CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY TWO – THE FINAL SHOT

"Oh, Mads..." he rasped, one calloused palm cupping the curve of her jaw with exquisite tenderness even as a flicker of banked heat flared in his dark gaze. "How it grieves me to know that unbearable prick's disdain struck you with such force." His other hand settled at the dip of her waist, pulling her firmly against the heated wall of his chest until she could feel the measured cadence of his heartbeat against her own thundering pulse. Up close, his familiar woodsy scent was utterly intoxicating, clouding her senses. "He's a fool," Sebastian murmured, the rough timbre of his low voice sending molten tendrils of awakening curling through her from head to toe. "Blind to the truth of your unapologetic fire and spirit - all the facets that make you so undeniably magnetic to those of us lucky enough to bask in your artistry up close." His fingertips trailed up the side of her neck in a slow meaningful caress, tilting her face up until their gazes locked with searing intensity. "You ar