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Wiping dirtied hands on the impractical lace gown, Pearl crept forward, untrusting and cautious. It was as he claimed. Inside the jeweled box, the folded notes were haphazardly stacked.

Once she stood before them, he crossed the room. Appearing out of thin air behind her body.

His heat met her back. Lips to her ear, breath warm, he asked, “Do you want to play a game?”

Her fingers hovered over the notes. Buzzing nervously from the intimate way he brushed against her, Pearl whispered, “What kind of game?”

“For every note you choose to read, I earn a kiss from my beloved treasure.”

It was a trick. Men were never forthcoming. But there was something deeper than cautious intuition that warned she needed to see what was on those stolen pages. “One kiss for one note?”

A rich smile in his voice, the man nuzzled closer. “A kiss, my love, nothing more.”

Delving in, a random scrap of paper was chosen, pulled free, and unfolded.

Darius is the devil and you are in hell.

A hearty chuckle shook her body, the man pressed to her back extremely amused. “I do so love the look on your face when you read that one. In those first precious moments, you don’t want to believe it. You’ll turn and look me over from head to toe. Where are the horns? Where is the tail and cloven hooves? What reason might you have to think I am this character from your nightmares? Maybe it was written as a joke. Maybe, we’d argued that day… Perhaps you’d fallen gravid and grown difficult.”

Fear crawled up her spine and blood ran cold no matter how warm the body at her back. Turning her head so she might glimpse the one wrapping his arms around her torso, Pear

l met his glowing red eyes.

His gaze burned all the brighter, fangs slowly descending behind a positively elated smile. Teasing in the meanest voice she’d ever heard, Darius hummed, “Or, maybe it’s absolutely true.”

Mortally afraid, she stood there, a hairsbreadth from those teeth, and asked, “What does gravid mean?”

He brought a hand to her cheek, reminding her that there was a price. A kiss for a note. After all, there were rules to this game. Fingers pinched her chin, turning her attention back to the box. “I never claimed questions were a part of our fun.”

One folded page would not be enough. Snatching up another, she tore in her haste to read what was waiting.

He raped me over and over until I bled from every hole a man might abuse on a woman. I begged him to stop, and he laughed.

“That’s two kisses now, my Pearl.”

Fat, silent drops slipped over trembling cheeks. She reached for a third.

He’s never going to let you out. Find a way to kill yourself.

A tongue traced the shell of her ear, followed by a low rumble. “But how would you do it? All your wounds heal almost instantly thanks to the strength my blood has given you.”

Shivering, Pearl wrapped her arms around her middle, the heat emanating from the man pressed to her back worthless. “I don’t want to read anymore.”

“Three kisses are owed me then, sweet treasure.” With a flourish, he spun her about, the desk cutting off any chance of retreat. Sniffing at her hair, he demanded like a spoiled prince. “I’ll claim the first one now.”

After only a few moments in his presence, the idea was repugnant no matter how handsome the stranger might be.

“We had a deal, Pearl. Honor it, and see how reasonable I can be. Why be so frightened of words on a page?”

Because unlike the book, those hidden words seemed real. Very real, as if a locked corner of her mind was pounding against a wall, trying to warn her danger was here.

Play his game or resist, what would lead to a more favorable outcome when trapped with the devil?

Standing on tiptoe, Pearl pressed a chaste kiss to sculpted, smirking lips.

It would seem chastity was of no interest to Darius. His tongue slipped into her mouth, delving to undulate inside. Razor sharp teeth nipped, drew blood that he sucked into his mouth with a satisfied groan.

Lips were abandoned for her jaw, his mouth working its way next to her neck.