PROLOGUE
Desire is a powerful thing.
People say that it’s ambition, or love, or rage that makes the world turn. That sends armies to wage war, and brings empires crashing into dust. But desire… Desire is a force greater than anything.
The craving deep inside that demands satisfaction—no matter what the cost. It doesn’t matter if you’re begging for surrender or aching for control. Dreaming of the hot slide of friction, lips parted in a desperate gasp of pleasure.
Desire will make a fool of you.
You feel it now, don’t you? Your heart beating faster, that shiver of lust curling down your spine. Your nipples tighten into stiff peaks, aching, as that tell-tale rush of heat spirals lower, slick between your thighs.
What will it take to satisfy you now?
A soft touch? A firm grip?
A hard, unyielding fuck?
Facedown in the bedsheets, sobbing with need. A fist in your hair, unfamiliar weight bearing down. You never thought you’d go this far, but still, desire will urge you on. Past reason. Beyond pride.
And it will never let you go.
Because desire is never truly satisfied. Even as you lay claim to everything you’ve wanted; even as the thick waves of pleasure ebb away, you feel it. Calling again.
Wanting more.
It’s how my family built its luxury jewelry empire. Under my control, Sterling Cross has made desire into an art form. Turned craving into a billion-dollar brand that spans the globe.
The glitter of jewels, tempting in the darkness. The cold press of platinum on hot, flushed skin.
I thought I was above the fray. I knew how to keep my needs in check: nameless women in dark rooms, pretty little things on my arm, as much an ornament as the exquisite jewels caressing their skin. Never getting close. Never once threatening my control. Always unravelling under my expert touch, until they begged for more.
I was the master of desire.
Until her.