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295 pages, Paperback
First published May 28, 2019
The Initiation - 1.75 🌟
The Obsession - currently reading
The Deception - tbr
The Redemption - tbr
“You’re doing it again,” he said.
“What?” I whispered.
“Turning me into stone.”
⚡The Game⚡
“Five million dollars, Marist Northcott,” he said, “and you better be the perfect, dutiful wife. You will look and act exactly how we tell you to. A paradigm of class, the girl who everyone looks up to and wants to be.”
⚡The Players⚡
“You have to remember everyone in this house has an agenda. We’re all positioning to get what we want, and no one says what they mean.”
“Do you still taste as good as I remember, Marist?”
“Find out,” I ordered.
Perhaps I wasn’t Medusa, but Persephone.
“Royce was Hades, the king of the underworld. He’d come to carry me down into his dark world, make me his unwilling bride and his queen.”
“I’d tell you I’m sorry if that was hard for you, but honestly?” He tossed a hand up. “I’m not. I take my victories where I can get them, and I don’t regret what I had to do to earn it. It’s win-at-all-costs in the Hale family. You’ll learn that soon enough.”
I was stunned he was being indecisive about my offer, but I was even more shocked when he abruptly stood and yanked at his pants. The action knocked me backward, and I fell on my ass with a hard thud. I glared up at him, but he ignored me. Instead, he hurried to do up his zipper and refasten his belt.
He cast a harsh look at his son. “Jesus, Royce.” His tone was scathing. “Next time try to last longer than a minute. She’s supposed to enjoy it, but not if you don’t give her a chance.”
Macalister was Zeus. He fucked with the mortals just for the fun of it.
For sport.
“I own you, Marist. And eventually I will have you.”
“Everyone has a price, Marist. Tonight, we found Royce’s.” He leaned over and placed his hands on the armrests of my chair, imprisoning me beneath him. “Now I start looking for yours.”
Honesty was a great trait, until it wasn’t. Too much of it and it cut painfully deep.
“You can’t marry Royce.” My pulse slowed to a crawl. Hyperawareness tingled across my skin, warning me something big was coming. Oh, God. Was this where she told me she was secretly in love with him?exhibit B 💀💀
My voice wavered. “Why’s that?” “Because for him to join the board?” Her hand squeezed so hard it was uncomfortable. “He has to fuck you in front of them.”
Royce passed the hourglass to his father. When he unbuttoned his coat and lowered to sit on the throne, my heart beat so violently I grew lightheaded. He was right there in front of me. My feet dangled between his spread knees.exhibit C 💀💀💀
“You’re committing yourself to this board,” Macalister, Royce's dad said. “By putting the company before yourself, you’re giving us a tremendous gift, Marist.”
“Each board member will have one minute to show you his appreciation and prepare you for your partnership with Royce.”
Mr. Shaunessy was the last board member to go before the cycle of men was over. He sat in the chair and brushed the pad of his thumb over my swollen clit before sliding it all the way inside me. I arched up at the intrusion, and when the other men gently nudged me back onto the table, Mr. Shaunessy set his lips where his thumb had just been. His tongue flickered while his thumb thrust. Slow at first, then speeding along and the two working together felt . . .exhibit D 💀💀💀✋🏽
Good. Really, really good. “Oh, fuck,” I whispered. I’d tried to hold it back, but I was breaking down. There were appreciative, encouraging chuckles from the board. “I think she likes that,” one of them said. Shit, I did. Instead of imagining Royce, now I pictured Mr. Shaunessy’s son, Richard. I used the humiliating memory to combat what was happening and control myself. The mental cold shower seemed to work, because— “Time.” There was relief in Royce’s voice. Instead of watching me, he’d been fixated on the hourglass, beating his father to the announcement. Perhaps he’d silently pleaded for the sand to fall faster.
Macalister focused on his son, his gaze moving from the tense fist up to meet his eyes. “You’ll continue your engagement and see it through the marriage. Everyone will believe she’s your wife, and she will be, but in name only. When we’re here, she’ll be mine.” His eyes were terrifying as he flexed his power. “Not yours.”
“How does twenty thousand shares sound?”
Royce’s chest moved with his rapid, uneven breath, but that was the only indication he wasn’t fine. He was calm and business-like when he spoke. “I want the house.”
"Perhaps I wasn't Medusa, but Persephone."
"Royce was waiting and I was drawn to him. He was going to be my downfall."The Initiation is an absolute must read. With complex characters, colorful text, and passion dripping from every page, I simply could not put it down! The intensity of the situation made my heart race and my heart full of hope for Marist. The attraction between Royce and Marist is addictive and the secondary characters bring plenty of friction and strife to the matched couple!
"His hot hungry mouth roved over me, like he needed to press his lips to every inch of my defenseless flesh he could find."Overall, I am completely hooked and cannot wait for more Marist and Royce. Be forewarned, this book ends in a serious cliffy! This was my first Nikki Sloane read and I can say with complete certainty it will not be my last! I am DYING for the next book in this series!
Weirdly, and IMO, Marist with Macalister Hale would have been a better story instead of the worthless spineless douchecanoe that was Royce.
But seriously, the constant comparison to Medusa and Persephone was Lol. Sigh