VEILED OBSESSION.

His Agenda.

By Dori Lavelle.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.

The people who made this book possible are so many. Thanks especially to my wonderful PA, Kathy Osborn, who was behind me every step of the way. You have encouraged me and kicked my b.u.t.t when I needed it. Thank you for your love, support, and friends.h.i.+p. I love you.

I also want to thank all the wonderful ladies from Dori's Fan Lounge. You are all so special to me. You're not only my readers. Most of you have become very close friends of mine. I love you and appreciate you.

Finally, I want to thank the ladies who helped me choose Jude Macknight's name, the perfect name for a very evil man. Thank you Liz Digman, Linda Ba.s.s, and Terry King.

WARNING.

**WARNING: Due to s.e.xual situations and dark adult content, VEILED OBSESSION is not intended for readers under the age of 18, and anyone who is unable to read books containing the following issues: kidnapping, murder, graphic rape, and extreme abuse.**

BOOK DESCRIPTION.

I cry for the man I used to know, the man I used to love...until his love killed mine.

My name is Haley Macknight, and I'm dying inside. From the outside my life is every woman's dream. I'm married to Jude Macknight, a s.e.xy multimillionaire who loves me...too much.

Once upon a time, I loved him. But that love is dead. Unwilling to let me go, I've become his obsession. He will stop at nothing to make sure I remain in a marriage I no longer want, inside my gilded cage.

Each day I pull away from Jude, I watch him transform into a monster. Before my eyes, he becomes a man I don't recognize, a dangerous man. He makes it clear that I belong to him, that my life is no longer my own. If I leave, he'll kill me. But if I stay, I'll die a slow death.

**This serial unfolds over three volumes. **

This book is dedicated to my wonderful friend, Kathy Osborn.

PROLOGUE.

Her eyes fluttered open, and she stretched like a d.a.m.n feline. "Ready for the next round?" Her voice was low and husky.

"Last round." He swallowed the disgust welling up in his throat, sucked in air through his teeth with a hiss, and wrapped his hands around her slim neck.

She was beautiful, no doubt about that. Endless legs that had wrapped tightly around his body just minutes ago, l.u.s.trous skin, sapphire eyes. If she hadn't crossed his path, maybe she could have turned her life around, and gone on to become a model or be some lucky b.a.s.t.a.r.d's trophy wife.

He grinned as he watched her thrash and gasp for air, the gleam of his teeth reflected in her liquid gaze.

Her slender fingers clawed at his hands, the red nails digging into his flesh. A small price to pay.

The choking sounds she made grated on his nerves.

"Shut up, wh.o.r.e," he said between clenched teeth and tightened his grip around her neck. "Die gracefully."

Her nude lips parted and her eyes looked ready to pop out of their sockets. She stopped fighting, surrendering to him.

"That's it. Good girl." He squeezed even tighter, finis.h.i.+ng her off.

As her eyes dimmed, his world brightened. He was alive, in control of the situation. In control of his life.

He shut his eyes to better enjoy the moment, to drain it of all it was worth, while breathing in the scent of her cheap perfume and s.e.x.

Her body went slack beneath his fingers, but he waited before letting go, counted to ten.

Satisfied, he uncurled his fingers from her neck, leaving only red marks. He climbed out of bed, and reached for his pants. Digging into one of the pockets, he located his Italian switchblade stiletto knife, and dropped the pants back on the floor.

Exerting slight pressure with his thumb, he flicked the spear point stainless steel blade open and returned to the bed. He lifted the white cotton sheet to reveal her stomach.

With quiet precision, he inserted the gleaming tip into the skin just below the hollow of her neck, where a necklace pendant would normally rest.

Blood oozed out of the cut, glinting in the dim light like a garnet. He held his breath, his hand steady as he carved the mark into her skin. When he was done, he wiped the excess blood away with a rag to reveal a perfect infinity symbol.

CHAPTER ONE.

The light struck the top of his head, highlighting the golden hue in his nut brown hair, which was just long enough to brush his collar. His gunmetal-blue eyes never left my face, narrowed and searching for something. He was handsome, the kind of man I'd have been attracted to in other circ.u.mstances. He had to be in his early thirties, at least four or five years older than I was.

I met him last night, and as if hypnotized, I'd followed him into his private jet. Now I stood inside a European-inspired estate in Madison, Wisconsin. I had gone home with a stranger, and I didn't even know his name. He had refused to tell me, saying it wasn't important. Not yet.

"You'll be safe here." He picked up what looked like a remote control from an antique wood mantelpiece and pressed a b.u.t.ton. Bright light flooded the room. Beyond the gla.s.s wall, I caught a furious sparkle. A lake.

I swept my gaze over the antique furniture of the s.p.a.cious living room. If someone asked me what money smelled like, I'd have said it smelled like the air wafting around his living room-a c.o.c.ktail of leather, wood, and expensive cologne.

"No." I tightened the blanket he had given me earlier around my body. It did a good job of covering the stains on my black, strapless evening gown. A dress could be washed, but the stains on my soul would remain. I was still shaking from the blow to the system I had experienced earlier. "I can't stay... I need to leave."

He turned to face me, his movements fluid and graceful, his charcoal suit barely crinkling. "If you walk away from the protection I'm prepared to offer you, your only destination would be prison." He spoke with cool authority that matched his demeanor.

I dropped my gaze and bit back tears. As his words registered, my chest tightened to a point where I found it hard to breathe. "That's where I belong. I should ... I should turn myself in."

When I'd b.u.mped into him, my head had been clouded and I had been unable to think straight. I had needed someone to think for me, to make decisions I had been incapable of making. This man had offered me the opportunity to escape the situation I never thought I'd find myself in. But it had been wrong to run from the consequences of my actions.

His face creased into an unexpected smile, and I got a peek of even and strikingly white teeth. His smile made me feel both comfortable and uneasy at the same time. Why hadn't he just remained serious as he had been from the moment I'd met him at the resort, and during the journey here?

He pushed his hands into his pockets. "Haley." The way he said my name, taking his time, rolling it over his tongue, as if tasting it, caused something to unfurl inside me. "Prison is not for girls like you. You won't last an hour in that place. Stay here where you're safe. I have the power to protect you."

Before the jet had taken off, he had asked for my I.D., glanced at it briefly, and handed it back to me. That was how he knew my name. And yet he had refused to tell me his.

"What if someone saw me?" The words tumbled out of my mouth. "What if they went to the police?"

"I understand that you're afraid. I can make it all go away. But you'll have to trust me."

I was quiet for a long heartbeat, and then I raised my gaze to meet his. "Why are you doing this? You don't even know me."

He tilted his head to one side. "I'm a good person. Good people help others. When I met you yesterday, you were lost, you needed someone to help you. I did just that." His expression grew serious once more. "Now you have to allow me to finish that job."

"Once you make it go away, can I return home?" Where was home anyway? The closet apartment in Serendipity which I was on the verge of being thrown out of for not paying the rent for three months? For all I knew, the landlord, who always reeked of old beer, had already tossed out my stuff. Honestly, I had nowhere to go. I had no one. No friends, no family, just me.

"There's one thing you have to understand. If I'm going to help you out of this mess, I will be making myself an accessory to a crime. If you agree to let me help you, you can't go back to where you came from, Haley. Do you understand that?" His eyes bore into mine, his dark gaze encircling me. "You have two choices. Walk away or stay."

Tears blurred my vision. He was right. I couldn't just go back and pretend nothing had happened, to pick up the reins of my barely there life and pretend I was normal. He was offering me a way out of a life I never wanted in the first place. My life had already disappointed me in more ways than one.

It started out all right in Boston, with parents who were in love, a love that made me feel safe. Until, during a family holiday to the beach, my older sister, Elizabeth, drowned and was never found. She was ten years old, just a year older than I was. In their search for comfort they were incapable of offering each other, my father walked out on us, and my mother found what she wanted at the bottom of a bottle. When I was two years away from finis.h.i.+ng high school, my mother packed me and our few belongings and moved us to Serendipity, Wisconsin, to stay in the house she had inherited from her mother.

Just as we were trying to get settled, we received news that my father had committed suicide. Unable to cope with the loss of her husband, my mother stumbled into the world of prost.i.tution and drowned herself even deeper into alcohol. A year before my graduation, her body struck her with a heart disease so acute, doctors said only a transplant could save her. But she didn't qualify for a new heart. She died a month after I graduated.

Left with no other option, I sold the house to pay off some of the debts she left behind. Then I did what I had to do to survive.

Now here I was, surrounded by money. I'd be stupid to walk away. I had no idea how long this stranger intended to keep me here, but maybe I should take what I could. "Thank you," I said between the pauses in my sobs. "Yes, please help me."

"Good," the man said and pulled his phone from his pocket. "Take a seat, I'll be right back." He strolled out of the room with the phone glued to his ear. "Take care of it. Don't leave one trace behind," I heard him say before he disappeared through a gla.s.s door.

I sank down onto one of the leather couches and sobbed, my shoulders shaking, my eyes drowning, my life as I knew it crumbling around me.

When he returned, he perched himself on the gla.s.s-top coffee table opposite me. He didn't smile when he spoke. "It's done. The best thing you can do for yourself now is to forget it ever happened. You were lucky enough to get a chance to walk away. Don't dwell in the past. You will stay here for as long as necessary. And you will not contact anyone from your life. You have to promise me that or I cannot guarantee your protection."

I wiped my eyes with a corner of the blanket and exhaled. After a small pause I nodded. "Thank you."

He nodded. "I need to go and take care of some business, but my housekeeper, Lin, will be arriving soon. She'll feed you and show you to your room to get some rest. I'll also send someone over to bring you clothes." He pulled out a piece of paper and a golden pen from his pocket. "Write down your clothing and shoe sizes."

With trembling hands, I did as I was told and handed it back to him.

"See you in about an hour." He stood. Before he walked out, he turned. "I haven't told you my name yet. It's Jude, Jude Macknight."

Blood rushed to my head and my lips parted. My knight in s.h.i.+ning armor was no ordinary man. I hadn't seen a photo of him before-since he was known to be a very private man-but I knew his name, read about him in the papers, heard him mentioned on TV. Jude Macknight was the owner of the Devine Luxury Hotels and Resorts that were spread out all over the country-including Serendipity-and abroad.

I had been on his property when he'd found me. A realization hit me. Maybe the reason he was helping me was to avoid a scandal.

CHAPTER TWO.

A cramp wrung my intestines, causing just enough pain to wake me up. I opened my eyes and blinked several times, trying to focus. Where was I? My gaze took in the ma.s.sive room, the heavy damask curtains, the ornate dresser with a white, flower-filled vase, the crystal teardrop chandelier. I inhaled deeply. The air smelled clean, light. Definitely not the stale air I was used to waking up to.

My heart started to thump as I turned to look at the pillow next to me. It had not been slept on.

Suddenly, the fog in my mind cleared and I remembered some of what had happened, remembered enough to send my pulse skittering. A shot of fear caused my head to spin and my vision to blur momentarily. I had not woken up from my worst nightmare.

Feeling dizzy, I slipped out of bed. I dropped my gaze and looked down at my dress, still stained with dry blood. Bile rose up my throat but I pressed it back down. My mind urged me to run to the bathroom, to empty my stomach of vomit. But my legs would never carry me that far. I was already swaying. I sank back down on the bed and just sat there staring at the window, watching the edges of the curtains glow from the early morning sunlight, a bright promise that it would be another perfect summer day. Just like yesterday had been, and the day before.

A few ragged breaths took the edge off the nausea, and I sighed.

It's all right, Haley. Everything will be just fine.

Who was I fooling? My life as I knew it, was over, destroyed in one single night.

A knock on the door made me jump, the sudden movement shaking the contents of my mind. My head screamed as an unexpected headache slammed against my temples like two hammers trying to crack their way out.

Another knock.

I breathed in and pushed myself with difficulty to my feet, took a few steps forward until I reached the door. My fingers drifted over the doork.n.o.b and then stilled.

What if he had changed his mind? People did it all the time. They went to bed feeling one way and woke up feeling another. Yesterday he wanted to protect me. Today, he might want to kick me out of his house. I was a burden, even to myself. Who in their right mind would willingly take on the responsibility of taking care of a stranger who had done something unforgivable?

As I turned the k.n.o.b, tears burned my eyes. If he told me to go, I'd be lost. I couldn't go back to my life. Even though I had no recollection of some of the events that had transpired at the resort, I held the evidence on me, inside me. The life I thought I'd had, damaged as it had been, had been s.n.a.t.c.hed away, leaving me with nothing to hold on to. Even though I had wanted to escape it before, right now, I wished I could have it all back. I wished for the chance to repair it as best I could. But it was too late. I was at the mercy of a man I didn't even know.

He looked more handsome than he had last night. His face resembled a carving someone had taken great care to get just right. And his eyes were like two deep pools. They reminded me of a deep, dark lake that made me want to dive into it, but at the same time the fear of what lay beneath terrified me.

"Good morning," he said in a voice that was both authoritative and gentle.

"Morning." I brought my hands together, twisting them.

He studied my face for a long time, just as he had done last night. He probably couldn't bring himself to tell me to go. I'd make it easy for him.

I dropped my head and bit my lip to hold back tears. "Thank you for letting me sleep in your home." I wiped my eyes and looked up again. "I'm sure you changed your mind...about letting me stay." I studied his face for signs of anything. His expression gave me nothing I could hold on to. No smile, no hope. But he didn't look unkind either. I nodded. "I understand. I'll go today. Can I...maybe wash my dress first?"

I wouldn't stay long enough to let it dry. It would have to air dry on my body. This man had been kind enough to help me escape the resort without getting arrested. And he had given me shelter instead of calling the police.

He shook his head but only barely. His movements were so fluid, so controlled. "After you get changed, give it to me. I'll get rid of it." He lifted two glossy bags from the floor and handed them to me. I had been so focused on his face I hadn't noticed them at his feet. "My a.s.sistant bought you clothes according to the sizes you specified. You were already asleep when she dropped them off last night. If there's anything else you need, write a list."

"Thank you." I hugged the bags to my body. "You didn't-"

"Change my mind?" He smiled but the curl of his lips was so faint I almost didn't notice it. "I'm a man of my word, Haley. I promised to help you. I meant it." He slipped his hands into his pockets. "Get dressed and make yourself at home."