Once Lured (a Riley Paige Mystery--Book #4)
Blake Pierce
72.8k Words / Completed
85
Hot
855
Views
Add to Library
Add to Library
85
Hot
855
Views
Download 48 Chapters of <Once Lured (a Riley Paige Mystery--Book #4)> in App
DOWNLOADFREE
Introduction
“A masterpiece of thriller and mystery! The author did a magnificent job developing characters with a psychological side that is so well described that we feel inside their minds, follow their fears and cheer for their success. The plot is very intelligent and will keep you entertained throughout the book. Full of twists, this book will keep you awake until the turn of the last page.”--Books and Movie Reviews, Roberto Mattos (re Once Gone)ONCE LURED is book #4 in the bestselling Riley Paige mystery series, which begins with the #1 bestseller ONCE GONE (Book #1)—a free download, with over 500 five star reviews!Women are turning up dead on a lone stretch of highway in Delaware. Some go missing for an inexplicable length of time, while others are turning up dead, their bodies left out for display in bizarre and mysterious ways. When a pattern is discovered, it becomes clear to the FBI that a twisted serial killer is on the hunt—luring girls in devious schemes—and that he won’t stop killing, ever.The FBI, desperate to crack the case, urges Special Agent Riley Paige to take it on. But the brilliant Riley, still reeling from past cases, has finally found peace in her home life, and is determined to help her daughter April get back on her feet. Yet when the murders become too disturbing, too urgent—and when her former partner Bill implores her—Riley finally realizes she can’t say no.Riley’s hunt leads her deep into the unsettling world of hitchhikers, of drifters, of women that no one else cares for. When she discovers that several women are being kept alive and that there is still time to save them, she realizes she will stop at nothing, obsessing over the case and driving herself to the brink. Yet Riley realizes her own life is falling apart, and her own fragile psyche can barely handle the strain. In a frantic race against time, she will have to plunge deep into the killer’s mind to save these women—and to save herself—from collapse.A dark psychological thriller with heart-pounding suspense, ONCE LURED is book #4 in a riveting new series—with a beloved new character—that will leave you turning pages late into the night.Book #5 in the Riley Paige series will be available soon.
Read More
About Author
Blake Pierce
Latest Chapters
#48 Chapter 48
Last Updated: 04/17/2025 11:23#47 Chapter 47
Last Updated: 04/17/2025 11:18#46 Chapter 46
Last Updated: 04/17/2025 11:18#45 Chapter 45
Last Updated: 04/17/2025 11:23#44 Chapter 44
Last Updated: 04/17/2025 11:23#43 Chapter 43
Last Updated: 04/17/2025 11:18#42 Chapter 42
Last Updated: 04/17/2025 11:23#41 Chapter 41
Last Updated: 04/17/2025 11:18#40 Chapter 40
Last Updated: 04/17/2025 11:18#39 Chapter 39
Last Updated: 04/17/2025 11:18
Comments
No comments yet.
You Might Like 😍
Hunting the Hybrid Queen
13.2k Views · Completed · Steph Starry
𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐚 𝐕𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐞. 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐚 𝐋𝐲𝐜𝐚𝐧.
𝐌𝐚𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧. 𝐖𝐨𝐥𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬. 𝐀 𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐠𝐞—𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐮𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐖𝐚𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐯𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐰𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐬.
To survive the mating ceremony and compete against twenty candidates, Maeve ventures into District 3, seeking a vampire to teach her the art of seduction.
Instead, she stumbles into Nikolai’s room—a Crimson vampire who bites her.
He teaches her with his own body.
“Did you catch it? My name.”
He licks her throbbing bud.
“I spelled it with my tongue.”
He claims her virginity, makes her beg, makes her shatter beneath him. She falls hopelessly in love.
Then he rejects her.
Heartbroken, Maeve attends the ceremony—only for Prince Bastian, a Lycan, to discover she’s his fated mate.
His rough hand slides to her neck, finding his enemy’s mark.
“Tell me this wasn’t consensual,” he growls, his erection hard against her.
Vampire and wolf. Ancient enemies. Both want her.
“If I take you, I won’t stop.”
“If you choose him, I will hunt him.”
But Maeve is not weak.
Because when her blood awakens, choosing one man won’t save her—it will start a war, and only one of them will survive it.
❧ 𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 · 𝐅𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 · 𝐕𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐱 𝐖𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐰𝐨𝐥𝐟 · 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐦 · 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐅𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝 · 𝐄𝐧𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬 · 𝐄𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐜 ☙
🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥
𝐌𝐚𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧. 𝐖𝐨𝐥𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬. 𝐀 𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐠𝐞—𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐮𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐖𝐚𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐯𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐰𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐬.
To survive the mating ceremony and compete against twenty candidates, Maeve ventures into District 3, seeking a vampire to teach her the art of seduction.
Instead, she stumbles into Nikolai’s room—a Crimson vampire who bites her.
He teaches her with his own body.
“Did you catch it? My name.”
He licks her throbbing bud.
“I spelled it with my tongue.”
He claims her virginity, makes her beg, makes her shatter beneath him. She falls hopelessly in love.
Then he rejects her.
Heartbroken, Maeve attends the ceremony—only for Prince Bastian, a Lycan, to discover she’s his fated mate.
His rough hand slides to her neck, finding his enemy’s mark.
“Tell me this wasn’t consensual,” he growls, his erection hard against her.
Vampire and wolf. Ancient enemies. Both want her.
“If I take you, I won’t stop.”
“If you choose him, I will hunt him.”
But Maeve is not weak.
Because when her blood awakens, choosing one man won’t save her—it will start a war, and only one of them will survive it.
❧ 𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 · 𝐅𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 · 𝐕𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐱 𝐖𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐰𝐨𝐥𝐟 · 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐦 · 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐅𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝 · 𝐄𝐧𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬 · 𝐄𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐜 ☙
🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥
How Not To Fall For A Dragon
2m Views · Completed · Kit Bryan
I never applied to the Academy for Magical Beings and Creatures.
Which is why it was more than a little confusing when a letter arrived with my name already printed on a schedule, a dorm waiting, and classes picked out as if someone knew me better than I knew myself. Everyone knows the Academy, it’s where witches sharpen their spells, shifters master their forms, and every kind of magical creature learns to control their gifts.
Everyone except me.
I don’t even know what I am. No shifting, no magic tricks, nothing. Just a girl surrounded by people who can fly, conjure fire, or heal with a touch. So I sit through classes pretending I belong, and I listen hard for any clue that might tell me what’s hidden in my blood.
The only person more curious than me is Blake Nyvas, tall, golden-eyed, and very much a Dragon. People whisper that he’s dangerous, warn me to keep my distance. But Blake seems determined to solve the mystery of me, and somehow I trust him more than anyone else.
Maybe it’s reckless. Maybe it’s dangerous.
But when everyone else looks at me like I don’t belong, Blake looks at me like I’m a riddle worth solving.
Which is why it was more than a little confusing when a letter arrived with my name already printed on a schedule, a dorm waiting, and classes picked out as if someone knew me better than I knew myself. Everyone knows the Academy, it’s where witches sharpen their spells, shifters master their forms, and every kind of magical creature learns to control their gifts.
Everyone except me.
I don’t even know what I am. No shifting, no magic tricks, nothing. Just a girl surrounded by people who can fly, conjure fire, or heal with a touch. So I sit through classes pretending I belong, and I listen hard for any clue that might tell me what’s hidden in my blood.
The only person more curious than me is Blake Nyvas, tall, golden-eyed, and very much a Dragon. People whisper that he’s dangerous, warn me to keep my distance. But Blake seems determined to solve the mystery of me, and somehow I trust him more than anyone else.
Maybe it’s reckless. Maybe it’s dangerous.
But when everyone else looks at me like I don’t belong, Blake looks at me like I’m a riddle worth solving.
The Last Sempyr: Alpha's Fated Mate
3.1k Views · Ongoing · outdcloset21
“You don’t run from me, Ira,” Ruel growls, rough hand caging me against the wall.
“Watch me,” I snap.
His icy gaze flicks to my lips.
I know I’m trapped.
I’m a stray fighting to keep orphans alive—until I’m caught and chained to the North’s most feared Alpha.
Xuaru Ruel is war-forged, ice-cold, bound to a king who owns him.
He was born to kill my kind. Instead, he keeps me close.
Calls it discipline. Lies.
The fated mate bond ignited, and his wolf won’t let me go.
He fights the pull, yet always comes back.
If he learns my secret…
He’ll choose: hand me to his king…
Or burn the world to claim me as his.
“Watch me,” I snap.
His icy gaze flicks to my lips.
I know I’m trapped.
I’m a stray fighting to keep orphans alive—until I’m caught and chained to the North’s most feared Alpha.
Xuaru Ruel is war-forged, ice-cold, bound to a king who owns him.
He was born to kill my kind. Instead, he keeps me close.
Calls it discipline. Lies.
The fated mate bond ignited, and his wolf won’t let me go.
He fights the pull, yet always comes back.
If he learns my secret…
He’ll choose: hand me to his king…
Or burn the world to claim me as his.
Billionaire love and pleasure
3.9k Views · Completed · Miss Power's
Sonia Bliss lost her father in a car crashed leaving debts for her to settle. There was nothing Sonia could do and debtors were on her neck. In order to pay, the only solution that came in was to work as a dancer for had exotic club owned by the debtor. A twisted tale unfolded in Sonia life after she was drugged and had a one night stand with the ruthless billionaire Antonio Jackson. Antonio Jackson saw Sonia predicament as had opportunity to trap Sonia in had agreement of becoming his fuck buddy until she graduate from the university. At first, they didn't have a good partnership because all Antonio desired from Sonia was pleasure and lust but eventually, Sonia fell in love with Antonio and became pregnant. Antonio didn't reciprocate his love for Sonia until it was already too late and when the agreement ended, Sonia left Antonio because of the endless torment of his fiancee.
BROKEN TRUST
3.9k Views · Ongoing · O.J Thewriter
She broke their marriage. He walked away.
Neither of them knew she was carrying his child.
Emily’s affair didn’t just end her marriage—it erased the life she thought was guaranteed. Ryan left without looking back, carrying his anger like armor and leaving Emily alone with regret she would never outrun. Three years later, fate drags them back into each other’s world, along with a little girl who has Ryan’s eyes and a truth that shatters everything he thought he knew.
Old wounds reopen, grief masquerades as rage, and love refuses to stay buried. As parenthood binds them together and the past demands accountability, Emily and Ryan must face the question neither of them is ready to answer: is broken trust the end of their story… or the beginning of a love forged through loss, forgiveness, and brutal honesty?
Neither of them knew she was carrying his child.
Emily’s affair didn’t just end her marriage—it erased the life she thought was guaranteed. Ryan left without looking back, carrying his anger like armor and leaving Emily alone with regret she would never outrun. Three years later, fate drags them back into each other’s world, along with a little girl who has Ryan’s eyes and a truth that shatters everything he thought he knew.
Old wounds reopen, grief masquerades as rage, and love refuses to stay buried. As parenthood binds them together and the past demands accountability, Emily and Ryan must face the question neither of them is ready to answer: is broken trust the end of their story… or the beginning of a love forged through loss, forgiveness, and brutal honesty?
Lightborn: The Demon’s Bond
5.3k Views · Completed · ngocvynguyen985
Valerie accidentally forms a bond with Maxwell, a light demon, and begins seeing the dangerous supernatural world hidden around her. As the two constantly bicker yet protect each other, Valerie gradually discovers her own light-based powers and confronts many dark forces, including a serial kidnapper, the dark demon Zane, and other malevolent entities. Maxwell, haunted by the death of his former lover Juliana, repeatedly tries to distance himself from Valerie to keep her safe, causing both of them pain. Yet every time Valerie is in danger, Maxwell returns to save her, and their feelings grow deeper. The climax comes when they face Mason, a fire demon who hunts human–demon couples; Valerie risks her life in battle while Maxwell nearly collapses from exhaustion. In the end, Mason is destroyed, the threats fade away, and Valerie and Maxwell can finally stay together in peace.
The Heir of Flame and Fang
9.4k Views · Completed · Sophie Smith
Elara, the daughter of Nikolas and Saphira, has been sheltered and protected throughout her life from dangers that came for her, but she doesn’t see it that way. Elara remembers feeling isolated and controlled, and now that she has turned 20 and is expected to begin training to succeed her parents, she feels more controlled than ever. Things worsen when she is told she will be taking a mate through the Matchmaker, who will be the face of the pack while she helps in the background. Feeling like she has no other choice, Elara decides to run away, where she meets Kaelan, the Alpha Werewolf from the forgotten pack. A bond begins to form, but Elara has not been truthful about who she is, and now she faces a difficult choice. Should she reveal her true identity and risk everything, or return home and figure out what happened to the parents she grew up hearing about?
Please note: this story contains strong language and mature scenes.
This is the second book in the series, but it can be read as a stand alone.
The first book is The Matchmaker.
Thank you and I hope you enjoy.
Please note: this story contains strong language and mature scenes.
This is the second book in the series, but it can be read as a stand alone.
The first book is The Matchmaker.
Thank you and I hope you enjoy.
Timeless Us
3.2k Views · Ongoing · Jennifer Cooper
A strange traffic jam hurls Chloe twenty-three years into the future.
The world she knew is gone.
Her husband, Nathan, is no longer the young man she left behind—he’s successful, respected, and living with a new family.
But when the woman who disappeared twenty-three years ago suddenly returns…
Can love survive the years that were lost?
The world she knew is gone.
Her husband, Nathan, is no longer the young man she left behind—he’s successful, respected, and living with a new family.
But when the woman who disappeared twenty-three years ago suddenly returns…
Can love survive the years that were lost?
BRUISED LOVE
8.5k Views · Ongoing · ajokujoy970
Bodhi Singh wanted the quiet dorm.
The safe dorm.
The boring dorm.
What he got instead was Maverick Hale campus menace, underground street fighter, walking bruise factory, and the last person he ever wanted anywhere near his neat piles of textbooks.
Maverick doesn't care that he's broke.
or in arrears with his fees.
Or one wrong move away from getting kicked out.
He’ll graduate out of sheer spite—he refuses to give his estranged, homophobic father the satisfaction of calling him a failure.
He definitely doesn’t care about the determined, overachieving half-Indian nursing major he’s stuck sharing a room with…
Until Bodhi becomes the only thing keeping him in school.
His tutor.
His healer.
His undoing.
And when Maverick stumbles into their dorm one night with a knife wound and Bodhi stitches him up with shaking hands and a breaking heart…
no longer can that be denied.
Opposites weren’t supposed to collide this way.
But they did.
Hard.
The safe dorm.
The boring dorm.
What he got instead was Maverick Hale campus menace, underground street fighter, walking bruise factory, and the last person he ever wanted anywhere near his neat piles of textbooks.
Maverick doesn't care that he's broke.
or in arrears with his fees.
Or one wrong move away from getting kicked out.
He’ll graduate out of sheer spite—he refuses to give his estranged, homophobic father the satisfaction of calling him a failure.
He definitely doesn’t care about the determined, overachieving half-Indian nursing major he’s stuck sharing a room with…
Until Bodhi becomes the only thing keeping him in school.
His tutor.
His healer.
His undoing.
And when Maverick stumbles into their dorm one night with a knife wound and Bodhi stitches him up with shaking hands and a breaking heart…
no longer can that be denied.
Opposites weren’t supposed to collide this way.
But they did.
Hard.
The Alpha Who Hated Me
33.5k Views · Completed · Annypen
"I reject you," he says clearly. Loudly. Making sure everyone hears. "I, Ronan Nightbane, reject the false bond between us. I reject any claim you think you have on me."
"Why isn't it working?" he demands.
"Because it's real," I whisper. "Whether you want it or not."
"Then I'll make it clear another way," he says.
He turns to address the entire cafeteria. His voice carries to every corner of the room.
"Let me be perfectly clear," he announces. "She's not my mate. She's not my anything. She's just a sad little girl who needs to learn her place."
The silence that follows is deafening. Hundreds of students stare at me with pity. With disgust. With relief that they're not in my position.
I sit there shaking. My wolf curls up in a corner of my mind and whimpers.
But he's not our mate anymore. He made that clear.
He's nothing to me.
She came to survive. He was born to rule. Fate made them mates. And that’s where the nightmare began.
Evangeline has spent her whole life on the edge, unwanted, unclaimed, and surviving in the shadows of Crescent Moon Pack. A omega by blood and an outcast by choice, she’s learned to keep her head down and her scars hidden. But when her dying uncle asks her to enroll at Blackclaw Academy, a school built on bloodlines, brutality, and unforgiving rules..... she agrees. For him, not for herself.
She expected whispers. Glares. Even cruelty.
What she didn’t expect was Ronan Nightbane.
"Why isn't it working?" he demands.
"Because it's real," I whisper. "Whether you want it or not."
"Then I'll make it clear another way," he says.
He turns to address the entire cafeteria. His voice carries to every corner of the room.
"Let me be perfectly clear," he announces. "She's not my mate. She's not my anything. She's just a sad little girl who needs to learn her place."
The silence that follows is deafening. Hundreds of students stare at me with pity. With disgust. With relief that they're not in my position.
I sit there shaking. My wolf curls up in a corner of my mind and whimpers.
But he's not our mate anymore. He made that clear.
He's nothing to me.
She came to survive. He was born to rule. Fate made them mates. And that’s where the nightmare began.
Evangeline has spent her whole life on the edge, unwanted, unclaimed, and surviving in the shadows of Crescent Moon Pack. A omega by blood and an outcast by choice, she’s learned to keep her head down and her scars hidden. But when her dying uncle asks her to enroll at Blackclaw Academy, a school built on bloodlines, brutality, and unforgiving rules..... she agrees. For him, not for herself.
She expected whispers. Glares. Even cruelty.
What she didn’t expect was Ronan Nightbane.
Cursed Beauty and her Three Alpha Mates
10.1k Views · Ongoing · Author Aimen
“I am Maya Blackthorn, the first daughter of Alpha Darius of the Ashbourne Pack, and I am damned… damned by the Moon Goddess. And destined to bring kingdoms to their knees.”
Cast out by her pack for being wolfless and plagued by uncontrollable heat, Maya has spent her life surviving humiliation in silence.
Fate drags her into the path of Kael Draven, the ruthless Lycan King who claims her… only to reject her.
But Kael is not the only Alpha bound to her.
Finn, her childhood best friend and the rising Alpha, loves her with a devotion so fierce, he spends four years locked away in the most ruthless dungeon only to keep her safe.
Xander, a rogue wolf who can make even Alphas bow to his will, has waited centuries for her to be reborn, and he has no intention of losing her again.
Three Alphas.
Three claims.
One cursed destiny.
They called her wolfless. They thought she was weak. But she is done hiding, and this time, she's rewriting the rules.
Cast out by her pack for being wolfless and plagued by uncontrollable heat, Maya has spent her life surviving humiliation in silence.
Fate drags her into the path of Kael Draven, the ruthless Lycan King who claims her… only to reject her.
But Kael is not the only Alpha bound to her.
Finn, her childhood best friend and the rising Alpha, loves her with a devotion so fierce, he spends four years locked away in the most ruthless dungeon only to keep her safe.
Xander, a rogue wolf who can make even Alphas bow to his will, has waited centuries for her to be reborn, and he has no intention of losing her again.
Three Alphas.
Three claims.
One cursed destiny.
They called her wolfless. They thought she was weak. But she is done hiding, and this time, she's rewriting the rules.
The Contract Wife: Marriage Of Malice
76.9k Views · Completed · Cherie Frost
"Tell me to stop, and I will," he murmured against my ear. "But if you don't..."
He didn't finish. He didn't need to.
I didn't tell him to stop.
Instead, my fingers curled into his shirt, clutching the fabric as though it was my only anchor. Something in him snapped—something he had been holding back for too long. His mouth found mine in a kiss that wasn't tender, but hungry, desperate.
I gasped into him, his hand sliding up to cup my jaw, holding me as if afraid I might vanish.
"You drive me insane," he breathed against my mouth, his lips trailing to my throat. "I can't lose you, Ella. Not you."
My head fell back, a soft sound escaping me as his fingers memorized my waist. My anger melted beneath his desperation.
"James..." I whispered, more plea than protest.
His hand caught mine, fingers threading together tightly. "I'll bring him back. I swear it. Just... don't turn away from me. Please."
The word please—low, ragged, almost broken—undid me more than anything else could have.
Ella never imagined she would marry the man she had secretly loved for years in such a way.
When her brother Theo faced twenty-five years in prison for massive embezzlement, the ruthless business tycoon James Lancaster offered her a deal: marry him in exchange for her brother's freedom.
This wasn't a fairy tale proposal, but a carefully orchestrated revenge. Because in James's heart, Ella was the culprit who had killed his sister Cecilia. He wanted her to pay the price—to atone with a lifetime of suffering.
He didn't finish. He didn't need to.
I didn't tell him to stop.
Instead, my fingers curled into his shirt, clutching the fabric as though it was my only anchor. Something in him snapped—something he had been holding back for too long. His mouth found mine in a kiss that wasn't tender, but hungry, desperate.
I gasped into him, his hand sliding up to cup my jaw, holding me as if afraid I might vanish.
"You drive me insane," he breathed against my mouth, his lips trailing to my throat. "I can't lose you, Ella. Not you."
My head fell back, a soft sound escaping me as his fingers memorized my waist. My anger melted beneath his desperation.
"James..." I whispered, more plea than protest.
His hand caught mine, fingers threading together tightly. "I'll bring him back. I swear it. Just... don't turn away from me. Please."
The word please—low, ragged, almost broken—undid me more than anything else could have.
Ella never imagined she would marry the man she had secretly loved for years in such a way.
When her brother Theo faced twenty-five years in prison for massive embezzlement, the ruthless business tycoon James Lancaster offered her a deal: marry him in exchange for her brother's freedom.
This wasn't a fairy tale proposal, but a carefully orchestrated revenge. Because in James's heart, Ella was the culprit who had killed his sister Cecilia. He wanted her to pay the price—to atone with a lifetime of suffering.
About Author
Blake Pierce
Take you Fall into Fantasy.
Download AnyStories App to discover more Fantasy Stories.
