My head jerked up. Through blurry vision, I spotted a burly man dressed all in black with a shaved head. His meaty hands hung loosely at his sides, and he stared at me with a sinister grin.
Adrenaline surged inside my body, and I lurched to my feet. “How did you get in here? What are you doing here?”
“Oh, now, honey,” he said in that menacing voice as he stepped into the bathroom, a lurking, looming shadow coming toward me. “I think it’s pretty obvious what I’m here for. I’m here for you.”
Panic and the fight response made me reach for the wineglass. Before he could grab me, I slammed it hard against the side of his head. Red wine and broken glass sprayed over his face and into his eyes. He jerked back and howled. Heart thundering, I surged past him and sprinted for my bedroom.
He growled and lurched toward me. I slipped past his grip. His body smacked against the ground. Fear flooded my chest. I pushed my legs harder. Just as I rounded the corner into my bedroom, his hand hooked my ankle and yanked me down.
I screamed and hit the brown shag carpeting with a grunt. He hollered as I kicked out, trying to break his hold on my leg. He spoke English but I couldn’t hear him. All I could hear was the terrified thunder of my pulse in my ears. That and Luc’s voice whispering in my ear back in Tuscany, saying, “If they find us, they’ll kill us.”
No… No, no, please no… I didn’t want to die. I fought harder than I ever had. My hands grappled for something—anything I could use for a weapon as he wrestled with my flailing legs and tried to pull me toward him. My arm swept under the bed. My fingertips grazed something hard. In a rush of understanding, I realized I’d found one of the five-pound hand weights I owned but rarely used. I angled that direction and wrapped my fingers around the handle. The man yelled, “Fucking bitch!” and tugged on my legs hard, dragging me across the carpet toward him.
With one large hand, he flipped me to my back. But I was ready. I swung out with the weight and nailed him in the other side of the head.
He screamed and fell back into my nightstand. The light wobbled and crashed to the ground, breaking the bulb and dousing the room in darkness. Free of his grip, I scrambled to my feet and ran out of the bedroom and into the living room. I made it as far as the edge of the kitchen before he slammed into me and sent my body sailing sideways into the cabinets.
My head cracked against wood. My right shoulder and ribs took the brunt of the impact, sending blinding pain down my side. I grunted and slumped to the tile floor, tried to get up, but everything around me spun.
Footsteps sounded close. Panic swelled inside me. I knew if I didn’t get up, if I didn’t run, he was going to grab me. Probably rape and kill me. I shifted to the left, but my body wasn’t working, and all I could do was fall to the floor.
“They said you were a spitfire. Guess I’m gonna find out just how much of one you are right now.”
He knelt on one knee above me. My vision came and went, but I saw the blurry shape of his face coming toward me. And I could smell him—sweat and oil and french fries. Those couldn’t be the last things I smelled before I left this world.
I reached back with one arm, grabbed the underside of the counter, and tried to pull myself away, but the pain was too intense, and I didn’t make it more than two inches down the tiles before I groaned.
He chuckled and reached for his belt buckle. “You need to learn a lesson in how to treat a man, bitch, and I’m the one who’s gonna teach you.”
Out of nowhere, I pictured Luc. His strong square jaw, the stubble on his tanned skin, his straight nose, perfect lips, and those swirling, stormy one-of-a-kind gray eyes that had so thoroughly engulfed me in a darkness I’d never thought I’d like.
No. I wasn’t going to imagine Luc. He couldn’t save me this time, and I wasn’t going to give up. I kicked and clawed and fought with everything I had. My foot landed hard against the man’s groin. He grunted and fell back on his heels.
Pain shot through my body as I flipped to my belly and scrambled to my feet. But my legs weren’t working right. I slipped on the tiles and hit the ground with a grunt. Cool air whooshed over my back. And then I heard a struggle. Fists slamming into flesh. The crackle of glass followed by a gurgling, choking sound. And then…nothing.
No, that wasn’t right. My eyes flew wide. I glanced behind me and stared into utter blackness. I heard breaths. Heavy ones. And footsteps. Coming near.
Panic resurged inside me. Pain ricocheted through my body as I shifted back on my butt and scooted farther into the kitchen, deeper into the shadows. The dark figure stalking toward me wasn’t the same one who’d attacked me earlier. It was someone new.
A second wave of fear slammed into me, and I shifted upright to lean against the cabinet. My brain quickly rifled through the contents in the drawers above me. I was near the knives. If I could find the strength to pull the drawer open, I could grab one. I could use it to defend myself. I could—
“Santo Dio. Hold still, Natalie. Don’t try to move.”
I froze, because that sounded like Luc. But it couldn’t be Luc. He was in Italy. He wasn’t in my kitchen. He wasn’t—
An overhead light flipped on, blinding me. I blinked several times against the burn in my retinas. When I finally tore my eyes open, I stared up in total disbelief.
Luc knelt next to me, wrapped an arm around my back, and gently pulled me away from the cabinet and onto his lap. Cradling me against him, he pressed a dish towel to my forehead.
I registered something warm and slick near my temple where he held the rag, but I was too dazed by what had just happened and the fact he was here to realize what it was.
“Ah Dio, angioletto.” He skimmed his lips over my forehead, my nose, my cheek—whatever he could reach. “I’m here. I’m here now.”
I didn’t know how that was possible. I didn’t know how he’d found me or what was going on. All I could focus on was his strength surrounding me and his sinfully delicious scent of jasmine and cedar and rum that made my whole body tremble with a rush of memories.
I let him hold me—I was too weak to pull away. I let him kiss me—and oh, his lips felt so good. And as I sank into him, I let him be the strength I needed. That love—the love I tried to tell myself I didn’t feel for him—came rushing back, filling my chest, energizing my soul, making me feel…alive.
I closed my eyes and held on to him. But I was still so confused. “I don’t… I don’t understand. What happened? Who was that man?”
“No one you need to worry about. He’s gone. He won’t hurt you again.” He pressed his lips to my temple and gently stroked a hand down my hair. “Everything’s going to be okay. I’ll take care of you, angioletto. You’re mine, Natalie. I’d do anything for you. Anything it takes.”
A chill trickled down my spine because he’d said words like that to me before. In Tuscany. Right before he’d left me to rejoin that sex rite in the trees.
“No.” The chill I’d first started to feel after we’d made love that last night spread through me, turning my blood to ice. I shoved the rag away from my temple, pushed out of his arms, and struggled to my feet. “No, I don’t want you to. I don’t want you here. I don’t want any of this.”
“Natalie.” He slowly rose in front of me, and even though my vision hadn’t adjusted to the bright light yet, I could see his eyes. Wide and focused and as intense as they’d ever been. “Listen to me. I’m here to help you.”
All the lies. All the fear. All the heartache. It all came rushing back. Misery swelled inside me. Misery and disgust and horror. “I don’t want your help. Get out. Get out of my life, Luc.”
Pain echoed through my legs as I turned away from him. From the corner of my eye, I spotted the man who’d attacked me lying in a bed of broken glass that used to be my coffee table. His wide, lifeless eyes stared up at the ceiling. Bile shot up my throat, and I tried to run for the bathroom, but Luc grabbed me by the wrist and jerked me back to face him.
I yanked against his hold.
“Let me—”
Something sharp stabbed into my biceps. Wincing, I looked down to see a hypodermic needle sticking out of my flesh.
“Everything’s going to be okay,” Luc said calmly as he depressed the plunger, then pulled the needle from my arm. It hit the floor with a click.
Shocked, I stared down at it, then lifted my gaze to his.
He grasped my other arm and pulled me toward him. “I said I’d take care of you, and I will. I promise. I won’t let them touch you.”
No. No, no, no…
I struggled against him. I thought I struggled against him, at least. But my head was growing light, my vision already dimming. I felt his arms surround me, easily pulling me into his chest. I heard his soft voice at my ear, whispering words I couldn’t make out because I was already drifting.
He’d drugged me. The realization should have hit me hard, but instead it floated in my head, mingling with the shadows circling in. This was different from the drug Gio had given me. This was going to pull me under in a matter of seconds.
“I’m someone completely different with him…”
In a haze, I thought of my friend, and I wondered if this was what Elena had felt in the last seconds of her life.
One of the articles I’d read on the Internet rushed to the forefront of my fading mind. A section about sex kittens and what happens to the ones who don’t fall in line. The article had claimed drug overdoses were the easiest way to get rid of them.
This was what had happened to Elena. She’d fallen for a man who’d ultimately destroyed her, and now the same thing was happening to me. I’d set out to find her killer, but somewhere along the way, I’d turned from everything that mattered and stumbled into an obsessive relationship with a man who was so overwhelming, I’d been blinded to the threat right in front me.
I’d become Elena. And because of my stupidity, in a matter of hours I’d be nothing more than a statistic.
Another woman who’d seen too much, trusted too easily, and loved far too hard. Another sex kitten that evil men hidden behind gruesome masks wanted eliminated. Another drug overdose, dead on the floor.
Just like my best friend.
Don’t miss the next exciting story in the House of Sin Series
Some doors were never meant to be opened…
* * *
I made a fateful mistake. I should never have peeked behind the doors into his forbidden world.
* * *
But I did, and now I’m a prisoner. Trapped by the man I thought I loved. The man I once foolishly trusted. The man who, despite his lies and deception, I continue to crave.
* * *
He can melt my resolve with one rough, whispered demand, and I feel myself giving in to the desire he still stirs inside me. And yet, if I want to survive, I have to be strong. I must find a way to escape. Because if I don’t, I’m afraid I’ll be consumed by a shadowy world that will ultimately destroy me.
* * *
Lost forever in his wicked House of Sin…
Order DECEIVED Here
Thank You!
Dear Reader:
Thank you for reading FORBIDDEN! Stay tuned for DECEIVED, the next book in the House of Sin series, which continues Luc and Natalie’s exciting story. And don’t miss the climactic conclusion in UNDONE.
If you enjoyed FORBIDDEN, I would appreciate it if you would help others enjoy it as well by doing one of the following:
Lend it: This e-book is lending-able, so please share it with a friend.
Recommend it: Please help others find this book by recommending it to friends, readers’ groups, and discussion boards.
Review it: Tell readers what you liked or didn’t like by reviewing it at one of the major retailers, review sites, or on your blog. I appreciate all reviews whether positive or negative.
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* * *
Happy Reading!
~Elisabeth
Also by Elisabeth Naughton
House of Sin Series
(Romantic Thriller)
FORBIDDEN
DECEIVED
UNDONE
SURRENDER
* * *
Deadly Secrets Series
(Romantic Suspense)
REPRESSED
GONE
PROTECTED
UNSPEAKABLE
* * *
Aegis Series
(Romantic Suspense)
BREATHLESS ESCAPE
FIRST EXPOSURE
SINFUL SURRENDER
EXTREME MEASURES
LETHAL CONSEQUENCES
FATAL PURSUIT
* * *
Against All Odds Series
(Romantic Suspense)
WAIT FOR ME
HOLD ON TO ME
MELT FOR ME
* * *
Stolen Series
(Romantic Suspense)
STOLEN FURY
STOLEN HEAT
STOLEN SEDUCTION
STOLEN CHANCES
* * *
Eternal Guardians Series
(Paranormal romance)
MARKED
ENTWINED
TEMPTED
ENRAPTURED
ENSLAVED
BOUND
TWISTED
RAVAGED
AWAKENED
UNCHAINED
HUNTED
WICKED
* * *
Firebrand Series
(Paranormal romance)
BOUND TO SEDUCTION
SLAVE TO PASSION
POSSESSED BY DESIRE
About the Author
Before topping multiple bestseller lists—including those of the New York Times, USA Today, and the Wall Street Journal—award winning author Elisabeth Naughton taught middle school science. A voracious reader, she soon discovered she had a knack for creating stories with a chemistry of their own. The spark turned into a flame, and Elisabeth now writes full-time.
Elisabeth has penned over thirty books and continues to write in multiple genres. Her books have been translated into numerous languages and have earned several award nominations, including three prestigious RITA® nominations from Romance Writers of America. In 2017, REPRESSED, the first book in her Deadly Secrets series, won the RITA® for best romantic suspense.
Her work has been praised by the Chicago Tribune as being filled with “deadly intrigue, high adrenaline action, and scorchingly hot passion.” Kirkus calls her “a writer talented enough at weaving a yarn to get her readers ensnared in it.” When not dreaming up new stories, Elisabeth can be found spending time with her husband and three children in their western Oregon home, wrangling two needy cats, or chasing after one very rambunctious Dalmatian.
To learn more about Elisabeth, visit
www.ElisabethNaughton.com
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