“I think I'd miss you even if we’d never met,” Azrael whispered as his fingers trailed the side of her face, leaving an alluring warmth.
Anna’s throat became dry, “We shouldn’t have met then―”
“No,” he said, “Even if it means losing everything, I would rather have you.”
They were destined to fall from the start. A forsaken bond. A hopeless cause. And yet, in that stolen moment, Anna didn’t care anymore, neither did he.
* * * 
Anna is a human in a world where her kind is treated like dust, while Azrael is the demon duke infamous for his ruthlessness and bewitching looks.
On a fateful night, her life gets entangled with him. Azrael takes her as his fiance, however, theirs is a relationship formed over a contract; a marriage of convenience.
In a land where the hatred between humans and demons runs deeper than blood, she can not let her guard down. 
Anna harbors no feelings for the handsome duke, nor for his kind. Though that doesn’t stop her heart from stuttering whenever he’s near, nor the ghost of a familiar fear to surge at the sound of his voice.
But he’s always near.
Telling her what to do.
Making her feel warmer, hotter than he should.
* * * 
To yearn for someone who is forbidden to you is a terrifying feeling. To burn from desire and never speak of it, to have a secret that is horrible to almost everyone, to hide something that could ruin everything.
This is a story carved in hidden desires, inked in blood, and sealed with a fatal sin. Will Anna make it out alive? Or will her heart lead to her downfall?

The Duke's Secret Sin

The lady had an ordinary appearance, she would have passed for a human if it was not for the slight feline shape of her eyes. It was a face easy to forget, but her smile was kind and she remained polite despite her disinterest. 


Anna soon learned that Catherine did not welcome her presence but that was only until she mentioned the brooch. 


"Ah," Anna gasped in wonder, "Is it from the rare collection of The Silver Tongue?" 


Catherine's eyes were looking somewhere else but she almost froze when she heard those words, and then, through her mask of indifference, a small delightful smile escaped. 


"Not as much as I would love to," Anna sighed sadly, "They call him a notorious pirate, but I feel like there is much more." 


A Wicked Tea Party