Page 26 of Monsters Wear Crowns
A shiver rolled down my spine.He couldn’t possibly.“You don’t know me.”
His laugh was low, indulgent. “Don’t I?”
Before I could pull away, his hand shot out, shoving me back against the wall beside the towering window. My breath left me in a sharp gasp as his fingers curled around my throat–not choking, but a warning. A taste of control.
“You’re fighting me,” he mused, tilting his head. “But I can feel it. That conflict burning inside you. Youlikethis.”
My stomach clenched, every nerve in my body betraying me, caught between fear and…
His thumb skimmed over my pulse, feeling the erratic rhythm. He closed his eyes as if he were enjoying the sensation. “Do you know how I’m so certain?”
I swallowed hard, refusing to answer.
He smiled–slow and predatory. “Those dirty little books you read at night.”
My entire body went still. A sick wave of dread curled in my gut.No.My reaction only seemed to amuse him further.
His fingers flexed around my throat, tightening just enough to make my head spin. “I knowexactlywhat you’re missing, Adela.Exactlywhat you crave. And I doubt that blonde-haired buffoon didn’t give you what you wanted.”
My nails dug into his wrist as my heart slammed against my ribs. He must have hacked into my personal accounts. My private library. This fucker learned everything about me. A fiery wave of anger surged through my fear, but before I could snarl a response, his grip on my throat tightened another fraction.
“You can be mad,” he murmured, “but I’m not wrong, am I?”
I gritted my teeth, having a seriously difficult timenotpunching him in the face.
His free hand traced down my arm. “I can give you everything you want,” he whispered, his voice dark silk. “Everything you’ve ever fantasized about with your hand between your pretty thighs.”
My breath stuttered, my body a battlefield of warring impulses.
His lips brushed against my jaw as he delivered his final demand. “Work with me, love.
Chapter 6
My breath came uneven as Rafe’s fingers suddenly curled around my wrist, yanking me away from the wall. I let him lead me, the heat of his palm against my skin sending a pulse of something wicked through my veins.
He didn’t stop until we reached a door at the far end of the penthouse lounge. With a smooth flick of his wrist, he turned the handle, shoving it open. Then, just as easily, he pulled me inside. The door clicked shut behind us, and the quiet lock of it made my stomach clench.
We were alone.
The room was sleek, dark, and lined with bookshelves. A liquor cart stood in the corner, and a single desk dominated the center, its surface covered in crisp documents–contracts, ledgers, things I couldn’t quite read from where I stood.
Rafe let go of me only to lean back against the desk, his posture annoyingly at ease, as if he hadn’t just dragged me in here like a man claiming what was his.
“I assume you brought me in here for more than just rough handling,” I said, my voice sharp even as my pulse betrayed me.
His lips twitched. “Like I said, I brought you here for business.”
“Business,” I repeated, folding my arms. “You’ve been playing with me all night, but now you suddenly remember you’re aprofessional?”
“Professionals in our realm play dirty, Adela.” He pushed off the desk and closed the space between us in an instant. “Our business meetings consist of threats to life and blood being spilled.”
I struggled to breathe with how close he was.
“You will do what I ask,” he murmured, voice a lethal whisper.
The certainty in his tone triggered goosebumps. I wanted to scoff, to push him away, but I made the mistake of meeting his gaze. The way he looked at me…it was too much. Like he saw through me.
A slow, burning fire uncoiled in my stomach. I swallowed hard. “So you think you can just give yourself to me in exchange for my company’s superior protection? Is that what you’re inferring here?”
