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He threw hiht of theso foolish

Yet, as he stared up at the ceiling, a frown creasing his brow, he found hie to do just that, rather than to sleep

You’re so depraved, Ian I sold my soul into hell to be your woman To what end? This is ned in blood

Yes He was depraved He ell aware of the extremity of his tastes, and he had made certain his lovers ell aware of it as well He had never pretended to be anything other than what he was Yet, it see his eer his lifestyle could pose to another

She had been young Hell, he had been young

Her name had been Melissa Melissa Gaines And she had killed herself because of hiers, his depravities Because he had taken an innocent and introduced her to the lifestyle that had drawn him so fiercely

He had wanted to please her Had wanted to show her all the pleasures he knew could await her Hell, he had thought he had loved her He had swiftly learned the difference between a woman of experience and one too innocent to call a halt to what she saw as nothing ame to secure his heart

He had shared her He had touched her, glorying in her cries of pleasure, her pleas for as else could be as good That he couldn’t love any woman as much as he loved Melissa Until he walked into his apartment the next day to find her lifeless body, her accusation written on a single sheet of paper beside her

It hadn’t mattered that she had a history of psychiatric problems, or that he had been unaware of theiveness and his tearful explanations of his daughter’s weaknesses hadn’t steuilt She had died because she couldn’t handle what he had asked of her Because she had wanted his love so desperately that she would do soht of day

And he had sworn it would never happen again

Innocence would never suffer at his hands again

And here was Courtney So dain So daring, wickedly so, yet as soft and new as dawn She was as different as day froht to Melissa Yet, she served as a cold reminder to the mistakes of the past

One would think, that with the extreht before, and the fact that she had finally ed to push Ian that final step into a physical relationship, that she would feel some sort of satisfaction

She felt only rearden, perched on the top of the cereenery would have hidden froarden that was presently sleeping the short, dreary cold days away

Her feet were propped on the curved bench below it, one ar across her knees as she propped the elbow of the other on her leg and braced her chin within it to stare across the silent gardens into the pine forest beyond

The thick cash jeans protected her fro within her that caused her to shiver

She had been such a child, thinking herself grown up enough to seduce ashe could walk in, and one step at a ti that she could somehow touch his heart as easily as she could touch his body

Not that she had expected it to be easy She hadn’t

And it wasn’t as though her heart had given up on Ian That was i, true But she knew her heart, just as she knew that her body responded to no one as it did to him Which left her between a rock and a hard place, so to speak

Ian would keep the relationship purely physical now He would use her own inexperience against her, just as he had the night before, to keep his control It wasn’t possible to wage this battle on an equal footing

She breathed out wearily, shaking her head at the mess she had found herself in She should have anticipated this Her mother had warned her that Ian would not be as easy to conquer as she had convinced herself he would be

"Ms Mattlaw, you have a call…" the house butler, Jason, spoke behind her, interrupting her hts as she turned to hi coolly before turning and retreating

"Hello?" She frowned as she raised the receiver to her ear

"Courtney, it’s Tally Conover" The set to talkyour introduction party I’m Lucian and Devril’s wife"

"I re roup" Courtney smiled at the memory of Ian’s harassed expression

"I heard you still had quite a bit of shopping to complete," the other woht I would invite you to joinup in the next few months, I find myself in need of new shoes, and perhaps a dress or two"

And a bit of gossip to finish out the trip, Courtney read between the lines quite well

"Sounds good Where should I ly "Jason will inform Ian I called you, so I may as well pick you up myself How about around eleven? We could stop for lunch, and then begin shopping in earnest We ht even extend the trip to dinner if you like We could invite Terrie Wyht out"

"Why do I get the feeling I should bring the barbeque sauce," Courtney responded with an edge of self-, they baste you in your own juices at a roast I prohter filled with friendly mockery "So, are we on?"

"Of course," Courtney responded, as though there had been no doubt "I wouldn’t miss it for the world"