“Not sure who your admirer is, but they’re definitely trying to make a statement.” The delivery guy from Garden Cottage Florist, the same one I’d seen on a daily basis in the week since I’d left Salvatore’s apartment, handed me another overwhelming vase of freshly cut red and white roses. The symbolism of the colors he’d chosen didn’t surprise me—white for what he saw as my pure innocence, and blood red for murder.

Okay, maybe the red was for passion or love, but all I could think about when I saw them was the confession he’d made. I’d been trying to come to terms with what I knew to be true, but no matter how many times I repeated it, it still didn’t sink in.

Salvatore had killed his lover.

He could’ve killed me. The truth of those words that I had dismissed so easily when they came from Brayden’s mouth couldn’t be disregarded when they had come from the mouth of the man I’d trusted so carelessly.

“Can you please tell the sender that I don’t want them? They’re just going in the trash.”

“Sorry, just doing my job.” As the delivery man headed back to his van, I took one look at the flowers and walked around the building to the dumpster. It was a shame to waste such gorgeous roses, but I couldn’t have them in my apartment, reminding me of Salvatore and his deception. Lifting the lid of the dumpster, I tossed the vase inside, along with all the others. The chocolate baskets would’ve suffered the same fate if Brayden hadn’t insisted on taking them off my hands.

Truth be told, I was surprised that Salvatore hadn’t tried to deliver any of it himself. He’d blown up my phone with calls and texts so much in the first couple of days that I’d had to change my number, but he knew where I lived, where I worked, where Brayden lived. There wasn’t anywhere I could hide if I wanted to, and even though I hadn’t seen him, I still felt his eyes on me. He was there, somewhere, in the shadows or following at a distance, of that I was certain.

But he hadn’t approached, which was proof that using my safe word had been the most effective way of ending our relationship, at least from a physical standpoint. Mentally, I still hadn’t been able to wrap my head around it, not to mention the fact that knowing he was watching gave me the creeps.

I opened the door to my studio. The large box in the center of my coffee table was such an eyesore that I knew I’d have to get rid of it sooner than later. I’d been watching as the Mosasaur replica had been pieced together, and it had been easy to carefully take it apart. I couldn’t keep it, but did I send it back to Salvatore? Sell it? It had to be worth a small fortune, so doing that would help my financial situation and maybe even get me something drivable, but I hadn’t yet been able to stomach getting rid of something so precious.

What a mess, I thought, as I flopped onto my couch and put my head in my hands. Salvatore had to stop this. But given the nature of his unhealthy obsession, I didn’t see him giving up on his attempts to win me back, and so I would continue to trash his gifts and go about my life as usual. What if that wasn’t enough, though? I’d debated whether to get the police involved, but several things stopped me from doing that. First, I didn’t seriously think Salvatore would hurt me. To say that out loud to Brayden sounded ridiculous, even to my ears, after what Tor confessed to me, but what happened with Lee had been an accident, the same as what we’d done. An accident of passion, perhaps, and not one that would ever manifest again. And second, with the kind of influence Salvatore had in Westport, would anyone actually believe me if I thought I was in danger? He could probably pad their pockets and make things go away if he wanted to. I wasn’t stupid. Sure, I’d been blinded by my feelings for the man I thought I knew for weeks now, but I was finally seeing things clearly.

Salvatore Wolfe, dominant, always in control of everything, it seemed…except his own mind. That last meeting with him, up at his condo, had been intense. I’d gone there with the expectation of fixing a relationship that was fractured, and instead walked away from a man who would forever remain broken. I’d replayed that night over and over in my head, and no matter which way I relived it, two things remained abundantly clear. One, Salvatore had deceived me. He had manipulated me into believing he was someone he wasn’t to gain access to me ever since the very first time he saw me. And two, he was under some delusion I was his ex-boyfriend brought back to him so he could what…? Redeem himself?

If it wasn’t so horribly tragic, this could’ve been the best prank in history. But it wasn’t. This was what he truly believed, I’d seen it in his eyes, heard it in his voice, and the reality of that was downright frightening.

A knock on my door jolted me out of my thoughts, and as I got to my feet, I wondered who it could be. The buzzer for the building didn’t work, so it could only be a neighbor…unless someone had snuck in somehow.

Cracking open the door, I saw that it was indeed one of my neighbors, standing next to another man in a sharp suit.

“Hey, Jesse,” Vicki, one of the tenants on the first floor, said, and then she gestured to the man next to her. “This guy says he has a delivery for you.”

“Oh yeah?” I said, opening the door wider and crossing my arms as I looked around him for whatever Salvatore had sent now. “How about you give it to Vicki instead? I’m not interested.”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that,” the man said. “It’s in your name. Jesse Clark.”

I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose. “Again, if you don’t give whatever it is to Vicki, it’s just gonna end up in the trash, along with all the other gifts.”

The man hesitated. “I don’t think you’ll want to throw this gift away.”

“We’ll see about that.” I held out my hand and gestured for him to hurry up and hand over whatever it was, and when he produced a small black box, my eyes went huge. “What the hell is that?”

“Why don’t you open it up and see?” The man nodded at the box as he placed it in my hand, and a tremor racked my body.

No. No, no. Surely this wasn’t some kind of ring. Salvatore wouldn’t go that far, would he?

With trembling fingers, I lifted the top, and sitting inside on a plush pillow was a silver key. A key? A key to what? His house?

When I looked up at the man in confusion, he smiled and said, “It’s downstairs. If you’ll come with me…”

Vicki had a big, goofy grin on her face, and she took my arm and pulled me out of my apartment. “I got a peek, and wow. Whoever sent you that must really love you. You’re so lucky.”

Lucky? Me? That wasn’t the first or even fiftieth word I’d ever associate with myself, and as I let Vicki lead me down the stairs, I felt a sense of dread. What now? I thought, as the man opened the front door of the building and moved aside so I could see—

Holy. Shit. Grenades could’ve exploded all around us and I would’ve been oblivious as I stared at the big red bow wrapped around my “package.” Because red Fiat convertibles were just something you’d get delivered every day.

My shock had rendered me frozen and unable to speak, so even as the man gestured to the car and began to excitedly tell me all the features and whatnots, I couldn’t register a word he said. Blood rushed in my ears like torrential waves and my pulse kicked up as I stared ahead, and when the man handed me the note that went along with it, I felt a burst of anger so strong that if Salvatore had been there, I would’ve drawn blood. I looked down again at the words he’d written:

To keep you safe, my little lamb.

To keep me safe? And who would keep me safe from him? I crumpled the note in my fist as my chest heaved and flashes of red made my vision blur. There was no escaping him. While I was in this city—his city—he could and would always find me. He’d always be able to get to me. Whether it was lavishing these ridiculously expensive gifts on me or following me down a side street at night, no matter what I did, Salvatore would always be there.

“Take it away,” I said, cutting off the man’s spiel by handing him back the key.

“But sir—”

“I said, take it away. I don’t want it.” I didn’t want anything that put me in Salvatore’s debt. I didn’t want him to believe he had any claim over me. That was the key here. He had to know he didn’t own me in anyway at all. Key… Key… Oh shit. As the word rolled over in my mind, I spun on my heel, not even caring what the delivery guy was saying anymore, and dashed back inside, leaving Vicki out there on the curb with him. I took the stairs up to my apartment two at a time, as my heart thumped erratically. How could I have been so stupid? I raced through my front door and headed straight for the chest of drawers. Pulling open the top one, I rifled through my socks and underwear looking for, and finally locating, the key.

How did I forget about this? Of course Salvatore still thinks I’m his. What did he say to me the night he gave this to me… “Now you belong to me.” Fuck.

I curled my fingers around the antique key that I’d once held with such excitement and pride, and suddenly I felt ill to my stomach. I had to give it back. That was the last connection. That was the final thing that kept me bound to him.

I shoved the drawer shut and sat on my couch, staring at the key and thinking of what I would say when the clock finally hit ten, when I could go to the Wolfe’s Den and put an end to this once and for all. It was time to go back to where this all began.

WHEN THE TAXI pulled up out the front of the den, I steeled myself against what I would encounter once I got inside. Maybe he wouldn’t even be there tonight. But there was no way I was going back to his condo on my own, so this was my best option. Plus, I was pretty sure if he wasn’t there, the minute I was granted access, he would be alerted. That seemed his style.

I climbed out of the cab and, with no hesitation this time at all, marched up to the front entrance and swung the door wide. No one was going to get in my way tonight. Salvatore had wanted my attention, and now he had it.

I looked at the behemoth of a security guard. “Hey,” I said, refusing to give even the slightest hint of nerves. “How’s it going tonight?”

When he merely stared at me, I shrugged. He hadn’t thrown me out on sight, so at least Salvatore hadn’t issued that order for a second time. I walked up to the desk, clearly not in the appropriate attire required for the den, but when I handed over my key, the man didn’t even question me. He inserted it into the lock used to check it was authentic, and when it cleared, he grabbed one of the deposit boxes and opened it for me. I emptied my wallet and phone into the box then locked it with my fingerprint and waited for the doors to open.

It was funny how something that had once been so foreign to you could become achingly familiar after only a couple of visits. But as I stepped through the double doors and did a sweep of the Rendezvous Site, my eyes landed on the bar and the curved mirrored wall behind it, and I had a flash of memory over what had happened in Salvatore’s office.

“Jesse?”

I turned to look at the woman who’d given me a tour of the den on my last visit here. Trinity, that was her name. And being that she was Salvatore’s right-hand woman, she was exactly who I needed to talk to.

“Where is he?” I said, skipping over any niceties or formalities. This woman wasn’t stupid, and she certainly wasn’t ignorant, so I had to believe she was aware that I hadn’t been back to the den since I’d last seen her, and that her boss was likely acting…out of sorts.

“Jesse, I don’t think—”

“I didn’t ask you to think,” I said, getting sick and tired of people thinking they could tell me what to do, how to act, and yes, how to fucking think. “I asked where he is.”

One of her perfectly shaped eyebrows rose at my demand. “He’s down on level five, the—”

“Lair. I know.”

She stepped aside, and as I went to brush by her, she took hold of my forearm and stopped me. I glanced down at her hand and then up to meet her eyes, and noticed her lips were drawn tight as she stared at me. Her face was a serious, unreadable mask, and for a second I thought she was about to toss me out on my ass.

“I told him to stay away from you,” she said under her breath. “I knew this wouldn’t end well the minute I saw you.”

I clenched my jaw, wondering if she meant it wouldn’t end well for Salvatore or for me.

“You’re too much like him—”

“Like Lee?”

Trinity gave a quick nod. “Yes. Up until now, he only ever played with subs. He never got serious, and he certainly never slept with them. But the second I saw you, and his reaction to you, I knew you would be his undoing.”

She said it as though it were my fault. As though I had purposely come to the den in search of Salvatore to destroy him, when it had been the complete opposite. He had sought me out and set about destroying me.

I yanked my arm out of her grip and narrowed my eyes. “Is that all?”

“Isn’t that enough?”

“I suppose it is,” I said, and headed toward the stairwell, but before I got there, I looked back to her. “I assume you’ll call ahead so I won’t be stopped?”

Trinity merely inclined her head and slowly backed away from me, hopefully going to do what I had just asked. As I bounded down the stairs and past level two, I didn’t pay any mind to the sexual acts being committed all around me. They were just white noise, and I was laser focused on finding the man I’d come here for. I passed through level three without incident, and as I entered the fourth, the fetish level, I couldn’t believe how I barely noticed the very things that had surprised me so much not long ago. It felt like a lifetime since I’d been introduced to Salvatore’s darker side, to the hidden dirty deeds that took place in a building most city dwellers passed every day without thinking twice.

How had I thought I could ever fit in with this lifestyle? I had liked the bite of pain because I’d liked the man giving it to me. I had been open to things because I wanted to please him. Now I only felt foolish, because I’d been playing a part in Salvatore’s disturbed, fucked-up love story. It had nothing to do with me, with who I was, and that was the most devastating part about the whole thing. I’d believed he was falling for me. That I was special. But none of it had been real.

The reality of where I was hit me as I took the final steps down to the Lair. Would he be whipping someone again? Or maybe something more this time? It didn’t matter, because he didn’t matter to me anymore. That was what I was telling myself as I ignored the hole in my chest where his larger-than-life presence had taken up space.

The Lair was exactly as it’d been the first time I’d seen it, dungeon-like, with flickering torches along the walls, but this time I didn’t have to look far for the Wolfe. Overseeing his subjects from his throne, Salvatore sat on the raised dais shirtless and in the same black leather pants I’d seen him in before. A whip dangled idly from his hand, and the expression on his face was one of melancholy, like he wasn’t really watching anything happening on the floor below.

Why did he have to be so unbelievably handsome? Why did my body have to react to him in a way that warred with my mind and all sanity? I didn’t want to be affected by this man. I didn’t want my cock to take notice or my blood to hum or my stomach to flip at the sight of him.

The strong lines of his face and his muscular body, the dark hair on his chest trailing down to what I knew was a cock that could inspire more pleasure than anything I’d ever known…it wasn’t fair. He looked like the devil himself lording over hell, but I hadn’t known at the time how tempting that sinful prince would be. I hadn’t known that the price I’d have to pay would be nothing less than a shattered heart that would never piece itself back together.

I could always feel his stare, even when I hadn’t known it was his I should fear, and the same must’ve been true for Salvatore, because his head turned ever so slightly in my direction, and those penetrating eyes fell on me. The instant lick of heat in his gaze shook me to my core, and as he dropped the whip and pushed up to his feet, my feet moved forward of their own accord, meeting him halfway, in the center of the room.

Don’t be deceived by the pretty packaging. He’s not the man who swept you off your feet. He’s the wolf who preyed on you.

As Salvatore came to a stop in front of me, his eyes roamed over my face as though checking every feature was how he remembered. I stood before him with my chin raised and my spine ramrod straight, letting him take his fill, and I could feel the stares of every other den member now on their alpha and the one he had publicly claimed.

“You came to me,” Salvatore said, as he slowly raised a hand, and right before his fingers could touch my cheek, I took a step back.

“Don’t,” I said, and looked to either side of us to see that the other members were coming closer, circling around us. They were probably wondering who was stupid enough to defy the man currently towering over me.

Salvatore’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t? If you don’t wish me to touch you, why have you come here?”

Because I’m a fucking idiot was my first thought, because how had I ever thought I could resist him when he was so close, so intense, and so very overwhelming?

No. I was stronger than that. I was also smarter, of that I was sure, and staying with someone like Salvatore would never be a smart move, no matter which way I envisioned it.

“I came here to tell you that you need to stop sending me things. Stop buying me things. It’s not going to change anything.”

I didn’t dare take my eyes off Salvatore as he took a step toward me, closing the distance I had purposely created a second ago, both for my sanity and my safety.

“Why do I need to stop?” Salvatore asked in a lowered voice as he tilted his head to the side, his face taking on a look of confusion, as if he didn’t understand what he was doing was wrong. That I didn’t want these gifts from him. These token apologies. “I’m not touching you,” he said, and it was unfair the way his voice was a caress all on its own. “I’ve left you alone. And it doesn’t hurt you. So why do I need to—”

“It does hurt me,” I exploded, and a collective gasp rose around us.

Salvatore didn’t even flinch. It was as though no one else was in the room. “How, Jesse? How does it hurt you?”

“Because every time you send me something new, I’m reminded of why I can never be with you.”

“But you can be,” he said, and this time reached for, and caught, my arm. “I know you were scared by what you learned about me. That you were shocked. But I can change, I can stop if that’s what will make you happy.”

I glanced down at the strong fingers surrounding my arm and felt my resolve starting to waver. I wanted to believe him. I wanted him to be able to change for me. To get better for me…

I raised my eyes back to his, and as everyone in the Lair faded from my view, I swayed toward this magnetic man.

He brought his other hand up to cup my cheek, and I closed my eyes and leaned into it. Nothing had ever felt so right as Salvatore’s breath washed over my lips, and yet…

“You won’t ever stop,” I whispered, my eyes opening and locking on to his. “If all it was was this here…this world and what excites you? I could maybe look beyond it. But Salvatore,” I said, and brought my hand up to place my palm on his chest. “It’s in your soul where you are truly troubled. And that can never be fixed, can never change. It runs too deep.”

As my words lingered between us, Salvatore slowly raised his head and released his hold on me. “I told you who I was.”

“And you also told me that when I no longer wanted to do this, you would stop. Was that another lie?”

Salvatore flinched as though I’d struck him, and then he shook his head. “No. If what you want is for this to be over, then it will be over.”

I took a step toward him and peered up into his face, running my eyes over every detail, memorizing it, because after tonight, I knew I would never see it again. “If only you were telling me the truth.”

“I am.”

“And how do I believe that? From the second I walked into your life, you have manipulated me, tricked me. I gave my trust, my body, and my heart to you blindly, Salvatore—all based on a lie.”

He shook his head, denial warring with the truth being laid at his feet as I whispered, “The only way to escape you is to leave the world you run. Leave the city you own. Because how else will I ever free myself from you?”

“Jesse—”

“No, Wolfe,” I said, and I knew what it meant for me to be publicly defying him in his Lair. He would either allow it or have me removed. And when he didn’t call security, I made the next move. I reached for his wrist, and as I held it in one hand, I dug in my pocket with the other, and when I pulled the antique key free, I placed it in his palm and curled his fingers around it. “I would’ve loved you,” I whispered.

The silent crowd watched in morbid fascination as their leader then did something I knew none of them had ever witnessed before. The Wolfe fell down to his knees in front of me, his head lowered in a beautiful act of submission, and I felt a tear roll down my cheek.

He didn’t belong down there. He never would. Just as I would never belong here with him. I released my hand from around his clasped fist and drew a finger down his chiseled jaw line, then I tipped his face up so his eyes met mine.

“You don’t belong on your knees,” I told him, and then finally relinquished all physical contact with him. “You are the Wolfe, and you don’t submit to anyone.”

As I backed away from him, a piece of his black hair fell down across his forehead and Wolfe’s piercing eyes found mine. “No one except my little wolf.”

My feet came to an abrupt stop, and I sucked in my breath at what I’d just heard, and then the side of his lip curled and my entire body responded to the wicked curve of it. When did I go from his little lamb to his little— Oh shit. Right then, I knew that somehow, instead of putting an end to this twisted relationship, I had just altered it in Wolfe’s mind, and he was letting me know loud and clear that this was not over, that it would never be over, and with that final image of him in my head, I turned on my heel and ran.