Seven days of skin for about seven minutes of his help. Born to money, arrogant, and fine as hell, Malachi Jones sauntered into my life with his screwed up idea of a bargain. I’m not that kind of girl, so I played him. Tried turning the tables without honouring my side of the deal. Didn’t work. He took what he wanted anyway. The time for fear hasn’t started yet, according to him. It’s coming, though. It's at the end of the flight we're on. Fear and me don’t mix that well anymore, and despite the freaky dance that might be coming, I will retaliate when threatened. I’m not who he thinks I am, and I've already been dealt worse in life than him. I've got the scars to prove it. Author note: This is a dark romance book. Varying triggers do apply.

Tit for tat. That’s the game we were playing, but he changed it. Tried to end it. Didn’t work. So now we’re here and I’m considering what to do because screw him, right? It should be that simple, and it would be if he wasn’t still inside my veins, still haunting my every thought. I can feel him, sense his heart pounding for life alongside mine. Maybe one last chance then. One more hope to find each other in this timeless world of his. We'll run and breathe and dance to his song. He'll hunt. I'll brace. We’ll collide. That's the plan. It's a shame my past is haunting me, too.

I know what death feels like now. I can feel it in these new hands that touch me. Maybe I should have anchored myself to Malachi some more, made him be more cautious of who I was before him. I didn’t. And now we’re miles apart and all I can do is hope he’ll come for me. Why would he, though? I’m a no one to him. I was just a bargain we made – a novelty for him to play with. This situation was always in the cards for me. There was never any outrunning it, or avoiding it. But even now I wish I could have had more time in the safe arms that held me firmly. Safe. Not a word any of us understand, but I wanted to be just that. I needed to be. And I was. Until I wasn’t. Who knows how this story ends? Not me, that’s for sure. But I do know I’ll never forget the one man who meant more to me than anyone ever has. I’ll never forget the love I felt.