Bound To The Monster Who Ruined Me

The heavy brass wheels of the room service cart dragged against the thick carpet.

Ayleen Avery leaned her weight against the cold wall of The Sargon Club's top-floor corridor. Her lungs burned with every breath. Waves of a persistent low-grade fever and dizzy spells sent tremors down her spine, making the opulent hallway spin in her vision.

The walkie-talkie clipped to her apron crackled.

"Avery. Get that wine into the VIP suite now. Stop stalling."

The floor manager's voice was a sharp whip. Ayleen bit her lower lip hard enough to taste copper. She forced her trembling hands back onto the cart's handle.

Suddenly, the corridor lights flickered and died. A circuit failure plunged the hallway into thick shadows.

Ayleen blinked through the dizzying darkness. She pushed the cart forward, every step threatening to drain the absolute last ounce of her strength as her vision occasionally blacked out at the edges, stopping blindly in front of an unmarked door. She thought it was the right suite.

She raised a knuckles to knock, but the heavy wooden door was already ajar.

She pushed it open. A dense wave of cigar smoke and raw male pheromones hit her face.

She stepped inside tentatively. The main lights were off. Heavy blackout curtains suffocated the moonlight, leaving the room pitch black.

Deep in the shadows of the sofa, Cassius Doyle sat frozen.

Three years of chronic insomnia had shredded his nervous system. The sound of footsteps entering his sanctuary made his muscles snap tight. His eyes locked onto the silhouette at the door.

Ayleen took another step. Her knee slammed into the sharp edge of a glass coffee table.

She let out a sharp gasp of pain.

That tiny sound snapped the last thread of Cassius's sanity.

He exploded from the darkness like a provoked beast. He crossed the carpet in three massive strides and clamped his hand around Ayleen's wrist. His grip was bone-crushing.

Ayleen was yanked forward. Her feet left the floor.

She crashed hard into a wall of solid, burning muscle. The scream died in her throat.

She thrashed wildly, pushing at his chest. Cassius simply twisted both her wrists behind her back with one hand, pinning her against him.

His ragged breathing scorched the skin of her neck.

He was going to throw the intruder out. But then, it hit him.

A faint, elegant scent of roses and rain radiated from her skin. It flooded his senses.

Instantly, the splitting agony in his skull stopped. The relentless noise in his brain went dead silent.

Pure, animalistic instinct took over. Cassius let out a low growl. He dipped his head and crushed his mouth over hers.

Ayleen's fever-addled brain short-circuited. She whimpered, biting down hard on his lip to defend herself.

The taste of blood only made him more ruthless. He plundered her mouth, completely overpowering her.

He scooped her up into his arms. Ayleen kicked her legs in the air, but he carried her to the bedroom effortlessly and threw