But the moment drew out, thick with unsaid tension. She watched his face transition from a forced, false smile to a dark shadow. His eyes, cold and dismissive most of the time, flashed hot with something raw and perilous.
"You can't just walk away, Selene," Jackson growled; the timber of his voice dropped low. "Not like this."
"I'm not asking for your permission," she said, her voice steady even as her heart ran with adrenaline in her chest.
The moment hung in silence, tension thick enough to cut. Without warning, Jackson stepped right across the intervening space of a few strides. His hand shot out and tugged her arm with a bruising grip. "You think you can leave me? After all these years? You're mine, Selene. You'll always be mine," he hissed through clenched teeth, his face inches from hers. A wave of panic welled up in her. She had been through so much-fifteen years of abuse, neglect, and cruelty-but it was as if this was a culmination of all the torment she had faced. Jackson's h
