Beautiful Vengeance

Kiyomi straightened as she released the doorknob, then faced Marcus. Her pulse skipped, then quickened. What a view.

He was sitting up in bed, naked from the waist up, his dark eyes searing her where she stood. The raw power of his body was finally revealed to her in the flickering firelight.

His chest, arms and shoulders were sculpted with muscle, the swirling burn marks scattered down the left side of his neck and chest stopping part way down his ribs. He was beautiful, even more so because of the scars.

A mix of anticipation and nerves danced in her belly as she met his gaze once more. She could read most men easily. Could figure out within a matter of minutes what role she needed to play in order to get their attention and keep it. How to be their fantasy.

Except with Marcus. She still wasn’t sure what he liked sexually, but she was guessing someone strong. Confident. Bold. That was why she was standing here in his room in her robe in the middle of the night.

Her time with him was running out fast. She couldn’t leave without fully exploring what was between them. No matter what happened after tonight, no matter what fate threw at her next, she would always have this one beautiful memory of him to hold close.

She wanted to feel. Just once, she wanted to feel with a man who wasn’t using her. A man she felt safe with and was attracted to. She might never get another chance. There was no way she would let this opportunity pass her by.

Marcus hadn’t moved, watching her with a closed expression.

“Can’t sleep?” she asked softly, and started toward the bed. Karas watched her from the doggy bed in front of the fire, ears perked.

Marcus shook his head, his eyes now glowing with an unmistakable heat that made her heart pound. “You?”

“Not alone.” Stopping two feet from the edge of his bed, she reached for the sash of her robe. One tug and the floral-print, plum satin slid away, parting the two halves of the robe to reveal a strip of naked skin from her throat to the smooth mound between her thighs.

A surge of power and arousal shot through her at the way Marcus’s eyes darkened as they slowly dragged down the length of bare skin she’d revealed, stopping between her legs. She felt his gaze like a caress, increasing the throb of desire there.

Encouraged, combatting the nerves that had her pulse hammering in her throat, she closed the remaining distance between them and perched a hip on the edge of his bed, inches from where the sheets ended at his waist.

She could see the outline of his erection pressed against the covers, and the thought of pleasuring this man sent another wave of heat through her. Lifting a hand, she reached out to stroke her fingertips down his bearded cheek.

Marcus caught her wrist and held it, his eyes searching hers. “Why?” he asked quietly. “Tell me why.”

So honorable. Most men would have seized the opportunity she’d given him and pounced. Not Marcus.

She drew a steadying breath, then whispered the words that made her tremble inside. “I want to feel with you.”