There was no sign of those rare, precious moments being repeated, nor would there ever be.She’d forfeited his trust when she left.
Missions had always ended in a vigorous celebration of life.Like that time in Sarajevo, she reflected as she approached the harbor.Rain had been coming down in sheets, yet they were on a rooftop with Elijah’s fist in her hair.The delicious rhythm he set as thunder cracked overhead held her on the edge for ages.“You come when I say, not before,” he’d instructed.
His thumb had circled her clit with cruel precision until she sobbed his name into the storm, begging for release.When he finally gave her what she wanted, she realized he’d remained ice-cold throughout.
That wouldn’t happen again.
Really?
Given the chance, would I refuse?
Absolutely.
Better not put that to the rest.
She arrived at a stunning vantage point with the harbor laid out before her.TheSeraphim, with its sinister black helicopters squatting on the top deck, was more than impressive.It was magnificent and intriguing.All the other flashier, smaller boats looked insignificant by comparison.
A shiver ran down her spine at the sight of Elijah’s floating fortress moored like a ruling monarch in the biggest berth at the furthest end of the marina, with a security cordon around it.
Somewhere in that circle was Elijah.
Some nagging demon chose that moment to whisper into her head.Dark nights and darker passions.He’d always been inventive.Her wrists bound with his belt, his mouth between her thighs, and then that slow, deliberate claiming as she begged in two languages while he watched her break with ice-cold satisfaction.
This was the man she was about to confront.
When they’d shared a small apartment in Cospicua, one of the three ancient cities across the harbor from Valetta, Elijah came back from recon one night, wired and hungry.No words.He backed her against the wall, ripped off her clothes, and drove into her in one savage thrust.
The utter bliss of submitting to pleasure was a memory that had kept her awake on many a night since.Elijah always fucked her as if trying to brand himself into her bones.
But that had changed.She had changed.Now these memories served only as warnings.Elijah took what he wanted, then walked away.
I did that last time.
Her silent confession opened the floodgates, and another memory flashed into her mind.“You’ll remember this every time you try to forget me,” he’d said just before tipping her over the edge.He’d made her wait so long that the sensation was almost unbearable.She could remember it as if it were only moments ago, her body seizing around him as he held her pinned to the wall.
When she was calm again, he stayed inside her, his forehead pressed to hers.That was the closest he’d ever come to a tender gesture.She’d hoped he’d say more.And should have known better.Pulling out, he walked away as if nothing remarkable had happened.
How many more warnings did she need?If Elijah knew how many times she’d found release with his name on her lips— He’d do what?Laugh?
He wouldn’t care.
Elijah was her drug and her damnation, and she was about to meet him again of her own free will.
Traffic chaos descended from the ramparts down to the harbor below.The discordant noise was a fitting soundscape for Black Meridian’s vow of vengeance.The consortium’s kill price for Elijah’s head was in the multimillions, reflecting the danger he posed to their trillion-dollar operation.
Remaining with him would have made her a homing beacon, guiding Black Meridian to their target.Her disappearance, together with Elijah’s strategic thinking, made theSeraphimappear to be nothing more than another megayacht owned by a shell corporation.His connection to the vessel had never been listed.
His survival was more important than her happiness, which was why she left.Only this brush with an innocent girl with no one else to defend her could persuade Sable to come out of hiding and put Elijah at risk.Anna Marie’s story was so similar to theirs that she couldn’t ignore it.
She stared at theSeraphim.The vessel was huge, like an armored city.Sable could never have imagined Elijah would own something like it when they first met as rookie agents.
Military technology was the source of his wealth.She guessed the hull was reinforced and the interior armored.Cutting-edge tech would be everywhere.TheSeraphimwas not some pampered billionaire’s plaything, but a manifestation of power, control, and fearsome strength.
Fortress Elijah.Safer for his team and the people he’d sworn to protect.Shock and awe directed at any enemy in his path.
Being this close to Elijah and his floating kingdom spooked the hell out of her.The outcome today was by no means certain, and from what she’d seen in the cathedral, Elijah was not in a forgiving mood.He’d treated her as if she were something he’d scraped off his boot.
She couldn’t blame him.He’d believed she was dead, yet here she was, not just alive, but demanding more.
