Page 40 of The Cruel Heir
She frowned, confused. “What?”
I stepped closer, invading her space, my fingers grazing the pulse at her throat. “I want a dance.”
She scoffed. “Are you kidding me?”
I grabbed her hand, pulling her flush against my chest, forcing her into a slow sway. “Give me this dance, and I’ll leave our room tonight.”
I palmed a brass key, and laid it in her hand.
“It opens the suite across the hall,” I said, voice low. “Your own bed, your own lock, no guards at the door. Dance with me, claim the key, and tomorrow you decide whether I ever cross that threshold again.”
Her lips parted, hesitation flickering across her face. “That’s it?”
“For tonight,” I murmured, my lips brushing against her ear. “One dance. Then I walk away.”
She swallowed hard, but didn’t resist as I guided her across the room, our bodies pressed closer than necessary. The music was only in my head, but the rhythm was undeniable, the heat between us a force neither of us could ignore.
“You’re trembling,” I murmured, my lips brushing against her ear. “Are you afraid of me?”
“No,” she said, though her voice betrayed her. “I’m just-”
“Lying,” I finished for her, my grip on her waist tightening. “But that’s okay. Fear can be exciting.”
Her breath hitched, and I couldn’t help but smirk. I leaned in closer, my lips barely grazing her temple. “You can’t keep running, Zara. Sooner or later, you’ll have to face the truth.”
“And what truth is that?” she challenged, her voice shaking.
“That you’re mine,” I said, my tone leaving no room for argument.
Before she could react, I closed the distance, my fingers tilting her chin up as I captured her lips in a deep, possessive kiss. She gasped against my mouth, her body momentarily stiffening before softening, her breath hitching as I pulled her closer. Her lips were warm, hesitant at first, but I didn’t give her time to think. My tongue traced the seam of her mouth,demanding entrance and, when she parted for me, I took. Savoring her like I might never get the chance again.
My hand slid to the small of her back, pressing her against me, and she whimpered, a sound so delicate, so perfect, that it nearly undid me. I deepened the kiss, tasting her, claiming her, my pulse hammering with the raw, unrelenting hunger surging through me.
When I finally broke away, her breath came in brief gasps, her lips swollen, her eyes dark with something she refused to name. I traced my thumb over her lower lip, reveling in the way she trembled beneath my touch.
“That,” I murmured, my voice husky, “is what happens when you question whether I’m serious.”
I stepped back, releasing her, but the fire between us had already been set. She stood there, breathless and shaken, her fingers brushing against her lips as if she could still feel me there.
“Sleep well, little hummingbird,” I said, my smirk widening. Then, I turned and left, knowing full well that she wouldn’t forget this night, just like I never would.
She thought she’d won this round. But all she’d done was take one more step into my web.
ZARA
The last haunting notes of the string quartet playing on my wireless speaker echoed in my mind, as I stood frozen in the middle of my bedroom.
Nearly a month had passed since the wedding, but my body still reeled like it had only just happened. Sterling’s touch lingered on my skin, like a brand I couldn’t scrub off. Each breath came in unsteady bursts, as I fought to reclaim myself. The weight of his possessiveness was suffocating, and yet, some twisted part of me had leaned into it. Had responded in a way I couldn’t understand or forgive.
Sleep well, little hummingbird.
That’s what he whispered to me, voice smooth as sin, after branding me like I was something to own.
Those words hadn’t stopped echoing since. They looped through my head like a curse, cruel and intimate. Like he knew how deeply he’d gotten inside me. I could still feel how my body locked up. The way I’d frozen under the weight of what he took.
I needed air.
The balcony doors from my room stood open, a weak promise of escape. I stepped outside, the cool night air biting against my overheated skin, a jarring contrast to the heat stillbranded into my body. The city sprawled below, its lights twinkling with deceptive little promises of freedom.
