Dedication:

Mr. Larry,

I will always remember your wonderful smile.

Marie





Prologue


Raya, you are mine. Stop trying to deny me. I know you feel the pull between us. You can’t be with any other man but me. Understand me when I tell you this: you are mine for all eternity. I won’t let you go. Come to me. Do it now! I demand it of you.

Screaming loudly in her dark bedroom, Raya August jerked awake at the sound of the strange, hypnotic voice inside her head. Sweat poured down over her skin, plastering her white nightgown against her body as her widened eyes scanned the room. Raya closed her eyes and took several deep breaths as she tried to calm her racing heart. Once she started feeling more relaxed, she flung the twisted covers off her body. She swung her feet over the edge of the bed and brushed her hair away from her forehead while trying to figure out what was going on.

Who did the voice belong to? Why did he keep declaring I’m his? Am I losing my mind?

Ever since she was attacked at Sahara’s house by Mr. Edwards, she hadn’t been sleeping well. She felt like someone was watching her every single move, but anytime she turned around no one was behind her. The hair on the back of her neck seemed to stand up. She usually didn’t let things scare her, but these eerie occurrences were beginning to make her a little jumpy.

For weeks after the assault, Sahara apologized for getting Raya pulled into in the middle of her stalker’s demented illusions. Raya didn’t blame her best friend for anything that happened to her. Mr. Edwards acted by himself and he was sorely to blame for holding her as a hostage. Sahara had nothing to do with it.

Truthfully, she was more frightened about the odd yet familiar voice she kept hearing every night. The doctors told her that she shouldn’t have any side effects from the blow to her head, but something was going on with her. If the man’s voice didn’t stop soon, she was going to make another appointment to see if the doctors could run some more tests.

Most of her recurring nightmares from that horrifying day were fading away, but sometimes after a stressful day at work Mr. Edwards’s face would pop into her head and they would start all over again.

Why does this have to happen to me right now with every other crazy thing going on in my life?

Work kept her busy with trying to find out more about the mystery procurer who still harassed her daily with ridiculous highball offers for the hedge fund. This despite the fact her older brother, Cedric, wasn’t involved with the everyday ins and outs of the family business anymore.

He knew who the person was, but he wasn’t giving up any information. They were both too old to have this stupid sibling rivalry. Cedric took a lot of pleasure out of making her work for it. Wasn’t it enough that he was still their father’s favorite child because he was the oldest, and a son? Nevertheless, she wasn’t going to stop pressuring him until he gave her what she needed to fix this situation.

Hoping a long, hot shower would clear the problems from her head and allow her to sleep, Raya got up off the bed and made her way towards the bathroom. If the shower didn’t work, she would read for a little while and maybe the sleep she wanted would finally come to her.

****

Raya completely missed him as he disappeared from her room. Hiding now in the darkness of Raya’s patio, Thorsten Irizarry watched as his mate got out of her bed then disappeared into the bathroom. He felt the fear coursing through her and hated that she was so scared of his voice coming to her during the night. But he had to begin their bonding, and communicating with her while she slept was the best way for him to get it done.

Months ago at Alpha Male Incorporated, when he realized she was chosen as his Unique woman, he hadn’t been overly concerned about claiming her. He knew he had all the time in the world to take Raya. Until the shocking moment he saw her body lying lifelessly on Sahara’s living room floor, he had never felt such overwhelming pain in his life. At that very second, all he wanted to do was wrap Raya up in his arms and vanish out of the room with her to somewhere safe.

Yet, he couldn’t do it because she hadn’t accepted him as her mate. He couldn’t declare Raya as his before she chose to love him and no other man for all eternity.