Then, a century and a half later, love blinded him again�a costly mistake that haunted him still, the ghost of the Crimson City Devil forever howling in his mind.

For Dorian, love and betrayal went hand-in-hand, a devastating marriage that could only end in pain and death.

But this time was different. Charlotte wasn�t some traitor from his past. She was his future. She was his right now. She was his everything.

Heeding Colin and Marlys�s warnings, Dorian released her hand. She needed to rest. Everything would look better in the morning.

With a soft, grateful smile, he leaned forward and kissed her cheek, lingering for a moment.

"I�ll be waiting for you," he said. "Perhaps I�ll even cook breakfast."

He was about to rise from the floor when he�s knees brushed against something under the bed. He glanced down, spotting a notebook and what looked like floor plans.

Hisfloor plans, he realized with a start.

He grabbed the pile of paperwork for a closer look.

The documents were from Ravenswood, marked up with red Xs and notes about the artwork displayed in each room. The list was meticulous, matching a similar list in the notebook, with additional notes about the security systems in his home.

Then, scrawled across the top of the second page, underlined three times, was his alarm code.

759462.

Dorian�s head spun, a searing pain slicing through his chest as the pieces clicked into place.

Charlotte wasn�t an art consultant.

She was an art thief.

And she was planning to take Ravenswood for everything it was worth.

The breath rushed from his lungs, his heartbeat thudding in his ears, the damn walls closing in on him.

All of it had been a bloody lie. Her kiss, her touch, the fierce desire in her eyes� There hadn�t been a single honest thing about her.

He closed his eyes, unable to look at her, unable to bare another moment of the sharp pain tearing through him. Instead, he forced it back into the darkness, letting the flames of his fury forge it into another cold, impenetrable gate.

He was a fool to let anyone in.

He wouldn�t make that mistake again.

Not for the rest of his immortal life.

Without sparing Charlotte another glance, Dorian gathered up the evidence, rose from the floor, and marched out of her room.

"Dorian?" Colin asked, alarm filling his eyes. "Is everything all right?"

Malcolm rose from the couch. "Where are you going?"

Dorian didn�t have an answer to either question. At the moment, he could only spare one word, his voice trembling with fury.

"Away."

And then, he left. Down the penthouse elevator, past the doorman he�d compelled earlier, and out into the oily gray Manhattan night.

With a stone heart rattling in his chest and a taste for vengeance smoldering in his mouth, Dorian blurred into the rhythmic rush of Park Avenue, leaving his beautiful, devastating traitor behind.

Colin and Marlys may have saved her life tonight, but as far as Dorian was concerned?

Charlotte D�Amico was dead. JrNovels.com