The interior was lined in deep navy velvet, framing a collar that caught the afternoon light, solid platinum links studded with flawless diamonds, every facet sharp enough to hurt the eyes. Beneath it lay a square of black card edged in gold leaf, the handwriting across it so precise and deliberate that Lucas's breath stalled before he'd even finished reading.
'Diamonds suit you, Lucas. You're breathtaking when you're mine.'
The words felt like a hand closing around his throat, too familiar, too perfectly steeped in the voice of another lifetime. Christian Velloran's voice rose unbidden in the back of his mind, that same syrupy cruelty he had used to whisper against Lucas's skin as cold metal locked around his neck.
