Step Darkly

<div style=caret-color: rgb(0 0 0); color: rgb(0 0 0);><span style=caret-color: rgb(0 0 0); color: rgb(0 0 0); font-size: medium;><strong>When Emilia Connor returns to face the man she ran away from five years earlier she's determined to cut him out of her life for good but things have changed. This time Joshua Darkly is holding all of the cards and he's got other plans.</strong></span></div><div style=caret-color: rgb(0 0 0); color: rgb(0 0 0);><br></div><div style=caret-color: rgb(0 0 0); color: rgb(0 0 0);><strong><em>JOSHUA DARKLY</em></strong></div><div style=caret-color: rgb(0 0 0); color: rgb(0 0 0);>Emilia is a spoiled brat who's had life handed to her on a silver platter and she takes everything I worked hard to earn for granted.</div><div style=caret-color: rgb(0 0 0); color: rgb(0 0 0);><br></div><div style=caret-color: rgb(0 0 0); color: rgb(0 0 0);>Living off of daddy's dime her free ride is about to come to a screeching halt. She's heading back here to the place she should have never run away from to settle her father's estate.</div><div style=caret-color: rgb(0 0 0); color: rgb(0 0 0);><br></div><div style=caret-color: rgb(0 0 0); color: rgb(0 0 0);>She's confident she is the sole heir to all of her father's possessions including the company I worked my ass off to help build over the last seven years but I have a surprise for her. Not only am I the new owner of Connor Realty but I'm also her mentor and guardian for the period of one year.</div><div style=caret-color: rgb(0 0 0); color: rgb(0 0 0);><br></div><div style=caret-color: rgb(0 0 0); color: rgb(0 0 0);>I never asked to own her but now that I do I'm not sure I can ever let her go.</div><div style=caret-color: rgb(0 0 0); color: rgb(0 0 0);><br></div><div style=caret-color: rgb(0 0 0); color: rgb(0 0 0);>She's feisty she has a lot of anger in her and I'm patiently waiting for her to test her boundaries with me. She'll try her luck one too many times and I can't wait to show her how dark my beast has become.</div><div style=caret-color: rgb(0 0 0); color: rgb(0 0 0);><br></div><div style=caret-color: rgb(0 0 0); color: rgb(0 0 0);><strong><em>EMILIA CONNOR</em></strong></div><div style=caret-color: rgb(0 0 0); color: rgb(0 0 0);>Our past always has a way of catching up to us.</div><div style=caret-color: rgb(0 0 0); color: rgb(0 0 0);><br></div><div style=caret-color: rgb(0 0 0); color: rgb(0 0 0);>I left home five years ago and never looked back. I always thought I had more time to make amends with my father and come home but my time ran out when he died of a sudden heart attack.</div><div style=caret-color: rgb(0 0 0); color: rgb(0 0 0);><br></div><div style=caret-color: rgb(0 0 0); color: rgb(0 0 0);>Now I'm back to settle his estate and face my demons. Well one demon in particular; Joshua Darkly the reason I left in the first place.</div><div style=caret-color: rgb(0 0 0); color: rgb(0 0 0);><br></div><div style=caret-color: rgb(0 0 0); color: rgb(0 0 0);>Because of a stipulation in my father's will it looks like I'm here to stay for awhile. I've been declared Joshua's ward for a period of one year and if I don't complete my time I'll lose everything.</div><div style=caret-color: rgb(0 0 0); color: rgb(0 0 0);><br></div><div style=caret-color: rgb(0 0 0); color: rgb(0 0 0);>I'll swallow my pride and serve my sentence but I'm not going down without a fight. I'll challenge his patience every chance I get without getting too close to him.</div><div style=caret-color: rgb(0 0 0); color: rgb(0 0 0);><br></div><div style=caret-color: rgb(0 0 0); color: rgb(0 0 0);>Even now after everything I still feel drawn to him and it's something I need to face head on and cut out of my life before it consumes me whole.</div>