Page 100 of Paramour of Sin

“Stop!” I rasped, my throat burning. “It’sme!” It came out all garbled, my throat refusing to work, and I was too busy panting to add appropriate sound.

His fingers wrapped tightly around my ankle, yanking me back to him. He followed up with an elbow to my face that almost seemed accidental, and pain burst in my cheekbone.

Eve and Gleason had both given me some intense training on how to defend myself. I drew on all that knowledge now, because it was all I had left.

I blocked his hand from reaching my throat again, then punched him in the diaphragm. As he coughed, I wrapped my legs around his waist and twisted, rolling him beneath me.

“Listen!” I shrieked, slapping his hands away from me. I caught sight of Zane kneeling on the floor beside the bed, his gaze leveled on us as we grappled. “I’m notAmarella!”

Whatever tiny upper hand I managed to obtain vanished as Lord Zebulon grabbed my neck again. He used me as leverage to stand, dragging me to my knees as he went. I grabbed his wrist, digging my nails into his skin, begging him to hear me. But the show of strength and power pouring off him was incredible.

Invincible, I thought.He’s… invincible.

And I’d lost my chance to speak. Again.

His spirit squeezed mine, just as painful as his fingers at my trachea. Between his physical strength and his demonic aura binding me in place, he lifted me all the way off the floor, my feet dangling uselessly, then he threw me onto the mattress.

My neck was free.

But I had no words to say.

“If only I could kill you twice,” he said coldly. “I’d do it gladly and deliver your hollowed skull to Prince Ashmedai myself.”

My tears suddenly felt cold as an array of emotions swirled inside me.Affection. Fear. Awe.

This was my lord. No matter how dirty I fought, I’d never be a match for him. And the magic concealing me was too strong for him to see through. Because his rage blinded him—a rage I’d only made worse by fighting back.

Lord Zebulon was the most powerful being in the room, and I stood no chance against him.

I’m going to die at the hands of the men I’ve fallen in love with over the years.And that realization utterly destroyed me.

I swallowed, my heart giving into my fate.

What more could I do? Rant? Scream? There was no stopping him. No stopping this. Not even Zane would believe me now—a fact I could see in his hard expression.

This isn’t a dream or a nightmare,I realized numbly.This is fate.

I slowly slid off the bed and went to my knees to fall into a deep, respectful bow. He could kill me, but he would always be my lord. And in these final minutes, I would at least ensure he knew that.

Because when he realized who he’d killed… I wanted him to have a final memory to hold onto.

Me respecting him.

Me loving them both.

Me supplicating in the only way I knew how.

I felt Zane circle the end of the bed, his presence oddly soothing at my back, even as the burn of silver went over my head.

He’s handing Lord Zebulon a silver knife,I realized. It was probably mine, which just made this situation even more depressing.

My heart beat wildly, but I maintained my bow. A long, empty silence stretched through the room. It seemed to last forever, every moment torture.

“Any final words?” Lord Zebulon demanded.

“I love you,” I whispered, needing to say it at least once. To acknowledge it both to myself and to them. Because I’d loved them for a while now. Well before they’d taken me to their bed. Maybe for years. And I’d only ever said it to Zane. So now… now I would say it to them both. I closed my eyes. “I love you both.”

Lord Zebulon knelt before me. He put two fingers beneath my chin and raised my face to his. His stoic gaze searched me.