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A pawn played in a perilous game between
father and son…
Yet, her strength was more than either
man could imagine.
As Maddy learns to save herself…
She becomes the one thing that could
set the son free.
Madeleine Clark was raised to become a concert cellist. Sheltered and naïve, she remains hidden behind her music, a protection from the world around her. On the night of her first solo performance, Maddy accepts the admiration of a stranger and finds herself captive in a cruel and twisted power struggle between a sadistic father and his son, Aaron.
Seemingly, dangerous and uncaring, Aaron manages the business operations of his father’s estate. Wanting nothing to do with the slaves kept at the Estate, Aaron refuses to take part in the deeper depravities of his father. Despite his resistance, Aaron’s father ‘gifts’ him with a petite, brunette woman he can’t refuse.
A bond forged in conspiracy and deceit, Aaron struggles to save Maddy by teaching her to survive in the world in which he’d been raised. An unlikely union, Aaron soon learns that great strengths can exist within small packages, while Madeleine learns that love and light can exist in the darkest of places.
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EXCERPT
Finding her voice, Maddy spoke out of turn, not thinking about
the repercussions her words could elicit.
“I would prefer you call me by my name.”
She peaked up at him through her lashes.
“Maddy, I would prefer that you call me Maddy.”
Aaron stopped
with his bare back turned to her, taking several minutes to finally respond, he
asked, “What makes you think you are allowed to ask that? If I wanted, I could call you slave…” He turned to face her, the contours of chest
perfectly shadowed, his strength unquestionable. “…or whore.”
His swagger was slow as he approached her, a hunter skilled in
pursuit. “Would you prefer those names
to ‘Mouse’?”
Sucking her
bottom lip between her teeth, Maddy fidgeted with her hands, refusing to look
Aaron in the eyes. She could feel his
gaze touching her skin, his perusal of the woman barely half his size. The heat of his body rolled off of him as he
circled her. It was the feeling of a
soft blanket and lustful threat wrapped around her at the same time. When the deep resonation of his voice
occurred again, she cringed, fearing he would strike out at her for the
incorrect answer. “Why do you dislike
the name I have given you?”
Continuing to
fidget, Maddy trained her eyes on her feet, not daring to look up into the
endless green she knew stared down at her.
Gripping her under her chin, Aaron pulled her face up to look at him,
his eyes searching hers for the answer to his question. “You will speak when I tell you.” Dropping his hand from her face, he took a
step back placing distance between them.
“Now answer me.”
Her heart
pounded against the walls of her chest, her throat constricted, making it
difficult for her to breath. Fear
consumed her as she stood in the shadow of the man who’d taken at least two
lives that day. Barely a whisper, her
voice squeaked out the answer to his question. “Because a mouse is a furry
little rodent, something detested.”
Aaron stood
thoughtful and silent above her. When he
didn’t respond, Maddy quietly added, “I guess it’s better than Xander’s name
for me.”
Laughter
bellowed out, causing the toned muscles of Aaron’s broad chest to flex and
relax before her eyes. The sound of his
amusement so real, it caused her to want to smile in response to seeing a piece
of his mask falling away, revealing parts of him not witnessed by many
people. Containing himself, Aaron’s eyes
sparkled as he asked, “And what, exactly, is Xander’s name for you?”
A scowl creased
the fine skin between her eyes, her mouth pulled into the pout of a sulking
child. “He calls me ‘cricket’…an
insect. It’s odd that you both refer to
me as nothing more than a common household pest.”
Aaron’s smile
faltered as he looked down upon the beautiful girl who didn’t fully understand
her role. “No, Madeleine, you are not a
common household pest…”
Maddy looked up
at him, anticipating what he would say next.
For a fleeting second,
he looked genuinely amused, but his expression was quickly replaced with
indifference and contempt as he stated, “you are lower than even a pest in your
role as a slave.”
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About M. S. Willis
M.S. Willis is a romance
novelist whose debut novel, Control, was released in 2013. Although
currently writing in the romance genre, Willis has plans to expand her literary
pursuits into multiple genres and has no fear conquering difficult subject
matters in her writing. Willis is a native Floridian who is also a
photographer and musician. When not absorbing herself in written, visual
or musical expression, Willis is an adrenaline junkie, a ‘closet’ video game
enthusiast, and an avid outdoors person and nature lover.
Visit M.S. Willis on her author page: www.facebook.com/mswillisbooks
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