Lust: The Deadliest Sin Series, #7

By Gwyn McNamee

Lust opened the door for me.

Now, I'll build my empire on its back.

Because one thing I can always rely on is the weaknesses of my enemies.

Weakness of the flesh.

Of the soul.

Of the mind.

All I have to do is be the strongest…and I'll come out on top.

Where I belong.

The city of Chicago never saw me coming.

But now that I've arrived, I won't back down for anything.

Or anyone.

Not even the man who stirs the very thing in me that I prey on in others.

I'll bring them all to their knees, but I'll never drop to mine.

 

***Lust is the seventh book in The Deadliest Sin Series about organized crime in Chicago. This series is best read in order, as the stories are chronological and each sin builds on the events of the previous one.***

• Language: English
• Publisher: Gwyn McNamee
• Release date: Feb 25, 2021
• ISBN: 9781393200260

Gwyn McNamee

Gwyn McNamee is an attorney, writer, wife, and mother (to one human baby and two fur babies). Originally from the Midwest, Gwyn relocated to her husband’s home town of Las Vegas in 2015 and is enjoying her respite from the cold and snow. Gwyn has been writing down her crazy stories and ideas for years and finally decided to share them with the world. She loves to write stories with a bit of suspense and action mingled with romance and heat. When she isn’t either writing or voraciously devouring any books she can get her hands on, Gwyn is busy adding to her tattoo collection, golfing, and stirring up trouble with her perfect mix of sweetness and sarcasm (usually while wearing heels). Gwyn is the author of The Hawke Family series, The Slip Series, The Deadliest Sin Series, The Inland Seas Series, The Supernatural Love Stories in the Absurd (written as her alter-ego, DP Payne), and several stand-alone novels.

Book preview

Lust

Lust

The Deadliest Sin Series - Book 7

Gwyn McNamee

LUST

© 2021 Gwyn McNamee

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All rights reserved. Except as permitted by U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without prior permission of the author.

The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, establishments, or organizations, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously to give a sense of authenticity. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Contents

Preface

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

About the Author

OTHER WORKS BY GWYN MCNAMEE

To everyone who has ever given into lust.

Sex is the consolation you have when you can’t have love.

-Gabriel Garcia Marquez

1

KAT

Ican’t believe it's taken this long.

It’s been almost a week since I killed Michael in the very chair I'm sitting in, and I'm finally getting the visit I've been anticipating every minute of every hour of every day since I pulled the trigger—the visit that has my stomach twisted into a knot and my palms sweaty more than any of the other bullshit that happened since Aleksander's death. More than being left alone after finally finding the other half of my soul, more than having to kill Brynn and become Kat, more than having to bring Aleksander’s ashes back to Albania and bury him beside his family, more than having to return to Chicago to get my revenge on Michael by getting biblically close to him.

The man who is about to walk through my office door could be my biggest enemy or my biggest ally. But I don't want him for either. As far as I'm concerned, Rose could disappear and it would make my life a lot easier.

Hell, it would make a lot of lives easier.

Any number of people want him gone—the Italians, the Russians, the Irish, the smaller Hispanic gangs Rose has been pushing out of the Windy City, plus I’m sure a whole slew of other cartels back in South America. But with Michael out of the picture and Rose now aware of who I really am and my real intent in taking over this empire, there's only one reason he can be here—to confront me about setting him up so Michael and I could try to kill him.

A plan that might have eventually played out exactly as we intended had it not been time to remove Michael from the picture.

The guys won't let Rose back here with anything that could hurt me, but that doesn't mean he's not dangerous.

He’s the worst kind of danger.

Charming and handsome, smooth and polished, the type of man who strips women of their clothes as well as their inhibitions.

Even while he was a pawn in my game with Michael, I couldn't ignore the way my body reacted to the man. A flutter in my chest. A heat low in my belly. A burning need between my legs. So, knowing he is walking down the hallway and about to open that door means I need to steel myself against any unwanted reaction that might give him the upper hand here.

One thing I will not do is cower or show weakness in the face of any man—let alone Rose. Not with what I've managed to accomplish in taking back Aleksander's territory. His empire. What is rightfully mine.

Though I can’t say with complete confidence that he would be happy with my sitting in this chair. He never wanted this life for me. I glance at the desk I sit behind and run my hand over the nicked and worn wood, unleashing a torrent of memories.

My argument with Aleksander when I discovered he had bought me a computer and tried to pay for me to have a new life. My anger at him for pushing me away after the time we spent together. His belief that I was too weak to be with a man like him, to live this kind of life.

He didn’t win that argument. I didn’t let him. I forced him to face what we had and accept that we were inevitable. We may not have had a lot of time together before he was ripped away from me, but what we did have was intense and incredible, something you only find once in a lifetime.

I squeeze my eyes closed, and it's almost as if I can feel his hands on my hips. His hot breath against my neck as he bent me over this very desk and fucked me hard from behind, finally claiming me as his—forever.

Even death can’t change that.

My entire body heats at the memory, aching and desperate for that touch again. The doorknob turns, and I release a heavy, shaky breath. It’s time to pull myself together and stop living in the past.

No weakness.

The door opens, and Rose enters, looking as immaculate as always in his custom-tailored suit that fits him like it was painted onto his lean, hard body. His dark eyes zero in on me, and a grin twitches at the edge of his lips. Well, Kat… He takes a step forward and pauses. Or are you going by Brynn now? It seems you haven't been honest with me. His accent slips into his perfect English with each step he takes. He stops behind the chair, facing me, and wraps his hands around the back, squeezing until his knuckles whiten. And if there's one thing I cannot abide…it's dishonesty.

He's angry.

Good.

If he's mad, he'll be less likely to turn on the charm and direct it at me. That’s much safer because being the focus of that is like staring down a freight train barreling at you full speed and not being able to get out of the way.

What I told Michael was true—typically, handsome and charming don’t really do anything for me. Scary and ruthless men are much more my type. Terrance was the first, though when I became the focus of all of that rage and aggression, it became a whole different situation.

And then Aleksander came into my life and heart.

My chest aches just thinking about the way he swooped in and saved me—both from Terrance and from myself. If the same situation were to happen now, I wouldn't need him. He taught me how to defend myself, how to take care of myself, and how to be cold and ruthless. It’s what got me back this chair that was stolen from him by Michael’s envy.

Though I could never be the Dragon.

I can never be what he and Michael became. The kind of tunnel vision that overwhelmed them led them to make the kind of mistakes that got them killed. And I won't allow that to happen to me. Which is why I can't let down my guard around a man like Rose.

A man my body reacts to. A man I need to keep hating.

I offer him a cool smile and motion