I sit amongst the presidents, royalty, the captains of industry, and the wealthiest f--ks in the world. We own Spiked Roses - an exclusive, membership-only establishment in New Orleans where money or lineage is the only way in. It is for the gentlemen who own everything and never hear the word no. Sipping on whiskey, smoking cigars, and conducting multi-million dollar deals in our own personal playground of indulgence, there isn’t anything I can’t have...and that includes her. I can also have her if I want. And I want.

My life is one long fevered dream, balancing between being killed or killing. The name Harley Crow is one to be feared. I am an assassin. A killer. The villain. I own it. I choose this life. Hell, I crave it. I hunger for it. The smell of fear makes me hard and is the very reason the blood runs through my veins. Until I meet her… Marlowe Masters. Her darkness matches my own. In my twisted world of dancing along the jagged edge of the blade… She changes everything. No weapon can protect me from the kind of death she will ultimately deliver.

I'm a collector of dolls. All kinds of dolls. So beautiful and sexy, they become my art. So perfect and flawless, my art galleries are flooded by the wealthy to gaze upon my possessions with envy. Normally I share my dolls for others to play with or watch on display. But not my special doll. No, not her. Ivy is the most precious doll of all. She's mine. All mine.

It had been years since I had seen her. Years since I last saw those eyes with pure, raw innocence. So much time had passed since I lusted after what I knew I should resist. But she was so right. And I was so wrong. To claim her as mine was breaking the rules. Boundaries should not be broken. But temptation weakens my resolve. With the pull of my dark desires...I know that I can’t hide from my sinful thoughts - and actions - forever.