Chapter 227.
"You," he says, each word deliberate, "are going to be the end of me."
I can’t even form a proper response, which is honestly humiliating. Because for once,...Elaine whitmore is speechless.
And Zane?
He looks like he’s still debating whether to kiss me again.....Or lock me in this office permanently.
The tension between us is still razor-sharp and heevy. My lips are still tingling from that kiss, my breathing uneven, my thoughts completely scrambled. Zane steps back just enough to actually look at me.
His hands remain firm on me, his chest rising and falling like he’s still trying to regain control of himself.
And when he speaks...His voice is rough enough to send heat spiraling straight through me.
"Come on."
I blink up at him, still slightly dazed.
"We’re going home."
There’s no room for argument in his tone, not that I’m exactly in a hurry to argue not when my entire body still feels like it’s humming from the way he just kissed me.
He takes my hand firmly, already leading me toward the door, I can barely barely keep up in my heels.
My mind is racin and my pulse somehow refuses to calm down. And honestly?
I’m still a little stunned by how quickly tonight spiraled from boredom... to cards... to near violence... to this. By the time we leave the office, his presence alone feels commanding enough that no one even thinks to stop us.
The club practically parts around him, staff step aside immediately, security avoids direct eye contact. And me? I’m just trying to keep my breathing normal while being dragged through his empire like I haven’t completely lost all coherent thought.
We move quickly, straight through the private exit, straight to the waiting car and one of his men opens the door without questio.
Zane guides me inside first before sliding in beside me shutting the door.
And suddenly...It’s quiet and private and dngerously intimate.lThe city lights blur outside the tinted windows as the driver starts moving but inside the car?The air feels thick and charged.
I glance at him nervously, his jaw is still tens and his posture still rigid.
But now...,There’s something else there too, smething possessive.
He notices me looking and his Slowly, his gaze shifts to min and somehow.....That look alone nearly steals my breath all over again.
"You," he says quietly, "are a menace."
I should probably defend myself, I should probably say something witt but instead...i smile.
"And yet," I murmur, "you married me."
That actually earns the faintest reaction, not quite a smile but vlose.
His hand reaches for mine, gripping it firmly, like he needs the reminder that I’m here with him
And for the rest of the drive.....Neither of us says much, beecause words suddenly feel unnecessary, the tension says enough.
The anticipation says more and by the time the gates to the estate finally come into view...My heart is pounding all over again.
When we get home, the atmosphere is already charged, the tension from the night still clinging to us. The estate feels unusually quiet as we step inside, the massive house almost eerily still.
I pause, glancing around.
"Why is it so empty?"
Zane loosens his tie slightly, looking entirely too calm for a man who’d spent most of the evening acting like he was one second away from losing control.
"I gave most of the staff time off today."
I blink.
"Oh."
My face immediately warms because....Well, that feels very intentional. I clear my throat and try to act unaffected.
"Right."
Suddenly feeling hyper-aware of everything, I turn toward the staircase.
"I’m just going to shower and change...."
Before I can take more than a step, his hand catches me firmly.
He pulls me back against him so quickly I barely manage a surprised sound.
"Where exactly do you think you’re going?"
I glance up at him, heat rushing to my face.
"My room?"
His stare alone makes my stomach flip.
"To wash up."
His expression darkens in that dangerous way I’m quickly learning means trouble.
"I did not bring you home," he says slowly, "for you to disappear upstairs. I need to eat you out and I’ll do it now."
My breath catches.
"Zane...."
I’m completely flustered.
Because while yes, I understand what tonight has been building toward.....That doesn’t mean I’m suddenly immune to embarrassment.
"At least let me clean up first," I mutter.
And for one foolish second.,..i think that’s a reasonable request.
Instead...He simply lifts me, lik it’s nothing and I weigh nothing. A startled gasp leaves me as I’m suddenly thrown over his shoulder, my dignity instantly abandoned.
"Zane!"
He lands a sharp smack against me, not enough to truly hurt but absolutely enough to shock me as I yelp.
"Oh my God!"
His voice is calm...far too calm.
"No."
I push lightly against his back, half protesting, half mortified.
"This is ridiculous!"
"You’ve been testing me all night."
His grip tightens just enough to remind me resistance is mostly pointless.
"So now," he says, heading toward the stairs, "you can deal with the consequences."
My heart is pounding for entirely too many reasons.
"Zane, I’m serious....let me wash up first at least,"
"So am I."
And somehow.....That certainty in his voice completely undoes whatever argument I was about to make because beneath all the teasing, all the dominance, all the impossible intensity.... Theres something else....possession and disire and the undeniable reality that this man has wanted me all night.
And very, very aware that sleep is probably not happening anytime soon. He carries me up the stairs like a man fully committed to chaos. Every few steps, his hand comes down sharply against me, each smack making me gasp in shock and humiliation.
"Zane!"
My protest only seems to amuse him.
"Keep making noise," he mutters darkly, his grip tightening as he ascends the staircase without slowing, "and I’ll give you more reasons to."
Heat floods my entire body....part embarrassment, part anticipation and part something far more dangerous.
By the time we reach his bedroom, my pulse is completely out of control. The door swings open, then shuts behind us with finality.
And suddenly.....it feels like all the oxygen in the room disappears. He doesn’t put me down immediately. Instead, his mouth finds my neck almost instantly. Hot and emanding.
His teeth grazing sensitive skin just enough to make me shiver violently. My fingers clutch at his shoulders, my breath catching as his hands roam with firm possession.
"Do you have any idea," he says roughly against my skin, "how close you came tonight to being locked in this room?"
I can barely think.
Barely breathe.
"You were impossible."
His voice is sharp, but beneath i is desire.....raw and overwhelming.
"I told you to stay put."
"I know," I whisper, though it comes out shakier than intended.
"That’s the problem."
He finally sets me down, but only so he can pin me exactly where he wants m as my back meets the wall and his body cages mine in completely.
One hand at my waist, the other tilting my chin upward forcing me to meet his gaze.
And God...That look in his eyes.
It’s enough to completely undo me.
"You don’t listen."
His thumb brushes my lower lip.
"Maybe," I manage softly, despite my racing heart, "I don’t like being told what to do."
That earns me a dangerous pause.
Then....a slow, devastating smirk.
"No," he says, voice low enough to send heat spiraling through me, "you just like provoking me."
Before I can respond....His mouth is on mine again and this tim, fhere is absolutely nothing restrained about it as his presence consumes the entire room and every breath I take feels s hotter.
He stands between my knees, his gaze locked on me with an intensity so overwhelming it nearly steals what little composure I have left, my pulse is chaos.
My thoughts?Completely unreliable.
Because suddenly.....,,This isn’t teasing or playful seduction and somehow that realization only makes everything feel more electric.
His fingers tilt my chin upward, forcing me to meet his stare.
"Look at me."
The command sends a visible shiver through mi as I ddo as I’m told. Because right now defiance feels impossible, not when his voice sounds like that, mot when every inch of him radiates control
His thumb brushes softly across my lower lip, a contrast to the storm brewing in his expression.
"Do you have any idea," he murmurs, his voice rough enough to make my knees weaken, "what you do to me?"
My breath catches as I try to answer....i really do but coherent thought has officially abandoned me.
So instead,:.,i just stare and somehow...That seems to tell him enough as hs mouth finds mine again.
This kiss is slower, still intense and devastatin but different.....less punishment more possession, like he’s savoring the kiss.
His hand trails slowly along my side, sending sparks racing beneath my skin. He’s designed to leave me breathless and it works.
God, it works.
My fingers grip his shoulders, grounding myself against the sheer force of everything I’m feeling because this man....This impossible, maddening man...Has somehow become both my greatest frustration....amd my greatest weakness.
When he finally pulls back, my lips feel swollen, my chest heaving and he’s forehead rests briefly against mine.
"You test every ounce of control I have."
His confession is quiet and somehow....
That affects me even mor
I swallow hard, my voice softer now.
"Maybe you like being tested."
A dangerous pause then....That devastating smirk.
"Oh, sweetheart."
His hands tighten just slightly.
"You have no idea."