Page 24 of The Silent Note

“We should eat first. We have a long night ahead of us.”

The words hold the lazy edge of a threat, and certain parts of my body grow hotter with every upward curve of his stupid lips.

“If you think I’m having sex with you just because we signed some papers, you’re the one who has a head injury.” My nostrils flare. Anger. That’s the only weapon I have against him. It’s the only way I won’t give in. “When can you set up the meeting?”

“I’ll see how you behave on our honeymoon first.”

I stiffen as images of Zane pushing me into bed to consummate our marriage balloons in my head. Instead of repulsing me, it excites me instead.

I hate myself.

Truly, deeply hate myself.

I step back. “If you wanted sex on demand, you chose the wrong bride.”

He stops and looks at me like I’m amusing.

That’s the most annoying part about Zane. That cockiness. Like he already knows the world is at his feet.

I shake my head, arguing my point. “I got married to you without anything more than the potential of a promise. Give me something or I’ll walk away from this marriage as quickly as I entered it.”

Zane chuckles, a dark, dangerous sound that sends a shiver up my spine. He advances on me.

I inch away until I’m caught against the wall. His large form presses me deeper into the concrete.

I struggle, fighting to slip away, but he pins me in place with his hips. The more I twist and squirm, the more his bodyhardens. I pant, heat billowing in my veins and awareness thickening around me with every brush of our bodies.

It becomes clear very quickly that there’s no escape. Struggle is pointless.

I go still.

Zane leans forward and I pull my lips into my mouth. It’s an instinctive move, rooted in my own survival.

But he doesn’t try to kiss me.

Instead, he whispers in my ear.

“I warned you, tiger…” his tone is soft but it’s delivered with the slightest bit of a growl. This warning is more than just a power move. It’s a promise. “If I take your hand, I’m never letting it go.”

My eyes widen. He’s referring to that night on the cliffs when we were sitting on the edge. I held my hand out to him to keep him from slipping and crashing into the rocks below.

He’d rejected me.

“If I take that hand, I’m not letting it go.”

“Zane…”

“I won’t let go, Grey. So pull your hand back if you can’t handle that.”

I stare at him, hyperaware of every flicker of his eyelashes. With his broad shoulders fitted into a black tux, his tie loose and his top button undone, he’s a disheveled vampire. Black looks good against his pale skin. Maybe because darkness recognizes darkness.

“You don’t scare me.”

“I never wanted you to fear me, Grey.” He presses a kiss to my ear and then tugs on the lobe. A shiver rolls through me. “Let me have you tonight, and then I’ll bring you straight to Slavno.”

His hand draws a sensual circle on my wrist. My gaze grows half-lidded from the pressure.

Inhale.

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