the front entrance. The door swung open and revealed the very man she sought to kill.
Marco leered at her as she brushed past him. “Where have you been?”
“ Out.”
Marco Santiago grabbed her wrist and yanked her around. “You think I don’t deserve an answer?”
Ava gritted her teeth. Peering over one shoulder she purred, “Would you have me describe my outing in sordid detail?”
Marco clamped his mouth closed and his eyes dropped to her mouth. “Was it good?”
Smothering a smile, Ava determined men only cared about who was better in bed. “Perhaps.”
He drew her closer and pulled her wrist up to his mouth to kiss the soft skin there. “Shall I remind you who is better?”
“ Perhaps,” she whispered.
Marco swooped down and captured her mouth in a fierce kiss. He made her hotter than the desert sun in the middle of the day but...he was the man who’d killed her family. Slaughtered them like animals. And she would kill him — with or without Stone’s help.
Marco was a veritably insatiable lover, a man whose appetites never waned and who took his time with a woman...making sure she left his bed thoroughly satisfied. If only he weren’t a soulless man with no heart.
Ava had sought him out. As soon as she was old enough, she requested Madam Marcel’s tutelage on men and Sin — as she’d come to be known — and had used every weapon in her arsenal to lure Marco to her bed. The leader of an untouchable criminal empire, the very man who’d ruined her life and set her on this course for revenge.
As the most sought after courtesan in Texas and the only woman who occupied Marco’s bed, her goal was within reach. And yet she hesitated. She’d never killed anyone before and was uncertain if she were capable of such violence. But it was more than that...she’d somehow come to enjoy herself in Marco’s bed.
Even now with memories of her sister’s cries, she gasped as tingles ricocheted through her body at his touch. He had long ago mastered the art of lovemaking and his every touch branded her as his. But she wasn’t and she endeavored to make it clear. Ava sensed that was what kept him coming back for more —the fact that he could not have all of her. Her elusiveness drove him to distraction and she used it like the weapon it was.
“ What are you doing here so early?” she asked between kisses.
“ I could not wait until tonight.”
“ Then it is good news that my nine o’clock appointment called off for there would be two of you in my bed at once. I do not think you would like that so much.”
“ It would not take long to determine who the real man is, dulce uno.”
She chuckled. “How do you know it is a man?”
He withdrew and studied her face. “Then I stand corrected, and I must say I am incredibly intrigued.”
Ava winked at him and withdrew to toss her fan on the table. Of course, she’d jested but his widened gaze and surprised grin, indicated she’d stoked his imagination. And his desire.
Ava called out orders to her household and mounted the stairs. The opulence of the dual mahogany stairwell bespoke the riches to be found throughout the rest of the house. Expensive paintings adorned the adobe walls — many of them of her — naked. Marco had an eye for great art, and he loved to watch an artist stroke her every detail onto a piece of canvas.
Afterward, he would take her before the man could even pack the rest of his belongings and leave. He’d paid for all of this...the house, the belongings, the extravagant clothes and most of all...her. His most prized possession. And yet he allowed her to live alone.
Secretly she enjoyed the freedom, perhaps a little too much. Perhaps that was what kept her from finalizing the deed, her fear of being dependent on another man. After all, Marco never abused her. He thrilled her in bed and gave her everything she ever wanted, including freedom.
Many married women couldn’t boast of such a life. The life of a courtesan might
Marco leered at her as she brushed past him. “Where have you been?”
“ Out.”
Marco Santiago grabbed her wrist and yanked her around. “You think I don’t deserve an answer?”
Ava gritted her teeth. Peering over one shoulder she purred, “Would you have me describe my outing in sordid detail?”
Marco clamped his mouth closed and his eyes dropped to her mouth. “Was it good?”
Smothering a smile, Ava determined men only cared about who was better in bed. “Perhaps.”
He drew her closer and pulled her wrist up to his mouth to kiss the soft skin there. “Shall I remind you who is better?”
“ Perhaps,” she whispered.
Marco swooped down and captured her mouth in a fierce kiss. He made her hotter than the desert sun in the middle of the day but...he was the man who’d killed her family. Slaughtered them like animals. And she would kill him — with or without Stone’s help.
Marco was a veritably insatiable lover, a man whose appetites never waned and who took his time with a woman...making sure she left his bed thoroughly satisfied. If only he weren’t a soulless man with no heart.
Ava had sought him out. As soon as she was old enough, she requested Madam Marcel’s tutelage on men and Sin — as she’d come to be known — and had used every weapon in her arsenal to lure Marco to her bed. The leader of an untouchable criminal empire, the very man who’d ruined her life and set her on this course for revenge.
As the most sought after courtesan in Texas and the only woman who occupied Marco’s bed, her goal was within reach. And yet she hesitated. She’d never killed anyone before and was uncertain if she were capable of such violence. But it was more than that...she’d somehow come to enjoy herself in Marco’s bed.
Even now with memories of her sister’s cries, she gasped as tingles ricocheted through her body at his touch. He had long ago mastered the art of lovemaking and his every touch branded her as his. But she wasn’t and she endeavored to make it clear. Ava sensed that was what kept him coming back for more —the fact that he could not have all of her. Her elusiveness drove him to distraction and she used it like the weapon it was.
“ What are you doing here so early?” she asked between kisses.
“ I could not wait until tonight.”
“ Then it is good news that my nine o’clock appointment called off for there would be two of you in my bed at once. I do not think you would like that so much.”
“ It would not take long to determine who the real man is, dulce uno.”
She chuckled. “How do you know it is a man?”
He withdrew and studied her face. “Then I stand corrected, and I must say I am incredibly intrigued.”
Ava winked at him and withdrew to toss her fan on the table. Of course, she’d jested but his widened gaze and surprised grin, indicated she’d stoked his imagination. And his desire.
Ava called out orders to her household and mounted the stairs. The opulence of the dual mahogany stairwell bespoke the riches to be found throughout the rest of the house. Expensive paintings adorned the adobe walls — many of them of her — naked. Marco had an eye for great art, and he loved to watch an artist stroke her every detail onto a piece of canvas.
Afterward, he would take her before the man could even pack the rest of his belongings and leave. He’d paid for all of this...the house, the belongings, the extravagant clothes and most of all...her. His most prized possession. And yet he allowed her to live alone.
Secretly she enjoyed the freedom, perhaps a little too much. Perhaps that was what kept her from finalizing the deed, her fear of being dependent on another man. After all, Marco never abused her. He thrilled her in bed and gave her everything she ever wanted, including freedom.
Many married women couldn’t boast of such a life. The life of a courtesan might
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