Sweeter Than Hate: A Darker Than Love Prequel Read online

  “Shh.” He kisses my lips. “I’ve got you.”

  I desperately need to hold on to something, so I cling to his gaze. He lets me. He doesn’t close his eyes or hide his pleasure. He gives it to me truthfully. He shows me the rawness that reflects in my body.

  True to his word, he’s there for me when my body bows and the climax tears me apart. I turn warm inside. He fills me up with his release, pumping as if he’s set on making me take every drop. I’m drowning in his heat, his smell, and the angry undercurrent that’s always present between us, especially during his release. I’m high on endorphins, floating in a euphoric space. Vaguely, I’m aware of him taking something from his pocket and pushing it against my neck. The sharp prick of a needle registers too late.

  My vision swims, and I start to drift away. Straining my neck, I force my head up and desperately try to claw my way through the haze. I try to hold on to that ice-green stare with all my might, but it slips out of my reach.

  His words are soft, spoken in Russian. “Let go, Minochka.”

  The beautiful sound of his mother tongue strokes over my senses, as does the term of endearment.

  Poisonous words.

  Poison seems fitting.

  He catches my head when my neck fails to support the weight.

  He’s still inside me when I drag in a final, laborious breath. The last word I speak when I blow out that breath is his name.

  The End

  Ready for more of Yan & Mink’s dark, sizzling story? Pre-order Darker Than Love, their full standalone romance! To be notified when it’s out, sign up for our newsletters at annazaires.com and charmainepauls.com, and be sure to check out our books in audio!

  Dark & Contemporary Romance by Anna Zaires:

  The Twist Me Trilogy – Nora & Julian’s dark, twisted love story

  The Capture Me Trilogy – Lucas & Yulia’s breathtaking enemies-to-lovers romance

  The Tormentor Mine Series – Peter & Sara’s intense captive romance

  Wall Street Titan – a sizzling contemporary romcom featuring a billionaire and a cat lady

  Dark & Contemporary Romance by Charmaine Pauls:

  Beauty in the Broken – a dark forced marriage romance about revenge and salvation

  The Loan Shark Duet – a dark mafia romance with a Beauty and The Beast theme

  The Age Between Us Duet – an older-woman/younger-man romance that will melt your e-reader

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  Sci-Fi Romance by Anna Zaires:

  The Mia & Korum Trilogy – an epic sci-fi romance with the ultimate alpha male

  The Krinar Captive – Emily & Zaron’s captive romance, set just before the Krinar Invasion

  The Krinar Exposé – Anna’s scorching hot collaboration with Hettie Ivers, featuring Amy & Vair—and their sex club games

  The Krinar World stories – Sci-fi romance stories by other authors, set in the Krinar world

  Sci-Fi Romance by Charmaine Pauls:

  The Krinar Experiment – alpha alien kidnapping at its hottest, set in Anna Zaires’s Krinar world

  The Krinar’s Informant – an alpha alien captive romance, set in Anna Zaires’s Krinar world

  The Forbidden Arts Series by Charmaine Pauls – paranormal romance featuring a dash of darkness and plenty of alpha male possessiveness

  Loving the Enemy (Prequel novel) – a hitman and an innocent virgin

  Pyromancist (Book 1) – a hostage offered as bait

  Aeromancist, The Beginning (Book 2) – a dangerous alpha male and a librarian

  Aeromancist (Book 3) – a forbidden love

  Hydromancist (Book 4) – an ambassador and an assassin

  Geomancist (Book 5) – a drug lord and a stolen woman

  Necromancist (Book 6) – a rock star and his dark secret

  Scapulimancist (Book 7) – a ranger and a convict

  Chiromancist (Book 8) – a pilot and a slave

  Man (Book 9) – a stalker and his enemy’s woman

  Sci-fi and Fantasy Collaborations by Anna Zaires and her husband, Dima Zales:

  The Girl Who Sees – the thrilling tale of Sasha Urban, a stage illusionist who discovers unexpected secret powers

  Mind Dimensions – the action-packed urban fantasy adventures of Darren, who can stop time and read minds

  Upgrade – the mind-blowing technothriller featuring venture capitalist Mike Cohen, whose Brainocyte technology will forever change the world

  The Last Humans – the futuristic sci-fi/dystopian story of Theo, who lives in a world where nothing is as it seems

  The Sorcery Code – the epic fantasy adventures of sorcerer Blaise and his creation, the beautiful and powerful Gala