Page 36 of Chain Me

“You are now,” he said.

“Oh really?” I laughed. “How?”

“By pretending like you don’t see it.” He stepped in closer, and I had to crane my neck to hold his gaze. “Forget the rest. You ask why I care? Don’t you dare act as though you don’t know—”

“What?” I demanded.

“Why I returned despite intending to spend at least a full damn decade abroad.” He lowered his mouth to my ear. “What Yulia knows. Saskia. Raphael. They all see it. Mocked me for it. I even told you once, my intentions toward you, didn’t I?”

That he had.

“I want you, Eleanor Gray...”

Lies. I swallowed hard, resisting the memory. “Told me what? That you have a fetish for innocence? That I’m the one who toys with you? Who kissesyouout of nowhere and leaves on a whim—”

“No.” He withdrew, his eyes flashing. “That I have an irritating impulse tonotwatch you die. Even if you aggravate me every damn step of the way. Even if it’s a goddamn struggle just to keep my sanity around you. It’s like you want me to—” He broke off and let me go. “Fine. Run. Play the only role you seem willing to play.”

“Wonderful.” I turned on my heel, gritting my teeth. “But don’t pretend like this is my fault. I didn’t leave you. I didn’t accuse you of—”

“Damn you.” His grip clamped down like a vise on my forearm, dragging me back. The second I winced, he released me only to shift his weight to physically block my path. “You enjoy this, don’t you? Pushing me to the goddamn brink. The harder I try to keep my composure, the more you chip away at it. Is this what you want?” He fingered the neckline of my dress, seizing the fabric. “Fine. Perhaps I had every right to question your integrity? I’ll offer you another ultimatum—drop the naïve act or we will both discover just how innocent you really are. You named a whole list of others you’ve supposedly been with—but how many were lies?”

My hand lashed out, colliding with his cheek.Thwack!He didn’t even flinch—but I did as his thumb toyed with a delicate strip of lace.

“Let go,” I whispered. My hand stung as if to warn me away from slapping him again. “Get off!”

“No.” He wound the material more tightly around his finger, forcing me on tiptoe to keep it from ripping. “Admit it out loud, your true condition—”

“Or?” I rasped, hating how my voice broke.

He twisted the lace again. “Or I’ll lose my patience.”

“Stop!”

“Fair enough.” His expression blank, he tugged.

Fabric unraveled like wisps of smoke as my dress slipped from my shoulders. Before my eyes, Yulia’s creation fluttered in pieces to my feet. Even in shock, I knew he was the cause of the malfunction.

“What are you doing?” I rushed to cover my breasts with my hands, but Dublin didn’t even give the appearance of shame.

His gaze raked over me, lingering on the flesh my fingers struggled to shield. Disgust, I could stomach, even if it stung.

While a part of me may have cringed from it, my pride would remain intact.

But his lips parted instead, and my breathing hitched. Alarm bells sounded within my skull, warning me away as he angled his body toward me. Pinprick pupils made his eyes seem even brighter. Burning. Impossible to meet head-on.

It was a dangerous expression. One that triggered a million terrifying sensations I shied from acknowledging. Heat. Heaviness in my limbs that made it harder to stand.

And an ache in my chest that grew more painful by the second.

“Finally,you have the sense to be afraid. Or not.” His nostrils flared, and he scoffed. “I should have known. As always, this excites you more than anything else. Youenjoywhat you do to me.”

Enjoyment? Was that the name for how my heart lurched in time with his callous laugh?

He took another step. I jolted back until my spine went rigid against the unyielding wall of glass behind me.

“Get away from me,” I croaked.

He laughed again. Then he lunged, slamming his hands against the glass on either side of my head. In the same motion, his knee nudged my thighs, forcing them apart. Slowly. The fabric of his pants teased snatches of my skin, making me jump with every deliberate nudge.