Diamond

  Kisses

  Final Book

  The Jewelry Box Series

  by

  New York Times Bestseller

  Pepper Winters

  Diamond Kisses

  Copyright © 2024 Pepper Winters

  Published by Pepper Winters

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, including electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return it to the seller and purchase your own copy. Libraries are exempt and permitted to share their in-house copies with their members and have full thanks for stocking this book. Thank you for respecting the author’s work.

  NO A.I OR OTHER SOFTWARE WAS USED IN WRITING THIS BOOK.

  ALL PEPPER WINTERS TITLES ARE HUMAN WRITTEN ONLY.

  The only tools used were imagination and a keyboard.

  That’s it.

  Published: Pepper Winters 2024: pepperwinters@gmail.com

  Ebook Design: Cleo Studios

  Paperback Design: Cleo Studios

  Alternative Cover Image: Julia Cherrett Valareign (etsy)

  Editing by: Editing-4-Indies (Jenny Sims)

  Proofreading by: Christina Routhier

  Indian Sensitivity Reader & Hindi Translation: Shabnam Arora & Sonal Phansekar

  French Translation: Aurélie Gordio

  Audio Narration: Luke William Bromley & Lucy Jessica

  OTHER WORK BY PEPPER WINTERS

  Pepper currently has close to forty books released in nine languages. She’s hit best-seller lists (USA Today, New York Times, and Wall Street Journal) almost forty times. She dabbles in multiple genres, ranging from Dark Romance, Coming of Age, Fantasy, and Romantic Suspense.

  For books, FAQs, and buylinks please visit:

  https://pepperwinters.com

  Subscribe to New Release Newsletter by following QR code

  STEAMY STANDALONES

  Spectacle of Secrets Standalones

  One Dirty Night

  One Stalker Night

  (Steamy, spicy standalones with plenty of heat and swoon)

  Plenty more to come…

  Destroyed

  (Grey Romance)

  Can’t Touch This

  (Romantic Comedy)

  Unseen Messages

  (Survival Romance)

  DARK ROMANCE

  The Jewelry Box Series

  Ruby Tears, Emerald Bruises, Sapphire Scars, Diamond Kisses

  Monsters in the Dark Trilogy

  Tears of Tess, Quintessentially Q, Twisted Together, Je Suis a Toi

  Goddess Isles Series

  Once a Myth, Twice a Wish, Third a Kiss, Fourth a Lie, Fifth a Fury, Jinx’s Fantasy, Sully’s Fantasy

  Indebted Series

  Debt Inheritance, First Debt, Second Debt, Third Debt, Fourth Debt, Final Debt, Indebted Epilogue

  Dollar Series

  Pennies, Dollars, Hundreds, Thousands, Millions

  Fable of Happiness Trilogy

  Fable of Happiness Book One, Book Two, Book Three

  FORBIDDEN, EROTIC, COMING OF AGE ROMANCE

  The Luna Duet

  Lunamare and Cor Amare

  The Ribbon Duet

  The Boy & His Ribbon, The Girl & Her Ren

  Spinoff Standalone to The Ribbon Duet

  The Son & His Hope

  Truth & Lies Duet

  Crown of Lies, Throne of Truth

  Master of Trickery Duet

  The Body Painter, The Living Canvas

  Pure Corruption Duet

  Ruin & Rule, Sin & Suffer

  INSPIRIATIONAL / CHILDREN

  Pippin & Mo

  (Picture book based on Pepper’s own rabbit)

  UPCOMING RELEASES

  For 2024/2025 titles please visit www.pepperwinters.com

  RELEASE DAY ALERTS, SNEAK PEEKS, & NEWSLETTER

  To be the first to know about upcoming releases, please join Pepper’s Newsletter (she promises never to spam or annoy you.)

  Pepper’s Newsletter

  SOCIAL MEDIA & WEBSITE

  Facebook: Peppers Books

  Instagram: @pepperwinters

  Facebook Group: Peppers Playgound

  Website: www.pepperwinters.com

  Tiktok: @pepperwintersbooks

  Contents

  OTHER WORK BY PEPPER WINTERS

  Dedication

  Letter from the Author

  Blurb

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty- Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty- Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Epilogue One

  Epilogue Two

  Epilogue Three

  Epilogue Four

  Playlist

  Acknowledgements

  OTHER WORK BY PEPPER WINTERS

  Dedication

  To love.

  The greatest cure of all…

  Letter from the Author

  The Jewelry Box Series is a work of fiction, but it is a dark read. Almost every trigger that can exist, exists within this tale. Blood play, breath play, non-con, dub-con, degradation, pain, despair, betrayal, hope, and faith.

  Please take the warning seriously. This book is explicit, erotic, despicable, and downright monstrous in some places. There is love, yes, but first, you have to go through a hell of a lot of depravity to find it.

  Please read responsibly.

  Pepper x

  Blurb

  “I hoped we’d have luck on our side. Goodness over evil, right over wrong. I’d prayed for a miracle, but in the end…the darkness won.”

  I know what it feels like to reach rock bottom.

  To do things I can never atone.

  To want things I can never absolve.

  I’ve wanted to die for so long.

  I deserve to die for what I’ve done.

  But not until I finish this.

  Not until I repent.

  And so, I make a decision.

  A cascade of decisions that will bring about the end of my world.

  The darkness wants to be fed.

  So I’ll feed it.

  With blood.

  Prologue

  ………………………….

  Ily

  MY LIFE DIDN’T FLASH BEFORE my eyes.

  I didn’t dissociate or float away.

  I couldn’t look away from Henri as a guard moved to his side at Victor’s orders.

  I couldn’t stop trembling, bound on the altar, as Henri fisted the diamond-handled dagger and sucked in a tattered breath.

  Every moment we’d shared.

  Every night, every kiss, every whisper.

  We’d tried and failed.

  Peter would die after me. The jewels would be punished. And Henri…he might truly lose himself.

  He shifted and pressed one hand on my belly, where Victor told him to cut through my ribcage and rip out my heart. His other hand brought the knife to my throat as he bent over me and whispered one final time. “Forgive me.”

  Tears spilled down my cheeks, trickling beneath the crystal-adorned mask.

  I nodded as he caught my stare.

  I hoped he sacrificed me to save the others.

  I hoped he’d come to the same conclusion I had; it was over for me and Peter, but not him. He could go on and save them. He could finish this.

  With my heart winging and adrenaline racing, I gave him a watery smile. “Forgiven.”

  His eyes flared behind his black tourmaline mask.

  For a moment, it looked as if he’d kiss me.

  But then he stood to his full height.

  Strangled the knife.

  And cut—

  Chapter One

>
  ………………………….

  Henri

  I WASN’T IN CONTROL OF MY actions.

  Barely conscious of my body, thoughts, and feelings.

  I shut down.

  That icy darkness that’d prowled through me when I’d stumbled through the caves returned. The pressure of it. The utter annihilation of it.

  I didn’t feel human.

  Which was good because what I was about to do was definitely not human.

  Spinning in place, I attacked.

  I aimed wild.

  I slashed with the dagger.

  I gasped as blood sprayed.

  The heat of crimson, the taste of metal.

  Victor roared and backpedalled, holding his bleeding chest. “You motherfucker!”

  I smiled.

  I went to leap on him—

  The closest guard grabbed my throat and shoved me back.

  Darkness drowned me as I repaid the favour.

  The guard had strangled me; I cut his windpipe.

  Blood fountained over me.

  The guard gurgled and tripped, his fingers loosening around my neck. His jugular kept pumping blood as his knees buckled.

  Victor scrambled farther away, hiding behind a wall of guards. “Disarm him. Immediately!”

  For a moment, no one moved.

  And then, everyone moved at once.

  Loud shouting as I stabbed a different guard.

  I only managed a glancing blow before another one crowded me. Shoving him away, I aimed my attack at the closest Master.

  I only had minutes before my life was over.

  And I intend to take them with me.

  I funnelled all my strength into my arm and let loose.

  I didn’t know which Master it was with his black mask and cape, but I drove the tip of my dagger right through his gristly throat.

  He dropped with a gurgle.

  I stabbed another.

  The knife twanged with obstruction as the blade struck bone.

  I pulled it out of his sternum and aimed for his belly.

  It went in easily, smoothly.

  He screamed and fell backward, clutching the new hole I’d given him.

  The other Masters scattered, trying to get as far away from me as possible.

  The monster inside me stalked and slobbered for blood.

  So…I fed it.

  I hunted them.

  Three guards charged me.

  I parried and slashed, trying to incapacitate them so I could slaughter every monster in this cave. I didn’t stop to wonder if these men were the guards who Stewart and Ben had been liaising with.

  I didn’t care.

  I smashed my chains, freed the darkness, and as Ily’s gentle wonderful voice echoed in my head, forgiving me for so many sins, I took my final breath as Henri and became something else.

  Barrelling through the wall of guards, I launched myself at Victor. His eyes flared in panic as I managed to get through two of his protectors. But then three more grabbed me, throwing vicious punches and knocking me to the ground.

  I didn’t stay down.

  Adrenaline fed me.

  Fury ignited me.

  I lost it.

  Springing upright, I threw myself into war.

  Just like the fugue that came over me the night of the treasure hunt, everything happened in a blur. I kicked, punched, stabbed, and slashed.

  Blood and screams.

  Bellows and pain.

  The entire chamber erupted with violence.

  “Someone stop him!” Victor snarled.

  More arms came at me. A few guns aimed in my direction.

  “No, don’t shoot. Just…incapacitate him!” Victor barked, slipping through the crush of cloaked Masters to stand safely by the exit. “Get him shackled. Now.”

  Two guards came at me.

  I managed to kick one and stab the other. Not a fatal wound but still a decent cut as he cried out and snatched his bicep where blood seeped.

  Someone struck me from behind. I whirled on them and threw a wild punch.

  Eight guards had entered the Temple with us. One bled out by the altar while the remaining seven swarmed me, tripping over the two dead Masters on the floor.

  They corralled me back toward the stone table where Ily lay bound. “Get her out of here, Peter!” I glanced over my shoulder, my stomach freefalling as I noticed he’d already unbuckled her ankles and worked on unhooking her cuffed wrists.

  If he could get her out.

  If they could swim away.

  At least, I would die for something worthwhile.

  I snarled and threw myself against the guards crushing me.

  Fists pummelled my ribs. Knuckles crunched against my face.

  Someone struck my nose, leaving me blind for a moment with excruciating pain. A gush of blood covered my chin and throat.

  Staggering to the side, I snatched off my mask and shook my head. Doing my best to stop the flashing lights and light-headedness, I twisted the dagger in my fist. The blade dripped with sweat and scarlet.

  Grasping it tighter, I attacked the panting guard who approached me. I sank the knife into his chest just as another whacked the butt of his gun against my temple.

  I dropped to one knee.

  Another guard punched me for good measure.

  Another kicked my calf, trying to topple me.

  Pushing upward, I leapt to the side and threw a look at Ily and Peter.

  He’d gotten her off the altar, but they stood surrounded by Masters in black velvet robes. “Run!” I growled before launching at the barricade of guards again.

  Peter roared and threw himself into the fight.

  Ily screamed and followed.

  They were swallowed up by the Masters.

  Another element of blackness fell over my eyes.

  I let loose a guttural groan and ploughed my way through the guards.

  Punching, slashing, choking on cries of pain as they beat me, kicked me, broke me. My heart skipped as fists thumped against my back and shoulders. My vision flickered as two struck me in the head.

  Agony swelled like the tide crashing against the cave, making everything sluggish and hard.

  But I kept fighting.

  Kept pushing.

  I had to get to Victor.

  If I could kill him, the jewels would be safe.

  If I killed him, this all ended.

  Peter cried out as a Master grabbed him by the throat, and two others took turns punching him. He dropped to his knees, his arms covering his head as they rained abuse on him.

  Ily whimpered as she suffered the same fate. A fist to her belly and a kick to her ankle. She fell, landing heavily on wet cave rock.

  “No!” I lost myself again. I stabbed another guard. He twisted out of my reach just as I went to gut him. Another kicked my wrist. My fingers opened involuntarily; the diamond-hilted dagger went skittering into the gloom.

  Fuck!

  No matter.

  I reached for the weapon holstered on his belt.

  I managed to pull it out.

  A gun banged.

  It reverberated around the cave, making everyone duck and press their hands to their ears.

  It wasn’t me who’d shot.

  So who…

  My gaze skimmed over the sea of cowering people.

  Victor.

  He stood with the muzzle of his weapon pointing down the stone corridor we’d come in from—just in case the bullet decided to bounce off the cave roof and kill someone unintended.

  Grabbing hold of the sudden stillness from his shot, he shouted, “Enough!” He pointed his gun at me. “Get him under control. Now!”

  The stillness shattered.

  I lost myself again.

  Dropping my shoulder, I ran into a guard.

  He toppled like a boulder.

  I struck him in the head just as two more fumbled for my arms, trying to yank them back.