The Skull King (Skull 1)

I didn’t know who this man was, but I’d already gathered he wasn’t Prince Charming. He had an aura of authority present at all times, and if he was being protected around the clock, then he must be worth protecting. He was obviously rich if he owned an entire building with more space than he would ever need. Maybe that hint of danger made him sexy, but I didn’t want to pull back the curtain and reveal everything. I would ever see him again, so there was no point. “No. I can already tell what kind of man you are.”

“Yeah? Tell me.” His fingers loosened around my neck then slowly slid into my hair. For a callous man, he knew exactly how to touch a woman. He knew how to be gentle and aggressive at the same time. Confidence mixed with experience made him an amazing lover.

“Rich, dangerous, powerful…that all leads to one thing. You’re a criminal. I just don’t know what kind of criminal you are.”

He didn’t confirm or deny it, but he tucked my hair behind my ear. The backs of his fingers trailed down my cheek and around to my neck. “Do you want to know?”

The second he gave me his information, he would be entitled to mine—and I knew exactly what he would ask. “The less I know, the better.”

The corner of his mouth rose in a slight smile. “So I’m a dangerous man, but you’re alone with me…naked with me.” His hand moved down my tits and back to my thigh. “No one has a clue where you are. I could do anything I want to you…like keep you forever. Yet, you’ve been here twice now. You’re either very brave or very stupid.”

“There’s a third option.”

“And what would that be?”

“My life has no value, so it doesn’t matter what happens.” I had the existence of a ghost. Most of the time, I had no purpose on this earth. I just wandered through the hallways, my feet barely making a tap against the hardwood floor. Even when Lucian wanted me, I was still dead inside. I’d subjected myself to this misery to save someone I loved—but they betrayed me. That was the worst part of this nightmare. I’d traded in my future, the chance to fall in love and have a family, to save someone who never really loved me. That regret hurt most of all.

Balto stared at me with the same hardened expression, his intelligent eyes not blinking as he looked at me. He had a remarkable poker face, an expression that was impossible to read. He could hide anything—and everything. “So if I took you, kept you prisoner, you wouldn’t fight me?” The threat was audible in his tone, not just in his words. His hand rested on the inside of my thigh, his fingers dangerously close to my lips.

My heart quickened in my chest as the stare-down continued. I had no idea who this man was, only that he was an incredible lover who knew how to handle a woman. I didn’t know what kind of criminal he was, whether he was in trafficking, drugs, or gambling. Shit, maybe he did it all. He had never been overtly dangerous toward me, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t capable of dangerous things. Lucian was fairly reasonable, but he had the kind of temperament that could leave my neck snapped in two. Just because a man didn’t throw a tantrum every day didn’t mean he wasn’t capable of murder. Who knew what this man was capable of? “That would be a really bad idea.”

“For who? You? Or that pathetic husband of yours?” He squeezed my inner thigh.

“He’s a very powerful man.”

“I can promise you, I outmatch him in every way possible.” He moved closer to me, his face just inches from mine. “If your life is so miserable, be my prisoner instead.” He leaned in and kissed the corner of my mouth.

This man had just invited me to be his prisoner, and it turned me on. It was a disgusting question, to ask me if I wanted to exchange masters. I didn’t want to be the slave to another owner. I wanted to be free. “I don’t want to be anyone’s prisoner.”

His eyes narrowed. “If that’s how you feel, leave him.”

“I can’t.”

“Why?” He moved farther on top of me, his weight forcing the mattress to sink. “You strike me as a woman who doesn’t just give up. You’re the kind of woman that would rather die fighting than take this slow, painful, and suffocating death. So explain to me why you accept this bullshit?”

I lowered my gaze, so ashamed of the answer that it hurt just to think it in my head.

“Look at me.” He kept his voice low, but he barked out the order like a general.