Chapter 8~ The Fire Between Us
699 Words
Elena’s breath caught as Adrian’s fingers trailed along her jawline, his touch both possessive and unnervingly gentle. The dim glow of the chandelier cast shadows over his sharp features, making him look even more dangerous.
“You’re trembling, Elena,” he murmured, his voice rich with amusement. “Is it fear… or something else?”
She lifted her chin, refusing to let him see just how much he affected her. “Maybe it’s disgust,” she shot back, though the slight hitch in her voice betrayed her.
His lips curved into a smirk, his dark eyes locked onto hers like a predator studying its prey. “You and I both know that’s a lie.”
Before she could respond, Adrian’s fingers skimmed down her arm, sending a shiver through her. His proximity was suffocating, his scent—something dark and masculine—invading her senses. Every instinct screamed at her to run, but her body betrayed her, drawn to him despite the war raging in her mind.
He leaned in, his breath fanning against her ear. “You keep fighting me, Elena. But I see the truth in your eyes.”
She swallowed hard. “You don’t know anything about me.”
His fingers tightened around her wrist, pulling her closer until there was barely any space between them. “Oh, I know more than you think,” he murmured, his lips grazing her temple.
A traitorous heat pooled in her stomach, but she forced herself to ignore it. “Then you should know that I will never be yours.”
Adrian’s smirk deepened, and without warning, he spun her around, pressing her back against his chest. She gasped, her pulse racing as his arms caged her in. His lips brushed against the shell of her ear.
“Keep telling yourself that, princess.”
She turned her head sharply, their faces mere inches apart. “You’re playing a dangerous game, DeLuca.”
His fingers traced slow, deliberate circles on her wrist, his grip firm yet careful. “And you’re playing it with me.”
Her breath hitched, her body betraying her once again. She hated how easily he could unravel her defenses, how effortlessly he could make her feel things she had no right to feel.
Summoning every ounce of defiance, she yanked herself free and took a step back. “I am not a toy for you to play with.”
Adrian tilted his head, his eyes gleaming with something unreadable. “Then stop acting like one.”
Anger flared in her chest. “You bastard—”
Before she could finish, Adrian closed the distance between them, his hand cupping the back of her neck as he crashed his lips against hers.
The kiss was raw, demanding, and all-consuming. Heat surged through her veins as she tried to push him away, but his grip tightened, keeping her exactly where he wanted her. His tongue traced the seam of her lips, and despite herself, she parted them, allowing him in.
A moan escaped her throat, but she caught it too late. Adrian growled against her mouth, deepening the kiss as his free hand gripped her waist, pulling her flush against him.
She should hate this. She should hate him.
But the way he kissed her—like he was claiming her, owning her—made her knees weak.
She wrenched herself away, breathing hard, her heart slamming against her ribs. Adrian’s eyes were dark with hunger, his chest rising and falling heavily.
“You will be mine, Elena,” he said, his voice hoarse but sure.
She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, glaring at him despite the heat still coursing through her. “In your dreams.”
His smirk returned, but this time, there was something deeper in his gaze. Something dangerous. “Oh, sweetheart,” he murmured. “You have no idea.”
Elena turned on her heel and stormed toward the door, her heart pounding, her lips still tingling from his kiss.
She needed to get out of here. Away from him. Away from whatever twisted, intoxicating pull he had over her.
Because if she didn’t…
She might just lose herself completely.
- Writer
