Page 82 of Symphony for Lies

Maybe it was nothing. Perhaps I was overthinking again. But I remembered her unkind stare at the show…

I exhaled, trying to shake off the unease growing in my stomach.

I felt Zane’s eyes on me.Again.

The third time was too much.

“Zane, keep your eyes on the road.”

A low chuckle rumbled from his chest, vibrating through the air between us.“Hard to do that when you’re sitting right next to me looking like that.”

“Looking like what?”

He didn’t answer.

Instead, his large, warm hand slid onto my thigh. It was a nonchalant touch. Natural. But nothing about it felt casual at all.

His fingers brushed too slowly, too purposely, against the fabric of my dress.

A sharp inhale caught in my throat.

Zane’s smirk was knowing. “I already thought you were beautiful.” His thumb traced teasing circles against my skin. “But now?” He let out a quiet, appreciative whistle.“Now, I can’t think about anything else.”

Heat coiled low in my stomach.

I gripped the hem of my dress, my nails digging into the fabric.

“If your grandmother hadn’t been there…” His voice was hoarse with restraint. “…I would’ve had you against the wall and devoured you right then and there.”

My breath hitched.

His palm slid up my leg just a fraction, making a pulse of electricity shoot through me.

I sucked in a sharp breath, grabbing his wrist and shoving it away. “Zane.”

He caught my hand, threading my fingers through his own.

His touch was searing, his hold firm but not unyielding. The contrast between the heat of him and the cold metal of his watch against my skin made my pulse spike.

His thumb brushed against my knuckles, making me shiver.In a voice of gravel and silk, he whispered, “I’m obsessed with you, Amelia.”

My thoughts spun as I leaned in closer.

I could see the slight bob of his throat as he swallowed hard, his white knuckles on the steering wheel, and his chest’s deep, rapid movement.

My lips brushed against his neck. A single fleeting kiss. Just a whisper of contact.

His entire body tensed. “Fuck.”

His burning dark eyes were half-lidded with desire.In one slow, controlled movement, he brought my hand to his lips for a lingering kiss.

“Amelia,” he groaned. The sound grazed against my skin like fire.“If we don’t go to that restaurant right now, I’ll take you home. And I promise you’ll never forget this night.”

It was a vow.

The air in the car thickened, crackling with something reckless, unrestrained.

His dark eyes traveled slowly over me, drinking me in, already imagining exactly how the night would end.

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