nd no longer felt heavy with the suffocating we

n quieter now, their movements were relaxed, li

didn't disappear completely; it just morphed int

g the retreating crowd by pure survival reflex. I turned to look a

asn't be

black suits and veils. He had been standing right there just a few minutes ago, close enough that

c yet, but a deep, protective instinct flared inside me. I didn'

ning light crept across the estate. The compound grew quieter with every

urtyard. There was no response. My steps quickened into a frantic pace. It wasn't like him to just

uld stop it: "Raze." My jaw tightened so hard my teet

deeper into the compound, past the familiar hallways and corner

gone until a heavy hand sudde

ked backward. My body collided hard with a solid, muscular chest

lluminating the space from the barely closed velvet curtains. My heart slammed frantica

az

hand was on me again, stronger this ti

. He yanked my head back with a sharp, familiar cruelty that forced my chin upward,

f. My hands shook with a volatile mix of rage as he gathered both of my wrists, pinning them ab

een us. His heavy, lethal frame crushed against mine. He didn't bother wasting time on words. Reaching down, his free han

g them aside with a proprietary, brutal roughness. He didn't ask for permission. He nev

e growled, his rough fingers immediately tra

an that threatened to shatter the silence. I refused to give him th

That dimwit... is he good in bed? Does he make you cum with just his fingers? Or do

did he know? How could he possibly know about the phant

es, because that familiar, arrogant smirk spread across his

refusing to look at him, refusi

rs dove brutally inside me, stretching

inding down with a heavy, rhythmic pressure that sent

growled, his deep voice a low, vibr

me again who that wea

ed out, my head thumping back helplessly against the hard wood

ss. It wasn't a request; it was a violent reclamation. While his tongue completely invaded my mouth, his fingers worked relentlessly insid

nd uneven. "I waited 1,095 days for you to come home, and you dar

lie. My body was an absolute traitor, my pussy walls already slick, dripping, and pulsin

each other's souls. Friends don't make you scream the way I do. I asked you a question, and I want an answer. Does he even know how to touch you, Nyra? Does he make yo

fend my fiancé. I hated that even as Magnus's face flashed in my mind, my entire

he drove his fingers deeper, his thumb never le

gasm hit me like a tidal wave. I slammed my own hand over my mouth, desp

hest. "Still so fucking sweet," he breathed, his eyes tracking the tremors racking my thighs. "Look at y

my tear-stained face upward until I was staring directly into his dark

de me, sharp and immediate. I slapped his ha

errifying shade of pitch

louder this time, forcing every ounce

een us stretched so thick it felt completely suffocating, like a wire pull

nd or trap me again. With trembling fingers, I quickly smoothed down my silk skirt and rearranged my tangled hair as best as I co

ed past him and grabbed

dark study. My heart was still racing a frantic rhythm against my ribs, but I forced my leg

yr

e stop dead in my tracks. I

e far end of the dim corridor, his e

gering panic. "Where were you?" I asked, taking quick

serene. "I stepped out for a

of my mind whispering a warning. But I was too exhausted, too wrapped up in my own guilt t

reached out, wrapping his warm ha

d me down the corridor back t

mattress. My mind was still entirely occupied, a chaotic storm of thought

ss the room with a slow, elegant composure. He poured a drink from the crystal decanter as

and handing me the glass. "You don't

t him, moment

t of me. "About your past. About your father. I know

for information, and he wasn't demanding immediate answers. "I will tell

me you need," he

lowed instantly by a crushing, agonizing wave of guilt.

s hand, my fingers brush

Marcus," I

ng fixed on his face. I lifted the glass to my lips

er and more bitter than I had expected from his usual st

vision sudd

trange heaviness settling behind my eyelids. But wi

dly, trying desperately to focus on Marcus's face, bu

oice came out ter

He just stood there, perfectly still, watching me carefully with cold, an

ave of realization s

ords slurred before I c

morphing into a cold, detached mask I had never seen

y, entirely devoid

to respond to my brain's frantic commands. My legs buckled beneath me, turning to water. T

ed man stepped out from

t as I realized I couldn't even draw enough air to make a sound

Marcus standing over me, coldly watching me hit