Page 89 of Beneath the Light of the Moon

Is that all you got?she’d say in his head, her molten eyes intoxicating.

And his answer was no, hence the reason he stood at the top of her stairs, short nails biting into his palm as he clenched his fists.

Despite their game, his feelings were becoming convoluted. His need to unravel her was outweighing his logic of letting her go. He feared this infatuation was the exact reason she reached out to him in the first place. It was like sheknewhe was drawn to the beautiful and the unusual.

But now, he was wading into dangerous waters.

This compulsion was consuming him—his need to know and control her overshadowing everything else. Her emotions were hidden, an unknown variable he wanted to decipher so he could say that he did.

So that I can say I’ve solved a woman who thinks she’s untouchable.

And below that, it was deeper.

Mikko craved being seen for whohetruly was and not what he stood for. All his life he’d been forgotten and abused, singled out in the worst ways possible. Outwardly, his life of wealth reflected everything someone could want, but it left Mikko empty. Now, with Anika, she understood him for who he was.

A fucked up human who was handed an empire on a throne of dirty blood.

And still, she engaged.

It drove him crazy, and made him want her in theworstways.

This investigation into her had led to his emotions morphing into fascination. One he had no problems giving into. He should be pissed that she was the one who’d broken into his penthouse, stolen from him, and then planted the evidence to frame him.

But…

He wasn’t.

In fact, her wit turned him on, made him realize life was so much bigger than Romanov Real Estate.

Even if she hadn’t blatantly admitted her crimes, he still knew it was her. It had to be. She was guilty until proven innocent and nothing about her screamed blameless. Hell, even the information he’d gotten back from Rebecca had cemented this idea farther.

Anika Simmons. Anika Naidu.

Two names, one dangerous woman.

Now why would a seemingly average woman change her name?

That answer awaited him back at the office, locked away in a drawerin yetanothermanila folder. Rebecca, while a shit lover and expensive service, knew how to get a job done.

Something Levi was struggling with.

After tonight, he’d read it, but until then Mikko wanted to live in the darkness for a little longer. He wanted to enjoy this obsession, this poison, consuming him. Later he would reap the consequences of his actions. Later he would think.

But for tonight, he’dact.He’d escape it all.

While standing among her possessions, feet carrying him into her bedroom, he held her scarf. The cherry on top was the fact he knew it smelled more like him than her, especially after all he’d done to it.

Stepping farther into her bedroom, his eyes caught on the chair she positioned in the corner of her room. Delicately, he folded her scarf and placed it on top of the chair. Unlike the rest of the crumpled clothes she’d discarded there, this one was neatly presented, albeit stained with his cum.

It was a bold move, but he didn’t care. Mikko was no longer interested in playing things safe. Safe wasn’t what got him answers; safe wasn’t what drew her to him. It was time for him to go after what he wanted. All the signs were there. Every move she made, Mikko wanted to know about. She occupied his thoughts, all day every day.

Soft, inked skin and ebony hair wrapped around my fingers. Golden eyes holding more secrets than I can count.

Everything was falling apart. Or into place?

Mikko pressed the heels of his palms to his eyes, desperately trying to push her out of his head. Anika was consuming him—luring him in with her wit and beauty—and who was he to say no?

His emotions always ruled him despite what he showed to others as being perceived as an immovable facade. Mikko was losing this battle between himself, his father’s legacy, and Anika.