in the middle of the night?” he asked, taking a step closer, and I took one back. I already knew how this dance went. My back hit the wall soon, and he closed the distance between us until I could smell him all around me.

I didn’t need to see his eyes to know they were on me. I could feel them, sharp and burning, cutting straight through me.

The mask made him look even more unhinged and disturbingly magnetic.

Oh, Sweet Krishna!

I hated how my breath caught, how heat coiled low in my belly.

I wanted him like this… on top of me, his skin flushed against mine, his hands wild on my body, his cock buried deep within me, his body feeling every flicker of my pleasure, fueling it into something uncontrollable and feral.

Not the time to realize you have a mask kink, Diya. Not when the man standing before you might carve you open.

It was madness to be turned on by someone who had come here to kill me.

I should have been thinking about escape. About survival. About anything other than the way his nearness made my body burn with need.

This is rock bottom.

“I couldn’t sleep. So, I went for a walk. I-you don’t have to do this,” I said, my voice shaking.

“You talk too much,” he said, pressing the cold steel against my lips. “Hush now, you psycho.” He scoffed. “I’m going to talk now, and you’ll listen like the good girl you’re not. Tonight didn’t happen. You saw nothing. If you breathe a word of it to anyone, I’ll know and come for you. Do you hear me? Blink twice for yes.”

Fucking bastard.

Every part of me wanted to not blink, to push him until I broke him.

I blinked twice.

“Good,” he said, his dagger moving down my throat. “You’ll stay alive until I’m safe,” he breathed. “Pretty lips…” He cleared his throat. “Keep them shut, yes?”

I blinked twice.

“You’re a quick study.” He chuckled, amusement clear in his voice.

I gritted my teeth. Oh, how I longed to punch in his throat, tie him to my bed, and then kill him. Slowly, sweetly.

But I wasn’t a fool. I knew I wouldn’t win this fight, not like this. Not without a weapon. He was at least a few pounds heavier and a few inches taller and had the advantage of the dagger.

Later. I'd deal with him later.

He turned me around, pressing me face-first into the wall, and then leaned in, his lips brushing my ear. “Don’t say a word.”

2

FALLEN

ASHER

This woman was neck-deep in trouble, and she didn’t realize how far down the rabbit hole she’d fallen. This wasn’t going to be a Wonderland, not for her.

“Don’t let your conscience get the better of you,” I whispered, resisting the urge to inhale that damn scent of hers. Vanilla mixed with something strange I couldn’t name. Heady and distracting.

I hated our one-on-one sessions, I hated the way she rambled on and on, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t like how she smelled. It always made my head spin.

“Good night. Sweet dreams,” I said teasingly, and she muttered, go die, you psycho, under her breath. “Did you say something?” I asked, enjoying this game more than any sane person should.

She scoffed and stilled when I pressed the knife to the back of her neck.