PROLOGUE 

SINTHIA

Manhattan. Present Day. W.C. (With Core)

 How the hell did this shit happen?

I fucking hate him, but I want him.

It was sick and sordid, and I couldn’t tell what this really was. I only knew when I was around him, he suffocated me with his twisted lies and dirty secrets, only to cruelly resuscitate me. And shamefully, I loved it.

Core stepped forward, caging me alongside his desk, making sure my body was flush against his. “Ready to fuck, Sin?” he whispered in my ear.

I sucked in a breath as his hard bulge pressed into my stomach. Mesmerized, I watched his hand reach out. His callused fingers slid down my cheek before his thick thumb dragged across my bottom lip and penetrated the barrier of my wet, pouty lips. My body jerked at the sensual intrusion.

Honestly, I wasn’t really sure how to process the touch of a man again. It’d been so long I’d forgotten just how good it felt to have a strong hand touching me.

He scowled. “Sin, don’t move,” he demanded huskily while grabbing the back of my head with his other hand. “Show me how much you want this, how much you want me. Lick it like you want it, darling.”

I should stop him before this goes any further.

I knew I should, but my body thought otherwise. I was high off his lies and drunk off his hate. Now there was no way out. On cue, I ran my tongue along the length of his thumb as if it were his shaft. When he growled with pleasure, a tremor pulsed through my body as my cunt contracted.

Jesus, I’m so fucked.

Our mouths were a breath away. The desire and tension were almost more than I could take. Abruptly, he removed his thumb, still cupping the back of my neck, pulling hard on my hair, before his lips settled across my mouth. My breath caught, my mind undecided as to whether I should pull back or allow him to delve further.

Who am I kidding?

There was no allowing. I was Core’s possession, and the cocky bastard knew it.

I moaned sensually as his tongue curled around mine, demanding it come out and play. He awakened a need that lay dormant in the pit of my stomach, a need only he could satisfy.

He skated his hand down and squeezed my hip while his eyes were fixed on mine. “I want you. Now,” he growled.

My pulse raced, and my body trembled with want. He was crumbling my resolve. Diabolically, he stripped me bare emotionally, leaving me vulnerable and raw to the bone. He was revealing a piece of me that would be better left hidden. The message was clear. He knew what I needed, and he would give it to me if I took the leap of faith.

He smiled like the devil reincarnated as he released me and sat on the leather chair with his legs splayed. My stomach rolled with anxiousness as I leaped into the pits of scorching hell by pushing up the hem of my dress before straddling his legs. I shook my hair slowly as I rotated my hips. He grabbed my ass hard, stilling my movement.

I trailed my fingers over his chest. “Then take me, McKay, until there’s nothing left.” I leaned in toward him and bit his lower lip.

He gave me a bad-boy smile, causing my stomach to flip-flop like I was on a roller coaster.

“Sinful.” He licked my bottom lip slowly. He pulled back with his eyes locked on to me with a power that left me breathless. “Are you mine?” he asked gruffly.

My heart raced with sickening excitement. I knew he was evil, lust, and darkness personified. He should have terrified me, but he didn’t because I was just as fucked up in the head as he was.

“Always,” I whispered.

“I’m never letting you go, Sin.” Tilting my head back, he kissed me hard. “What I claim, I keep.”

I was a spider trapped in his web.

“Now get on your knees,” he ordered in a brusque tone.

This was it—the moment of truth that would seal my destiny. Self-preservation finally kicked in.

My mind screamed like a banshee, Run, Sin! Tuck your ass and run!

My body tightened, preparing to run away as if a horde of paparazzi was nipping at my stilettos.

Core’s cold gray eyes narrowed. “I’m a hard-hearted, ruthless motherfucker who doesn’t know shit about love or relationships.” He pulled me forward, one hand taking a firm hold of my wrists, while his legs forced my knees apart. “And neither do you.” His free hand ripped off my panties. “Perfection is complete fantasyland bullshit.”

His hand slid against my pussy, and two fingers pushed inside, stretching me open. I moaned as I clenched around those fingers tightly.

“See, darling?” He smiled knowingly. “That’s our reality. It’s raw, wicked, and wild—a connection on a level very few will ever have or could even dream of.”

I didn’t have it all figured out. What I did know was Core was no Prince Charming, and I, for damn sure, wasn’t a princess. There would be no fairy-tale ending for us. It would be hard work, and more importantly, it would be real. Life couldn’t be all about tiaras and knights riding in to save the day.

Damn it! I would rewrite my fucking story and leap into the black abyss on faith alone because I wasn’t looking for forever.

I licked his lips, unzipped his pants, and wrapped my hands around his hard cock before squeezing hard. He hissed as he relaxed against the soft leather chair, watching with intensity as I slid to my knees.

This was my give. This was his take.

And there was no going back.

Till death do us part…