Envy the Moon

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐨 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐲?

A desperate woman, a haunted veteran, and a demon's curse lead to a dangerous attraction.
Enter a world where desire and danger collide. Will anyone survive this cruel game?

Art museum marketer Maddie has lived in the shadow of her older sister, and she’s desperate to be as beautiful and captivating.

After a gala at the Boston Public Library, an enigmatic artist offers her a deal that seems too good to be true–he’ll paint her portrait and transform her into the beauty she longs to be.

At a great cost.

Then she meets Cole, a former Navy SEAL haunted by a troubled past, and must make a choice. But the wrong one might be deadly.

Full of danger, steam, and the irresistible pull of forbidden attraction, join Maddie and Cole in the Art of Darkness trilogy. Fans of Oscar Wilde's Picture of Dorian Gray and Edgar Allan Poe's The Oval Portrait will love the echoes in this modern-day story. Escape into a gripping romance will captivate you until the very last page!

The man who appeared in my bedroom smiled, and the slight silvery aura around him vanished.

I grabbed my curling iron, the only thing in reach to defend myself. "Why are you doing this?"

He fixed an unblinking stare on me. "Because you called me to you."

"I what?" My mouth fell open.

"You yearn to be beautiful. I heard your pain. The answer is yes—with my help, of course. I can make you into what you long to be."

My spine tingled as if fiery ants crawled up my back. I blinked and tried to shake off the impulse to go to him. As common sense returned, I backed away. "Get out of my room. I'll scream. I'll call the police."

He tilted his head back and laughed. "What an odd response to someone who's offering to help you." He turned toward the door. "Not a problem. There are many other people I can help—who are more than eager to hear more."

Ah, if he intended to stir my interest, it worked. Did this stranger have some ability to help me? Was I reacting like a fool, pushing him away before even hearing him explain?

I lowered my hand and inclined my head. "How exactly does it work?"

"I'm an artist. If you come to my studio, I'll paint a more beautiful version of yourself—the version you've always longed to be."

Somehow, I managed to keep my lips mashed together and resist interrupting with questions.

"That's when the magic begins," he added. "Your appearance will slowly mirror the one I've created."

I placed my hand on my chest. "You must think I'm gullible. Who put you up to it?" I went through people in my life who'd try to pull this off, messing with me because of my love of art. I couldn't think of anyone who would do something like this. Besides, it didn't explain how he'd appeared in my room.

He ignored my question. "You will finally be the stunning woman you've longed to be." He tilted his head. "Your beauty will outshine that even of your sister."

My heart rapped against my ribs with a long, slow thud. How did he know about Victoria? About my simmering envy as I yearned for what she had?

I stepped back toward my bedroom wall, my breath coming out more quickly. "Why did you say that? Have you been spying on me? Eavesdropping?" I threw one hand into the air. "Reading my mind."

"In a way."

What was with this mind puzzle? I turned and caught my reflection in the mirror. Could it be possible? Did he have some mystical ability to create what he promised? Could I be beautiful like Victoria?

"Yes," he replied, although I hadn't voiced my question aloud.

"Stop that! Whatever you're doing, stop." I shook my head as if it would force him out of my mind.

"What's the worst that can happen—it doesn't work? In which case, you just spent a few evenings with a painter who painted your portrait. Hardly a loss," he scoffed. "But if it does work..."

He left the sentence unfinished, leaving me to complete it. The possibilities could be amazing. I'd be the one who was admired and desired. I'd get a pass into that strange bubble of beautiful, captivating people, where others would fall over themselves to help them.

No longer would I be invisible. I'd be—

"Extraordinary."

"Get out of my head." I pointed my finger at his chest. Now I sounded like the crazy one. "I doubt you're offering this out of the goodness of your heart. What's this going to cost me?"

He stepped across the bedroom floor with those slow, deliberate steps that seemed even more pronounced now. He stopped within a foot of me and traced my jawline, then ran his fingers along my neck. I should move. I should run. At the very least, I should tell him to back off.

I didn't. Instead, I waited to hear what he had to say.

"I only want one thing from you. And I'll give you a choice, Madeline."

He knew my name as well as my innermost desires. "What?"

"Your body or your blood."