The penthouse was quiet, the city humming faintly beyond the glass walls. Chloe paced the length of the bedroom, her pulse quick, her palms damp. She told herself it was only nerves, but the truth was deeper, she’d been waiting for this night since the moment Valerius first set his eyes on her. Tonight felt like her wedding night.

When he entered, it was without sound, his presence filling the room like a storm breaking. The air between them crackled with an electric tension, heavy with the ...