“No.” The chill I’d first started to feel after we’d made love that last night spread through me, turning my blood to ice. I shoved the rag away from my temple, pushed out of his arms, and struggled to my feet. “No, I don’t want you to. I don’t want you here. I don’t want any of this.”
“Natalie.” He slowly rose in front of me, and even though my vision hadn’t adjusted to the bright light yet, I could see his eyes. Wide and focused and as intense as they’d ever been. “Listen to me. I’m here to help you.”
All the lies. All the fear. All the heartache. It all came rushing back. Misery swelled inside me. Misery and disgust and horror. “I don’t want your help. Get out. Get out of my life, Luc.”
Pain echoed through my legs as I turned away from him. From the corner of my eye, I spotted the man who’d attacked me lying in a bed of broken wood and glass that used to be my coffee table. His wide, lifeless eyes stared up at the ceiling.
Bile shot up my throat, and I tried to run for the bathroom, but Luc grabbed me by the wrist and jerked me back to face him.
I yanked against his hold. “Let me—”
Something sharp stabbed into my biceps. Wincing, I looked down to see a hypodermic needle sticking out of my flesh.
“Everything’s going to be okay,” Luc said calmly as he depressed the plunger, then pulled the needle from my arm. It hit the floor with a click.
Shocked, I stared down at it, then lifted my gaze to his.
He grasped my other arm and pulled me toward him. “I said I’d take care of you, and I will. I promise. I won’t let them touch you.”
No. No, no, no…
I struggled against him. I thought I struggled against him, at least. But my head was growing light, my vision already dimming.
I felt his arms surround me, easily pulling me into his chest. I heard his soft voice at my ear, whispering words I couldn’t make out because I was already drifting.
He’d drugged me. The realization should have hit me hard, but instead it floated in my head, mingling with the shadows circling in. This was different from the drug Gio had given me. This was going to pull me under in a matter of seconds.
“I’m someone completely different with him…”
In a haze, I thought of my friend, and I wondered if this was what Elena had felt in the last seconds of her life.
One of the articles I’d read on the Internet rushed to the forefront of my fading mind. A section about sex kittens and what happens to the ones who don’t fall in line. The article had claimed drug overdoses were the easiest way to get rid of them.
This was what had happened to Elena. She’d fallen for a man who’d ultimately destroyed her, and now the same thing was happening to me. I’d set out to find her killer, but somewhere along the way, I’d turned from everything that mattered and stumbled into an obsessive relationship with a man who was so overwhelming, I’d been blinded to the threat right in front me.
I’d become Elena. And because of my stupidity, in a matter of hours I’d be nothing more than a statistic.
Another woman who’d seen too much, trusted too easily, and loved far too hard.
Another sex kitten that evil men hidden behind gruesome masks used and threw away like trash.
Another drug overdose, dead on the floor.
Just like my best friend.
Don’t miss the next exciting story in the House of Sin Series
The Betrayal - Book Three
Some doors were never meant to be opened…
I made a fateful mistake. I should never have peeked behind the doors into his forbidden world.
But I did, and now I’m a prisoner. Trapped by the man I thought I loved. The man I once foolishly trusted. The man who, despite his lies and deception, I continue to crave.
Lost forever in his wicked House of Sin…
Books in the complete House of Sin Series:
THE SECRET - Book One
THE FALL - Book Two
THE BETRAYAL - Book Three
THE VOW - Book Four
THE PRICE - Book Five
THE CHOICE - Book Six
SURRENDER - A House of Sin Novella
Thank You!
Dear Reader:
Thank you for reading THE FALL! Stay tuned for THE BETRAYAL, the next book in the House of Sin series, which continues Luc and Natalie’s exciting story.
If you enjoyed THE FALL and any of the books in the Forbidden Series, I would appreciate it if you would help others enjoy them as well by doing one of the following:
Recommend them: Please help others find these books by recommending them to friends, readers’ groups, and discussion boards.
Review them: Tell readers what you liked or didn’t like by reviewing them at one of the major retailers, review sites, or on your blog. I appreciate all reviews whether positive or negative.
To find out what I’m working on next, you can sign up for my Newsletter here. Click to see a full list of my books. And don’t forget to follow me on Twitter, or like my FB page to get exclusive excerpts, behind the scenes first looks, and upcoming series/book updates.
~Elisabeth
Also by Elisabeth Naughton
House of Sin Series
(Romantic Thriller)
THE SECRET
THE FALL
THE BETRAYAL
THE VOW
THE PRICE
THE CHOICE
SURRENDER
(Romantic Suspense)
REPRESSED
GONE
PROTECTED
UNSPEAKABLE
Aegis Series
(Romantic Suspense)
BREATHLESS ESCAPE
DANGEROUS PROPOSAL
DEADLY ENCOUNTER
EXTREME MEASURES
LETHAL CONSEQUENCES
FATAL PURSUIT
Against All Odds Series
(Romantic Suspense)
WAIT FOR ME
HOLD ON TO ME
MELT FOR ME
Stolen Series
(Romantic Suspense)
STOLEN FURY
STOLEN HEAT
STOLEN SEDUCTION
STOLEN CHANCES
Eternal Guardians Series
(Paranormal romance)
MARKED
TEMPTED
ENRAPTURED
ENSLAVED
BOUND
TWISTED
RAVAGED
AWAKENED
UNCHAINED
HUNTED
ENSNARED
WICKED
Firebrand Series
(Paranormal romance)
BOUND TO SEDUCTION
SLAVE TO PASSION
POSSESSED BY DESIRE
About the Author
Before topping multiple bestseller lists—including those of the New York Times, USA Today, and the Wall Street Journal—award winning author Elisabeth Naughton taught middle school science. A voracious reader, she soon discovered she had a knack for creating stories with a chemistry of their own. The spark turned into a flame, and Elisabeth now writes full-time.
Elisabeth has penned over thirty books and continues to write in multiple genres. Her books have been translated into numerous languages and have earned several award nominations, including three prestigious RITA® nominations from Romance Writers of America. In 2017, REPRESSED, the first book in her Deadly Secrets series, won the RITA® for best romantic suspense.
Her work has been praised by the Chicago Tribune as being filled with “deadly intrigue, high adrenaline action, and scorchingly hot passion.” Kirkus calls her “a writer talented enough at weaving a yarn to get her readers ensnared in it.” When not
dreaming up new stories, Elisabeth can be found spending time with her husband and three children in their western Oregon home, wrangling two needy cats, or chasing after one very rambunctious Dalmatian.
To learn more about Elisabeth, visit
www.ElisabethNaughton.com