Chapter 5 The Gilded Cage

At once, Dominic's steel gray eyes hardened, his hand on her hip tightening till it was deliciously bruising.

 His Alpha presence erupted, demanding total subjugation from the untamed thing he'd just glimpsed, and the room sparked with an electric static charge. 

He had seen it, a sure, predatory gleam of amber slicing through her false human innocence."What was that?" Dominic growled as his voice rumbled deep in his barrel chest and sent a rush of terrible pleasure right to her core. 

He leaned closer, his hot breath on her lips, eyes searching her face for any lingering evidence of the beast.Clara clenched her internal eyelids shut, pushing her inner wolf back into the dark recesses of her mind. Her eyes blinked rapidly, her long eyelashes fluttering, as though she were dizzy.

 The deadly silver-laced chemical on her collarbones flared to life at her heightened emotions, eating away at her skin and providing a nice distraction. The silver heat was rising, and a real whimper escaped her lips. "It's . . . the perfume, Mr. Vance," she said effortlessly, her voice quavering as she stared up at him with wide, wet eyes. The silver... it makes me light-headed. I am no comparison for your might. 

Dominic stared at her for an agonisingly long moment, his flared nostrils taking in a breath.

 The false aroma of vanilla and synthetic roses still lingered in his senses, but the ghost flare of amber had his inner beast pacing on a knife’s edge. He didn’t quite believe it, but her shivering fragility appealed to his most basic protective instincts.

 He chuckled darkly, warningly, and released his chokehold on her throat but his hand stayed firmly on her waist, holding her to his hulking form.

 He nodded his chin toward the mahogany table where the contract sat sparkling under the rooftop lights.“Sign it,” Dominic said quietly, the velvet edge of his voice failing to soften the despotic authority beneath.

 If you sign it your brother lives. Say no, and you walk out of here back to the wolves waiting in the dark.' Clara didn't wait to be asked.

 The picture of Toby’s pale, fragile face in the hospital bed came before her eyes, wiping out any dignity she had left.

 With a hand that trembled slightly, she picked up the heavy gold fountain pen and scrawled her signature at the bottom of the Exclusive Cohabitation and Protection Agreement. 

The pen was scarcely dry before Dominic grabbed the letter from him, a look of dark, utter triumph sweeping across his stunning features. You are officially off the market Clara. 

From this second on you belong to me.”By daylight, Clara was torn from the neon-lit underbelly of the city and forced into a realm of unfathomable luxury. 

The Vance Estate was a large, historic fortress, tucked away deep in a well guarded private pine forest just across the state border. High stone walls enclosed the perimeter, and elite warriors from the Midnight Eclipse Pack patrolled the grounds disguised as private security guards.

 It was a utopia, yet to Clara it felt like a gilded cage. Her individual rooms were bigger than the whole apartment she'd rented for years. Her room had a king-size bed, wrapped in black Egyptian cotton, a private patio that overlooked the misty forest, and a walk-in wardrobe that took her breath away. Dominic hadn’t been a cheapskate. 

Shelves were stocked with custom silk gowns, luxury heels, and velvet boxes stuffed with millions in diamond jewelry. But every luxury was a reminder of who owned the key."You like them?"Clara jumped, whirling around to find Dominic standing in the closet doorway. 

He'd shed his corporate suit and was dressed in nothing but a pair of dark trousers and a soft grey cashmere sweater, which hung loosely over his broad shoulders and massively muscled chest.

 The aroma of cedarwood and dark cocoa wafted before him and instantly filled the room, causing Clara's inner wolf to purr with embarrassed ferocity. “They’re beautiful, Mr. Vance,” Clara said softly, backing away until her thighs touched the velvet-covered display case. 

Dominic's eyes hardened at the formal appellation. He stalked nearer, leisurely and predatory, his weight thick and warm and enticing. He reached in and his long fingers lifted out a perfect diamond necklace from the open box.

 He didn't ask, but went behind her and brushed her long, dark hair to one side.She shivered at the touch of his frigid fingertips on her naked neck. His fingers closed on the heavy diamonds at her throat; he bent down, his face in the curve of her neck.

 He sucked in a breath, his lips grazing the tender area just above her collar bone. "Call me Dominic," he muttered against her skin, his voice going low and gravelly and possessive. "And my gifts you shall wear. 

All of them. Every single one. I want every man that looks at you to know who pays for your breath." His approach was a perplexing intoxicating cocktail of harsh demand and delicate, deep care. He caught her waist from behind and pressed her spine against his firm chest. Through the thin fabric of her clothes she could feel the hard, unyielding length of his need against her lower back.

 Immediately, a hot, wonderful sensation swelled between Clara’s thighs, her body betraying her escort training. 

She wanted him to twirl her around. She wanted him to rip the pricey clothing off her back and claim her properly. She could not allow him. Every morning for the last two weeks, she’d been painstakingly massaging the painful silver-laced chemical into her skin, hoping he wouldn’t notice the ruse. 

The daily torture was wearing her down, making her joints hurt, her wolf crying out in pain, yet it was the only shield she had left. Dominic turned her around gently, his thumb caught her chin, tilting her face upwards. His gray eyes looked into hers, burning with a frightening yearning that could turn into an obsessive addiction. "You're a creature of secrets, Clara," Dominic muttered, his hand moving down to trace the line of her lower lip. "But the full moon is tomorrow night. All are spared by the moon’s attraction. 

Let’s see how well you can keep your little secrets when the moon demands the truth.”Clara’s heart stopped and her eyes went wide with horror. Dominic let out a low growl, his teeth brushing her bottom lip in a promise of things to come.