Why?
Why?
My eyes close, exhaustion finally winning.
I didn’t sleep with Markev here, and then the nightmare dragged me out of what little rest I had before dawn. My body has had enough.
This time, when sleep takes me, I dream of icy blue eyes.
It is comforting, which somehow frightens me more than what came before.
Chapter 56
Octavia
I stare out at the dark sky, stars strewn bright, the moon hanging low as I take another sip from my champagne flute.
Music drifts up from downstairs, distant, but alive, vibrating through the walls of my bedroom as the countdown begins.
Ten.
My door opens.
Nine.
It closes softly as footsteps approach.
Six.
A hand grips the back of my neck.
Three.
He turns my head just as the shouting below erupts and fireworks light the sky up.
His mouth captures mine, possessive and consuming, his tongue sliding past my lips as the kiss deepens. One hand holds me in place while the other moves over my body.
The world narrows to him.
He is all I feel, all I can smell, touch, and see.
“Happy New Year, gorgeous,” he murmurs against my mouth.
I smirk, breathless. “Couldn’t stay away, could you?”
His eyes flicker, dangerous. “New Year’s kiss,” he says quietly. “Of course I’m here. It’s good luck, for us, and for what comes next.”
“We don’t have a future.” I say it because it’s true, even if it hurts like hell.
Something lethal flashes across his expression. His grip tightens at the back of my head.
“You’re mine,” he grits out. “And the future is ours.”
His mouth claims mine again, rougher this time, his hands roaming my body as he reaches for the zipper of my dress…
Chapter 57
Octavia
