Prologue
Cupid
The woman across the room is an obsession I can’t seem to overcome. She was supposed to already be mine, and she would have been if my plans hadn’t been fucked to hell and back by Sasha Melnikov. One tiny mistake meant the wrong girl was kidnapped.
That’s why I don’t allow mistakes. Big or small. Sasha’s girl was taken, and he destroyed one of my safe houses to get her back. Now they’re aware of my operation, and I’ve had to scale back.
I can tolerate all of that, even though it’s a pain in the ass and a temporary loss of income. Setbacks are a part of life. I’ve had my fair share, and I know I’ll bounce back from this one.
What I can’t tolerate is seeing the woman who should already be mine walking around, free and happy and completely untouched by me. When she lifts her head and our eyes meet, she gives me one of her big smiles, the kind that’s full and uninhibited and manages to make her pouty mouth look even more fuckable than usual. My returning smile isn’t quite asexuberant, but it’s hard to look cheerful when your cock is straining at your pants and you’re using all your willpower to keep your ass in your chair.
She looks away, but for the next hour I keep discreetly staring, and by the time class is over, I’m more than a little on edge. I watch her pack up her laptop and books before brushing back her long, blonde hair and slinging her backpack over one slender shoulder. My eyes rake over her body, slowly taking in the long legs and all those perfectly rounded curves. My mind is full of all the wicked things I’m going to do to her as I watch her walk away.
Grabbing my phone I use the untraceable chat I’ve set up and check in with a few of my top guys. The responses are immediate because no one ever wants to put me in a bad mood. Terrible things happen when I’m angry, and they’ve all learned that the hard way. My pulse slows a little when I read that everything is going as planned and we’ve already made a bigger profit this month than last. Never doubt the power of drugs on a college campus. It’s not a question of if they’ll want it. It’s a question of if I can keep the supply high enough to meet the demand. Even with the constraints the Melnikovs have put on me, the money is still coming in.
Drugs have always been the core of my income, but when I started dealing in women, well, that’s when the numbers really soared. Overseas buyers are willing to pay a lot of money for young women, and even with one of my safe houses no longer in operation, I’m still bringing in more money than I ever thought possible.
Whoever said crime doesn’t pay was full of shit. My bank account is proof of that, and that balance is only going to rise. I have other safe houses, and they’re slowly being filled, but one room will remain vacant until my beautiful Savanna can fill it.
She’s not for sale, though. No, that perfect ass is mine, and I won’t stop until I get it.
Savanna Monroe is my obsession, and as soon as the Melnikov family backs off, I’m taking her. This may be their city, but they can’t be everywhere at once. They can’t know everything that’s taking place on their streets. They killed a few of my men and momentarily hurt my profit, but they’ll eventually grow bored when they can’t find me and give up.
Even their legendary hacker hasn’t been able to track me down, and once I convince him I’ve gone to ground, he’ll give up the chase, and I’ll make my move. The mere thought has me mirroring Savanna’s earlier full smile. When my eyes accidentally land on another blonde who’s been watching me from the corner of the room, I quickly decide she’s a very welcome distraction. I need to get rid of some of this frustration, and the flirty look she’s giving me makes it clear she’s up for some fun.
Standing, I grab my books and slowly make my way over to her. She’s not nearly as beautiful as my Savanna, but when I have her face down and I’m taking her from behind, all I’ll be able to see is pretty blonde hair. My imagination can do the rest.
My smile grows when I remind myself that soon I won’t need to imagine anymore. Soon enough I’ll have the real thing beneath me while her throaty screams fill the room.
It’s almost enough to make me forget about my hatred for the Melnikovs.
Almost.
Chapter 1
Nikita
My alarm pulls me from sleep way before I’m ready for consciousness. The incessant, loud beep is one I chose on purpose, knowing it would irritate me enough to pull my groggy ass out of bed. I still groan as I throw back the covers and scrub a hand over my face. I’m not ready to start the day. Seven in the morning is way too fucking early for someone who often doesn’t get to bed before three.
Crossing my room, I sit in the comfortable leather office chair and type in the complicated password for my computer before pressing the pad of my thumb on my keyboard and looking into the camera for an eye scan. I’ve set it up so all three are required before my computer will unlock itself. A wide yawn makes my jaw pop as I click a few keys and bring up the security camera footage at the Kappa Theta Rho sorority house.
It’s a joke to call the old cameras above the front and back door assecurity, but so far I’ve resisted the urge to sneak in there and plant my own. I’m guessing my willpower won’t last too much longer on that one, but for now I lift my arms in a stretch and wait for Savanna to make an appearance. She doesn’t make me wait long. Her first class starts at eight today, and it’s all the way on the other side of campus, so within minutes, I seeher blonde head as she races out the front door of the mansion all the Kappa girls live at.
“Good morning, beautiful,” I say, not caring that I’ve gradually started talking to my computer screen over the last few weeks.
The sight of her instantly wakes me up. She’s in jeans and a red T-shirt today, and she manages to make it look like the sexiest outfit I’ve ever seen. Her long hair is in a loose braid, and when she turns her head to wave at someone, I catch the quickest glimpse of her dimpled cheek before she races down the sidewalk. I hit a few more keys and switch to the CCTV cameras that the university has strategically placed around campus. They don’t cover everything, so I’m forced to wait exactly two minutes and forty-five seconds before her beautiful face comes back into view. Even though she’s running a few minutes behind schedule, I’m not surprised when she makes a detour so she can grab a cup of coffee and a breakfast burrito. Luckily for me it’s a high-traffic area with a camera that gives me a clear view of her as she walks up to the window and places her order.
While she waits, I study the other people around her. Aside from several guys who are obviously checking her out, no one is raising any red flags. I watch as she grabs her order, takes a quick bite of the burrito, and then picks up her pace as she passes a large group of students in an attempt to make it to class on time.
I follow her from camera to camera, hating the small gaps where she’s invisible to me, and when she finally makes it to her building, I drink in the sight of her until she slips inside and the door falls shut behind her.
“See you in ninety, sweetheart,” I mutter, knowing I won’t see her again until her class lets out.
Letting out a sigh in my empty room, I tell myself that this isn’t as pathetic as it seems. Her life could still be in danger.Cupid may have taken her best friend by mistake, but when Sasha rescued Cindy and then killed the guy responsible for her kidnapping, he’d admitted that Savanna was his original target.
Cupid has been a thorn in our side for months, and I really doubt he’s going to tuck tail and run just because we burnt down one of his safe houses and killed a few of his men. He’s going to want revenge, and he’s going to want Savanna. He’s going to want to prove that he can take her if he wants her.
It’s my job to make sure that never happens. It doesn’t matter that I love watching her or that ever since I met her she’s all I can fucking think about. I can push all that aside to keep her safe. That will always be the most important thing.
