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Gia. For ap
. Gia took it. The stem was cold against her fingertips after a
-a sea of black ties and jewel-toned gowns, th
lips. The bubbles fizzed, dry
iers blurred. A wave of dizziness hit her, so sudden the fl
er voice was sharp with concern, but her hand on Gia's arm
been laced with an aphrodisiac. She heard Hailey murmur to
tranger would be waiting. Hailey meant to put her in some man's bed, rui
e," she
into the grand corridor. Footsteps echo
rs glowed at the end of the hall. One set of doors was sliding shut. She threw
the penthouse. The doors slid shut as t
rched. She slid down the wall, nails
y. Only one feature: a set of double mahog
hum of another elevator as
cho
pushed through the heavy door, and fumb
, curtains drawn tight. The air was wrong-sterile with rubbing
adjust, a hand clamp
was lifted off her feet and slammed against the
scream, but the pressure on her windpipe turned it into a strang
and heat, his breathing ragged. He was sufferi
an attacker. He was
A hot tear escaped her eye, tracing dow
m. For a fraction of a sec
ou
lesh between his thumb and forefinger. She
ipped from his chest. N
e of his, pinning them above her head. His other hand t
ssession. His lips were cold, his body f
fear, pain, and drug-indu
Lightning flashed, stark and white. She was on a massive bed. In that sp
ged line across his
es, pressing her into the pillows. A low, gravelly voice m
not
gap in the curtains.
eamed. The man beside her was still, b
. She found her dress on the floor-a ruined scrap. Shakin
with a crest: a lion rampant within a shield. Th
the door an
ur. She pushed open the heavy oak door o
ing room sofa beside Hailey. After Gia's mother died, Gia's grandmother had allowed Warren to remarry, bringing home
d and flicked a stack of photographs into
less slut,
er build, wearing her dress, being led into a hotel roo
the room, the guards-all
ke as the photos. "How could you,
he bent down, picked up one photo, and looked
aged him more t
out. Removed from the trust. A
the threshold. He took in the scene-Gia in her torn dress,
t to Hailey, placing an
ve," he said. "Our
, her stepsister, the man she was supposed
lifted her chin, and walke
rning. Cold rain began to fall, plastering the ruined silk
s felt like a ba
nd they would pay. E
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