Chapter Five: The Devil’s Offer
659 Words
Naomi should have left.
As soon as Julian's hand touched her, as soon as his voice wrapped itself around her like a silk noose, she should have turned and departed that mansion.
But she didn't.
She allowed the heat of his fingers to penetrate her jaw, her pulse struggling to betray her with every desperate beat.
His green eyes darkened, reading all that she was trying to hide.
"You believe you're in charge," he whispered, a touch of amusement coloring his tone. "That you're here on your terms."
She tried to sneer. "Aren't I?"
Julian shifted closer, his gaze seeming to fix her already into the position he'd intended her to play out at the conclusion of the hunt.
"No," he answered straightforwardly. "You're here because I've permitted you."
The audacity. The downright temerity of the man.
Naomi went stiff, retreating. "You don't own me, Julian."
His smile took its time forming, seemed engineered. "Not yet."
She didn't like it that those words sent a shiver down her spine.
The Rules of the Game
Julian pulled from his pocket a folded, shiny contract and placed it on the marble table between them.
Naomi saw it, then him. "Seriously? What is this?"
"A contract," he said smoothly. "Saying exactly what I require of you."
Her eyebrows leapt up. "You'd expect me to sign something without bothering to look at it?"
He smiled. "I'd be disappointed if you did."
Tentatively with fingers, she removed it from him, spreading it out.
Her eyes followed over the dancing script, the words creeping into her head like cold water:
"You will be mine. You will obey me. You will yield to my desires, my rules, my wishes. No other man will touch you. No other man will possess you. You are mine."
Naomi gasped for breath.
She should have tossed the contract in his face. Laughed. Strided away.
But she didn't.
She met Julian's gaze instead, searching for a flicker of doubt. There was none.
"You seriously think I'd sign this?" she tried to scoff.
Julian leaned closer, his proximity wrapping around her like a shadow. "I think you're more curious than you'd like to be."
His fingers traced along the edge of the paper, his touch dangerous, measured.
"You wouldn't be here if you didn't want to know what it would be like," he breathed.
Naomi's grip on the contract tightened.
"You have a big mouth, Saint Clair," she told him, her voice steady. "But men like you always set limits."
Julian's smile vanished. And in its stead, something more sinister emerged.
"Try me."
Temptation Wears a Suit
Naomi gulped. The room felt too still, the walls a stifling presence.
She could walk. She still had that option.
But Julian was not dangled offering power. He was dangled offering complete and absolute devastation.
And God have mercy on her—she was curious to see what it would feel like.
She placed the contract on the table. "You want me to sign away my freedom?"
His lips curled into a sneer. "I want you to surrender."
Naomi locked eyes with him. Teasing. Taunting.
"Then do it," she breathed.
The instant the words left her mouth, Julian moved.
One hand was on the back of her neck, tilting her head back. His other hand on her lower back drew her into him.
He didn't kiss her.
He didn't have to.
The raw dominance in the touch sent a shiver racing through her, sparking her body.
"You're playing with fire, Naomi," he whispered against her skin. "And I don't play by rules."
Her nails dug into his chest, her body refusing her even as her mind screamed to run.
"Good," she gasped. "Neither do I."
Julian laughed, low and satisfied.
"You'll sign," he breathed. "Before you know it."
He pulled back, leaving her gasping, shaking, and completely unprepared for what was to come.
And deep within Naomi was a knowledge—it was already his.
- Writer
