Page 23 of Forbidden Empire
With a sardonic grin, I seized her wrist, yanking her arm up and pinning it above her head. She fought back with her other hand, trying to push me away, but I mirrored my actions, trapping her until she was forced to gaze up at me, both hands secured, her back arching, and her breasts pressing against my chest.
Being this close to her was like standing on the edge of a precipice; every nerve in my body screamed with urgency.
It was overwhelming, suffocating, an inferno of proximity. I struggled to draw breath as I held her captive. She squirmed against me, a defiant motion that sent shockwaves through my nervous system, igniting my fury, and stoking the inferno of desire roaring within me.
Yet, it was sheer astonishment that dominated my thoughts. How dare she challenge me now?
“Stop struggling,” I ordered. “You’re mine now. I’ve captured you. Time’s up, Esme.”
“Fine,” she muttered defiantly, locking eyes with me, her gaze shimmering like stars in the dim light. “Now what?”
She bit her lip, her eyes flashing, her breasts pressing harder into me. A derisive laugh escaped me, sharp and mocking. Did she think her charade would deceive me?
“Now what?” I echoed, my eyes blazing with intensity. “What do you think?”
“I think,” she purred, her words dripping from her lips like honey, “that you should let me go, Aidon.”
"Is that so?" I snarled as I tightened my grip on her wrists with a force that could leave bruises. I forced myself to ignore the infuriating distraction of her breasts, her hardened nipples scraping against my chest sending a jolt of electricity through my spine.
She dared to bring her mouth close to mine, her breath a tantalizing whisper against my lips. My heart thundered in my chest, a wild drumbeat of rage and desire. She was playing with fire, toying with a predator without the slightest comprehension of the danger she was in.
Could she not see the destruction I was capable of? Did she not understand the peril of her reckless flirtation? With just a twist of my hands, I held the power to snuff out her life. Surely, she had to be aware of that.
I planned to obliterate this woman, and yet she treated this like some trivial game, a jest between us to laugh about. Very well; I could play along with her reckless charade.
I leaned in, my lips a hairsbreadth from hers. "You pretty little mouse, do you believe I'll release you now that I've ensnared you in my trap?"
She lifted her chin, her lips brushing mine with a feather-light touch, a slow, provoking smile curving her lips. "Have you caught me, Aidon? Or have I caught you?"
She arched one perfect eyebrow, her silence stretching between us like a tripwire.
"Maybe I let you find me, Aidon." Her tongue caressed each syllable of my name. "Did you even consider that?"
My pulse hammered against my throat. The casino's neon lights caught in her hair as realization sliced through me. Las Vegas. She'd been here all along, moving through crowds I'd walked through, breathing air I'd breathed, watching me hunt for her while hiding in plain fucking sight.
"You're playing a very dangerous game, Esme." My fingers tightened around her wrists until I felt the delicate bones beneath her skin. Her pulse raced against my thumb, not from fear, but excitement.
She could have stopped me, but she chose not to. Her lifted chin was a response: a decision rather than a surrender.
She tilted her head, studying me like a scientist observing a particularly fascinating specimen. Those emerald eyes dissected me, cataloging every micro expression, every twitch of muscle. I'd seen her do this to others—strip them bare, with nothing but a glance before she went for the kill.
"A dangerous game?" She leaned forward until her lips brushed the shell of my ear. "How fun." Her whisper sent electricity down my spine. "Doesn't the thrill of it all turn you on, Aidon?"
She licked her bottom lip, driving me out of my mind. Her hands were still pinned above her head, and I knew that if I reached down just a bit, I could be under her skirt in seconds.
The thought of her thighs wrapping around me while I plunged deep into her pussy flashed in my head, tempting me, tantalizing me, driving me out of my fucking mind.
She knew what she was doing, too.
She fluttered her lashes with calculated precision, her tongue flicking over her lips before catching the bottom one between her teeth. She appeared every bit the damsel in distress, but beneath the façade lay a sinister villainess, poised to strike and obliterate her foe at the slightest opportunity. I would never yield to her.
This cunning vixen dared to toy with me, flaunting her audacity when she should have been quaking in terror. Her nerve was infuriating. Was she truly devoid of remorse? Did she not grasp the peril she faced? Not only from me but from countless others who sought her demise.
Esme had committed the ultimate betrayal by pilfering Zeno’s cache of secrets. She ought to count herself fortunate that I found her first. Zeno would have shown no such restraint, no such mercy.
Still, despite my fury, her beauty was a relentless siren call. In the dimly lit corridor, she was a masterpiece in chiaroscuro,the hall's kaleidoscope of blues, greens, and reds painting her in a mesmerizing dance of shadows.
The compulsion to kiss her was overpowering. Her breasts pressed against my chest, igniting a primal hunger within me.
