Beautiful Obsession: A Dark Mafia Romance (Sinners and Saints Book 4) by Piper Stone

Author:Piper Stone [Stone, Piper]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Stormy Night Publications
Published: 2022-08-04T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 11

Stephanie

Four hours earlier

I glared at the rose, a tremendous part of me ready to toss it into the ocean, allowing the waves to sweep it out to sea. That was how I felt waking up alone, the rose placed on my pillow just like I’d found in the hotel in New York. The note itself was as telling as it was terrifying.

One word—mine.

While there was no indication he was gone for good, given he hadn’t allowed me into his room, I knew any search would prove to be futile. And I doubted he’d checked in under his real name. My instinct told me he was gone, disappearing because we’d gotten close.

Oh, who was I kidding? He’d been using me. Even though almost every moment with him had been a foray into pure ecstasy, I was a big girl, wise enough to know that his initial seduction had been his method of revenge on Gregory.

But you allowed it to happen.

The ugliness would forever remain in my mind.

After finding the rose, I’d changed my plans, calling the airlines and altering my flight. It was time to get back to reality.

Perhaps before it was too late.

I returned to the bathroom, tossing the last remaining toiletry items into my carryon, catching a reflection of myself. And for the first time in my life, I didn’t know who the person was staring back at me. She wasn’t the same woman who’d pulled all-nighters, living on Lance crackers and diet sodas. She certainly wasn’t the one who’d pledged an oath to the law or even the girl who’d accepted a position with the attorney general’s office.

The woman staring back at me had changed in a matter of forty-eight hours, losing all sense of reality. I leaned closer, my hand shaking as I gingerly touched the dragon tattoo on my arm, told by the artist that it would remain tender for a few days. I traced the lines slowly, finally encircling the crimson eye. My skin was slightly swollen and red, the dull ache a needed reminder I’d lost my mind.

Even worse than the fact I’d done something so stupid in my life was that I’d agreed to it in the first place.

Agreed wasn’t the word. Alexei had insisted and I hadn’t fought him.

The afternoon had been amazing, the time spent at the hidden lagoon magical. We’d made love more than once, our conversations becoming light and easy. We’d laughed. We’d finished the bottle of wine. I’d never felt so close to anyone in my life, so it had seemed natural to me when I’d been eager to have my arm permanently stamped with a reminder of the few days in which I’d tossed out all rationality. I’d felt free, so alive, as if for once I was living my life the way I wanted to.

But as I stared at the intricate design, I could still hear the words he’d whispered into my ear prior to me agreeing to the monumental event.

“You are aware of what this means, l’vitsa.

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