Page 27 of Forbidden Empire

Each syllable of my name vibrated through my sternum, down my spine, and between my thighs. My lips parted.

God help me, I wanted him to say it again.

How could I crave someone with such unbearable intensity while at the same time burning with the desperate urge to flee from him?

My lungs seized, refusing to pull in air. My mind was a chaotic void.

Above all, I could not allow Aidon to glimpse the power he wielded over me, the way he could unravel my very essence.

That would mean surrendering, and I was far from ready to concede.

I lifted my chin, a cocky smirk curling on my lips.

"You need me too much to hurt me," I taunted.

His eyes darkened, pupils expanding as if to swallow the light, a silent acknowledgment that I had struck a nerve. We both knew the undeniable truth in my words.

Aidon might not inflict pain, but he was resolute in his refusal to release me.

His grip on my chin tightened, a fleeting moment of possession before he withdrew, retreating and taking with him that intoxicating, searing heat that left me aching.

Damn it.

I stifled the whimper clawing at my throat at the loss. Something primal within me writhed in agony, a beast of longing and raw need.

But I would never let him see it.

My smirk widened, and I raised a brow, challenging him.

He gave no reply.

Well, not with words.

But his response was explosive, undeniable, and absolute.

He seized my hand with a grip of iron and yanked me toward the hidden wall panel with a force that brooked no resistance. I knew what it concealed: the elevator to his penthouse, a place of power and secrets.

With a swift swipe of his keycard, he thrust me inside. I stumbled, my heart racing, as the doors slammed shut. Silence reigned in the brief seconds it took to ascend to his domain.

In the entryway, he propelled me forward and secured the locks with a finality that echoed like a gavel.

He turned, fixing me with a gaze that was a tempest of fury, an unforgiving storm that sent shivers down my spine and ignited a fire of forbidden desire within me.

“You don’t get to run from me again.”

His words were a decree, devoid of hesitation, devoid of doubt.

He believed it with an intensity that shook the very air around us. But he was so damn wrong, whether he realized it or not.

There was no way in hell I wouldn’t run again.

Maybe he’d claimed victory in this skirmish, but he hadn’t won the war.

I smirked, defiant, shaking my head, daring him with every fiber of my being.

With a fierce scowl, he turned on his heel and walked away, leaving me alone to witness his retreat, every step a taunt, his form a testament to the maddening allure that made me question every choice that had brought me to this charged moment.

Five