Mag-log inPearl By the time night fell, the air felt different. Thicker almost, like the world itself knew something was about to shift..Zander didn’t say much on the drive over. Hell , he didn't say anything at all. The only thing I got was one hand on the wheel, the other resting on his thigh, in a manner that was calm and controlled. Too controlled if you asked me. I watched him in the dark reflections of the window. He didn't wear any teasing smirk this time, and there were no suct edges either. Just a steely expression I just knew couldn't mean anything good. When we pulled up, the building looked the same as it always did, but tonight it felt like a courtroom,or more accurately, a battlefield.Inside, the atmosphere was tight. Conversations were low and clipped the minute we walked in. Men stood in clusters, shoulders squared, with tension humming beneath the surface.The moment Zander walked in, the energy shifted. Spines straightened,voices dropped, and eyes followed. They focused
Pearl By the time I got back, my hands were still shaking. I didn't even realize they were shaking till I got back to the cabin. My hands weren't vibrating visibly, nor was it dramatic, but it was just enough that I had to curl them into fists before pushing the door open.Like that wasn't enough, my mind was everywhere and nowhere at the same time. I wasn't one to exaggerate, but it was a miracle how I'd even arrived safely. The thoughts of everything that had gone down with Vienna clouded my mind so hard that I couldn't focus on anything else. Zander was already inside. He wasn’t pacing, he wasn’t on the phone, and hry wasn’t pretending to be casual either.He was standing near the window, arms folded, staring out like he’d been waiting for a storm to arrive.When the door clicked shut behind me, he turned. His eyes went straight to my face.“What happened?” he asked. The personality of his that liked to tease me was gone, and there was no softness in his voice. Just pure undil
Pearl The first thing I noticed when Vienna finally stirred was the sound. It sounded like glas scraping against wood. It was slow, careless and even though it scraped against my ears, I did my best to not let my discomfort show. I had been sitting in the chair across from her for almost twenty minutes, watching the rise and fall of her chest just to make sure she was actually breathing. The house still smelled like stale alcohol and something sour beneath it, fear, maybe.Her eyelids fluttered open.For a split second, confusion passed over her face. Then memory crashed in, I saw it happen. It was in the way she'd tightened her jaw, and the flicker of something haunted behind her eyes.She didn’t look at me. She reached for the bottle instead.“Don’t,” I said immediately. “You've had more than enough already.” She paused but didn’t withdraw her hand.“I need it,” she muttered, her voice rough from sleep and liquor. “Just let me. I'll take one gulp, and that's all.”“You don’t.”
Pearl I woke up feeling deliciously ruined.Every inch of me hummed with the memory of his hands, his mouth, down to the way he’d taken his time like I was something worth savoring. My thighs ached when I shifted, my hips protested, and even the inside of my lower lip was tender from how hard I’d bitten down on it, but that wasn't even the best part. If I got the chance,then I was going to do it all over again. Zander’s arm was heavy around my waist, his chest warm and solid against my back. He slept like he did everything else, fully committed. One leg tangled with mine, and his face buried in my hair, which showed that he was possessive even in sleep.I allowed myself one quiet second to just exist there. Then I carefully began the extraction process.Slowly, inch by inch, I lifted his arm and slid out from under it. He grumbled something low and unintelligible, tightening his grip once before I froze. I waited, counted to five when he settled, and then I slipped free.The room
Pearl The transition from the cool, illicit air of the parking lot to the stifling heat of the cabin felt like stepping into a furnace. Zander didn’t even give me the chance to reach for my discarded clothes. He simply scooped me up, my legs instinctively locking around his waist once more, and kicked the door shut behind us with a heavy, final thud.The amber glow of the fireplace cast long, flickering shadows across the room, highlighting the hard planes of his face and the dark, untamed hunger in his eyes. He didn't head for the bedroom. Instead, he marched straight to the heavy oak dining table in the center of the room."Zander…" I started, my voice a breathless wreck."I told you, princess," he rasped, his voice dropping into that gravelly, dangerous register that made my toes curl. "We’re making good use of that anger. And I’m not done with you. Not by a long shot."He set me down on the edge of the table, the polished wood cool against my sensitized skin. He stepped betwee
Pearl I pulled back just enough to breathe, my lips swollen and tingling from the force of his mouth. The cool night air hit my skin, but it did nothing to dampen the fire Zander had just lit. I looked him dead in the eye, trying to reclaim some shred of the independence he’d just dismantled."This means nothing," I got out, my voice hitching. "It’s just the anger, Zander. Don’t get it twisted."Zander didn't argue. He didn't yell. He just let out a low, dark smirk that told me he knew exactly how much of a lie that was. His eyes traveled over my face, heavy with a confidence that made me want to scream and climb him at the same time."If you say so, princess," he murmured. He leaned in, his nose brushing against mine, his scent, leather and woodsmoke, overwhelming my senses. "So, are you up for it? Or are we going to stand here and pretend you don’t want to rip my clothes off?"His words only made the fire burn brighter. Hell, they had my pussy watering like a fucking waterfall, and
Pearl I was a vibrating wire of nerves and leftover lust, and you just had to believe me when I said it wasn't a nice feeling. The second Zander’s footsteps retreated down the hall and probably behind Vienna, I scrambled away from the door, my mind racing faster than my pulse. I had maybe sixt
Chapter 57Pearl The silence in my bedroom was thick, heavy, and smelled like the best kind of trouble. I was curled into Zander’s side, my head resting on his chest as his heart rhythmically thrummed against my ear. For the first time in forever, my brain was quiet. I had no worries about the p
Pearl I woke up to a body that felt like it had been through a beautiful, carnal war. Every time I shifted under the silk sheets, a new ache bloomed, like a delicious, throbbing reminder of exactly how Zander had spent the night claiming me.Call me crazy or whatever, but I actually smiled at th
Pearl The air in the kitchen was so thick with tension I could practically feel it sticking to my skin. Zander stood perfectly still, his chest rising and falling in heavy, ragged hitches. He looked like a man standing on the edge of a precipice, fighting the wind that was trying to shove him over







