Author's note: Credit for the base photo of the cover I made goes to Kalementina DeviantArt

Prologue

Sadie's heart was pounding so hard in her chest cavity that she thought she might faint. She couldn't believe what she was about to do. Donned in a pink, silk nightgown with her long, curly, brown hair falling loosely around her shoulders, she glanced up the staircase that would take her to the master suite, where the devil himself was waiting for her.

She cringed at the thought of that man touching her and almost turned around to leave, but there was no way that she could. She didn't have a choice but to do this. She sighed and gripped the railing of the stairs, fully aware that she did have a choice. She could walk out the door and never look back but she would end up losing her home. Then where would her and her mother go?

Heaving in a deep breath to steady her nerves, she started up the stairs, taking each step slowly one at a time. Each step drew her closer to him and her pulse grew even more rapid. I can't do this, her mind screamed at her but she was still moving forward, each step replacing the last.

Even though her husband had passed away, she felt like she was betraying him as she reached the top of the stairs and headed down the hallway.

"Oh Riley," she whispered to herself. "Please forgive me for this…"

When she finally reached the door to his room, she quickly wiped at the tears that began to roll down her cheeks. She refused to let him see her upset, afraid that he would only belittle her.

It took her several moments to gather up the courage to knock on the door. Her knuckles had barely tapped on the solid wood when she heard his deep voice coming from inside the room. "Come in." His voice alone caused a shiver to dance down the length of her spine and with another deep breath, she gripped the knob to turn and opened the door.

Her hands were trembling as she pushed the door closed behind her, her gaze sweeping across the interior of the room to purposely avoid looking at him. The bedroom was dark aside from the flickering flames that came from a few candles scattered across the room, giving it a romantic appeal.

Despite the uneasiness that was gradually rising inside of her, her curiosity got the best of her and she was turning her attention to him on the bed. Wearing a pair of boxer-briefs, he was sipping from a glass of chardonnay and looking far too sexy for his own good.

His eyes were traveling over the length of her slender frame to take in the sight of her and she instantly felt self-conscious, squirming under his stare. She found that she was very close to panicking and running out of the room but something about his smoldering dark eyes drew her closer to the bed. She moved forward, as if an invisible rope was pulling her towards him against her will.

She felt like she didn't have any control over her feet as she approached, taking a seat on the edge of the bed, her back facing him. She exhaled nervously, not sure what to expect. If only there were some way to get out of this but after wracking her brain, she couldn't think of anything.

Without even looking at him, she could feel him moving on the bed towards her. She quickly stiffened the moment she felt his hands resting on her shoulders. Her eyes fell closed and she swallowed around the lump growing in her throat as one of his hands scooped up her hair to toss the strands over the other shoulder.

His hands were warm and surprisingly gentle causing her to shiver involuntarily under his touch. She could hardly breathe as his mouth touched her shoulder, the sensual way his lips moved across her skin creating butterflies in her stomach.

His lips trailed across her shoulder to her neck, sucking softly on the tender flesh while his hands were massaging her shoulders. She could feel her body slowly relaxing as he scooted up closely behind her to press his lips against her ear, his tongue tracing across the delicate lobe.

She didn't want to enjoy this and she certainly didn't want to enjoy him, but with each brush of his lips across her skin, he was drawing an unwanted reaction from her. Goosebumps were popping up along the length of her arms from merely the feel of his hot breath against her ear. Mentally, she was cursing herself as his fingers came to rest on her chin, turning her face towards him.

Swallowing hard, she stared helplessly at him, her eyes meeting his for that brief moment before he was leaning in and softly brushing his lips across hers. She moaned softly, tasting the tang of the wine on his lips. She didn't protest when his arms were circling around her body, tugging her closer. She just leaned into him, knowing that for the night she was his mistress and there was no turning back.