Amara.
For a moment, neither of us moved.
The silence pulsed, thick and alive, filling every inch of the marble room. His dark eyes were steadily locked on mine; they were consuming, and for the first time, I understood that silence could strip you bare faster than touch ever could.
Lucien reached out, his fingers brushing my chin, tilting it up until I had no choice but to look at him.
“Do you know what the first rule is?” he asked.
I swallowed. “No.”
His thumb traced the corner of my mouth, slow, deliberate. “Control,” he said. “Mine—and yours. You’ll learn the difference tonight.”
He leaned in until his lips were almost on my ear. “Say stop if you want to leave. Otherwise, you stay still.”
I didn’t move. Couldn’t.
Something inside me was screaming to run, but another part—a dar
