Chapter 3: Captive of the Crown

​The towel clings to my damp body, and the frantic thumping of my heart is visible even through the fabric. Lucas stands inches away, his scorching breath crashing against my forehead.

His grey eyes are burning like embers—a fire that doesn't just want to sear me, but intends to turn me to ash and merge me into himself.

​"Are you afraid, Sophia?" His voice is barely a whisper, sharp as a lethal blade.

​He uses one hand to brush my wet hair aside, resting his palm against my neck.

His fingertips are ice-cold, but the moment they touch my skin, a jolt of electricity surges through me. I close my eyes. My subconscious is screaming at me to run, yet my disobedient body seeks refuge in this man of stone and hard muscle.

​"I... I am not afraid," I force the words out, though my throat is as dry as a desert.

​Lucas gives a strange smile. With his other hand, he picks up the silk ribbon from the dressing table. "Not being afraid is foolish. Because in this palace, after the sun sets, only my rules apply."

​With a sudden jerk, he spins me around and pins me firmly against the window glass. Outside, the blizzard continues to rage; inside, there is only the heat of Lucas's body. He forces my hands above my head and binds them tightly with the silk ribbon.

​"You can't do this, Lucas! This is outside the deal!" I scream.

​He bites down hard at the base of my neck. I recoil in sharp pain, but almost instantly, an unbearable pleasure spreads through every vein in my body.

"There is only one condition, Sophia—you are mine. For the next seven days, you are strictly the property of Lucas Valentine."

​He undoes the knot of my towel with a single pull. I am now completely vulnerable, exposed before his intense gaze. He surveys every curve of my body as if waiting to loot a priceless gem. Lucas rips off his shirt and tosses it aside.

Seeing the strength hidden beneath his sculpted chest muscles and broad shoulders, my breath hitches.

​He sweeps me up in his arms and tosses me onto the middle of the bed. The soft velvet sheets prick my back as he climbs over me. Lucas pulls out a pair of handcuffs. At the metallic sound of iron and leather, my soul trembles.

​"Tonight, you will see what true release looks like," he whispers in my ear. He pulls me deep into his world. I bite my lip in a mixture of agony and ecstasy to keep from screaming. But he doesn't let me stop. Every movement is calculated and intensely heated. He governs me as if I were a wild horse he intends to break.

​"Tell me, Sophia... who do you belong to?" He delivers a sharp slap to my hip, the echo of which rings through the room.

​"I... I am yours..." I cry out. My body is a chaotic mix of sweat and desire. Even the freezing snow outside cannot extinguish the leaping flames of this fire. Lucas is a monster who wants to tear me apart, and I am a parched desert wanting to absorb every drop of him.

​Eventually, the climax hits. I feel the muscles in my legs tighten, and the world seems to slip away from beneath my feet. Lucas collapses on top of me, his heavy breath crashing against my neck.

​An hour later, he leaves me alone on the bed and stands up.

He has returned to his professional, cold demeanor. "Come downstairs. I'm waiting for you at the dinner table. And remember, that file is still on the table. To read it, you'll have to pay a much higher price."

​After he leaves, I sit up. My body feels broken. The tremors in my legs haven't left me yet. I stand before the mirror. The red marks Lucas left on my neck and shoulders look like the trophies of a victorious general.

Wrapped in a towel, I look through the small window beside the bed. The garden, draped in a white shroud of snow, looks peaceful, but a storm still rages in my heart.

​I manage to get to the dressing room and put on a thin silk nightgown. Descending the stairs, I see a lavish candlelit dinner set on the dining table in the living room. But Lucas isn't there. At one corner of the table lies that black file.

​Unable to contain my curiosity, I open the file. On the first page is an old photo of my mother and with it... what?! The police report from the day of my father's death! But what's written in the report makes the file slip from my hands. Was my father's death not an accident?

​Just then, Lucas's hot hands return to my waist from behind. His fingers, pressing through the thin silk of my nightgown, feel like fire against my skin.

He leans into the nape of my neck, his warm breath sparking a forbidden shiver against my earlobe.

​"Not everyone can handle the truth, Sophia. Are you ready?" His voice sounds like a primal command drifting from a dark abyss.

​Trembling, I grip the edge of the dining table. "Are you talking about... my father's murder?"

​Lucas spins me around with a sudden jerk. His grey eyes are now burning like a volcano.

He tilts my chin up with one hand, his grip so firm I am forced to meet his gaze. "The whole world thought it was an accident.

But the truth will be stripped bare in this palace tonight."

​He thrusts me onto the dining table. The candles cast our shadows onto the wall like terrifying monsters. Lucas stands between my thighs, his presence walling me in from all sides.

With his other hand, he begins to loosen the tie of my nightgown.

​"Lucas, no! Tell me the truth first!" I scream.

​Lucas covers my mouth.

"My rules apply in this palace, Sophia. If you want to know the truth, you must first prove how loyal you are to Lucas Valentine.

" His voice is now deeper, laced with raw desire. He slides the nightgown off my shoulders, and I realize—tonight, it’s not just the truth, but my soul that is about to be captured by this predator.