CHAPTER FOUR

Elena told herself she wouldn't go back to the Dimitri estate a week later. She promised herself she would find excuses, keep her distance, bury the memory of Roth's mouth on hers, and the feel of his body pressed against hers. But by Wednesday evening, she was there again, Adrian tugging her along for another casual dinner with his father.

Adrian excused himself after dinner to make a call, distracted, muttering about some deal he was trying to salvage. Elena lingered in the garden, trying to clear her mind.

The night air was cool, the fountain's trickle soft, and for a moment she thought the garden would give her a few quiet minutes alone, surrounded by roses and silence while father and son talked privately. Then she heard his voice.

"You always run to the dark corners." Roth stepped out of the shadows as if he'd been waiting for her. His suit jacket was gone, his shirt sleeves rolled up, his throat bare and strong.

Unlike Adrian, Roth never looked away. He stared as though she belonged exactly where she was, standing under the moonlight, trembling, and ready to break.

"You shouldn't sneak up on me," she managed, though her voice betrayed her.

Roth smirked, closing the distance with unhurried steps. "You're not frightened of me, Elena. That's the problem. You're frightened of yourself."

Her pulse kicked. "You're imagining things."

"Am I?" He stopped inches from her, the heat of his body wrapping around hers like an invisible leash. His hand touched her wrist before letting go. "Your pulse says otherwise."

Elena stepped back, but the fountain blocked her, leaving her cornered. Roth followed, his shadow swallowing hers.

"You can't keep doing this," she whispered, hating how shaky and pleading she sounded.

"I can do anything I want." His mouth curved wickedly. "The real question is whether you'll admit you want it too."

Her body betrayed her first. A shiver ran down her spine, her thighs tightening with shameful need.

He noticed. Of course he did. His gaze flicked down. "Tell me," he said, "do you let Adrian touch you at night? Do you open your cunt for him the way you did for me?"

Heat flooded Elena's cheeks. "Stop."

Roth leaned in, his lips grazing her ear. "Does he even know how wet you get when someone tells you what to do?"

Her knees weakened, but she held herself stiff, fists clenched. "You're vile."

"You say that while your body begs me to take control." His hand slid up, fingers grazing the side of her waist through the silk. "You want me to ruin you right here where my son could walk past?"

His words landed harder than she wanted to admit. She despised the effect he had on her "I don't," she lied.

He chuckled darkly, tilting her chin up with a single finger until their eyes met. "Then prove it."

Her throat tightened. "Prove it?"

"Step back," he dared. "Walk away from me without looking back. If you don't want me, you'll do it."

The silence stretched between them. His steady gaze cut through every excuse she wanted to make. Elena willed her feet to move. She willed herself to run. But her body disobeyed. Her breath quickened, and her lips parted in quiet surrender.

Roth's smile was slow and victorious. He bent, pressing his mouth to the soft curve of her neck. Not a kiss, more like a claim. His teeth grazed her skin, and she gasped, fists clenching in her skirt. "You didn't move," he murmured against her pulse. "That tells me everything I need, Elena."

She should have pushed him away, screamed, do anything. Instead, she whispered, "This is wrong."

"That's what makes it worth it," Roth said, biting down just hard enough to sting before soothing the mark with his tongue. A moan escaped her, traitorous and desperate. Roth caught it with a laugh, pulling back just enough to look at her.

"I could make you scream my name in this garden. I could have you kneeling for me in the grass, my cock in your mouth while he sits inside, blind and oblivious. Do you know what that does to me, Elena? Knowing you'd let me."

Her breath came ragged, shame flooding her veins as she leaned closer instead of away. His hand cupped her hip, forcing her against the hard line of him, against his growing erection. "Feel that?" he growled. "That's how badly I want to break you apart."

Elena's eyes fluttered closed, her will unraveling thread by thread. He pressed his lips to hers, rough and claiming, his tongue forcing past her resistance. It was filthy, leaving her dizzy, clinging to him as though he were the only thing tethering her to the earth.

When he finally pulled back, his breath was ragged too, but his control never slipped. His thumb brushed her swollen bottom lip, his eyes burning with intense lust.

"You're mine," he said softly. "You can lie to yourself, lie to Adrian, but you can't lie to me. You'll come back and beg me."

Elena shook her head, though her body betrayed her again by arching into his touch. "I won't."

Roth smirked, dragging his thumb down her throat until it paused over the frantic beat of her pulse. "Then I dare you."

Her breath hitched. "Dare me what?"

"Spend the night in my bed. Just lie there. No touching, no fucking. Just sleep. If you can handle that without begging me to ruin you, I'll let you go. Forever."

Her stomach dropped, her mind spinning. The thought alone left her trembling. Being that close to Roth, his body inches away, his scent, his voice whispering filth in the dark, would destroy her. She swallowed, unable to answer.

Roth leaned closer, his lips grazing hers again, his voice a sinful whisper. "See? You're already imagining it."

She pushed him back with the last shred of her strength, her voice breaking. "I—I can't."

"Can't," he echoed, smiling like a predator. "Or won't?"

Her silence gave him the answer he wanted. He straightened, adjusting his cuffs with infuriating composure, as though he hadn't just unraveled her piece by piece.

"Think about it," he said. "And when you can't sleep tonight, when you're wet and aching, you'll know where you really belong."

Roth left her standing in the garden, shaking, her lips swollen and the sting of his teeth still burning against her neck.