Semua Bab Contractually Married my ex-mate's father: Bab 51 - Bab 60

Chapter Fifty TwoAriaThe word "Strip" hung in the cool garden air, heavy and jagged, like a blade. I didn’t move immediately. A part of me wanted to, but the other part, the other part was still having a hard time deciding.Back in the present, my heart was slamming against my ribs so hard I was certain Zane could see the vibration under the silk of my dress. The silence of the garden was absolute, broken only by the distant, rhythmic chirping of crickets and the ragged sound of our breathing.Zane stood perfectly still, his silhouette carved from the darkness, his eyes two burning coals that tracked every micro-expression on my face. Even in the dark, he looked like the moon goddess had taken her sweet time in molding him.Broad shoulders, abs and a face that I wanted to kiss every time I came across it. In return, I was sure he wouldn't mind if I sat on his face and he sucked the living daylight out of my pussy.This was it,I told myself. This was the ultimate surrender, not just

Chapter Fifty FourAriaI woke up angry, and it wasn't the loud kind, nor was it the screaming, throwing things kind. The one I happened to be graced with, was the simmering kind.The kind that sits under your ribs and pulses every time you breathe.The bed beside me was empty when I woke up. Of course it was.For a moment, I lay there staring at the canopy above, replaying last night like it had been carved into the inside of my skull.I remembered the way his hands moved over my body, his mouth, down to the way he had looked at me right before..The knock.I pressed my palm over my eyes. I had almost slept with him. Not strategically, not politically, but because I wanted to, and that realization unsettled me more than the interruption itself.Worse?It hadn’t even been for him. The summons had been for me, and I only found that out at dawn.The messenger had looked terrified when he clarified it. Apparently, there had been a “miscommunication.” The High Council had requested my pre

Chapter Fifty SixAriaIf they hadn’t told her, then they believed I could win.That was the thought that followed me all the way down the corridor and into the training room like a shadow that refused to detach.I tried to shake it off, but no matter how much I did,it only came back with full force. Steel rang against steel somewhere in my mind before I even picked up a blade.The Council hadn’t warned Adeline, they hadn’t taunted her with it, they hadn’t used it to rattle her, which meant one of two things.Either they wanted to surprise her, or they were certain she wouldn’t need the warning.I hated that I didn’t know which one unsettled me more.The training room was cold when I entered, the stone floor still holding onto the morning chill. It was empty too,just how I liked it. Weapon racks lined the walls in quiet symmetry. I removed my outer layer, rolled my shoulders once, and reached for a blade.It felt familiar in my grip,steady, and unlike my thoughts.I moved first, testi

Chapter Fifty EightZaneThe scent of her was still heavy on my skin, like a sweet, salty nectar that made my blood roar, but the shadow at the end of the hall had turned my arousal into something cold. My hand tightened on Aria’s waist, feeling the slight tremor still racking her body from the release I’d just forced out of her on the training floor.I didn't want her looking back. I didn't want her to see the predatory shift in my eyes, so I did the only thing I could think of."Go to the room," I whispered, my voice a low, jagged rasp as we reached the corner of the west wing. I stopped, my ears pricking for the faint scuff of leather on stone. "Lock the door. Don't open it for anyone but me.""Zane.."I didn't miss the panic in her voice that she was trying so hard to mask."Now, Aria." I pressed a hard, bruising kiss to her forehead, pushing her toward our suite.I waited until I heard the heavy thud of the bolt sliding home before I turned.I didn't run. Instead, I took slow and

Chapter SixtyZaneThe reports on my desk was a pile of useless ink. I'd tried to make sense of them, I'd tried to convince myself that maybe they were useful after all, but no matter what the fuck I did, it didn't work.Against my better judgement,I gave the reports one more glance. All they held were vague mentions of sightings in the eastern marshes, whispers of "hybrids" that didn't smell like wolf or man, and yet possessed the lethal traits of both.I hated to admit it, but they were a fucking threat, a shadow growing in the dark while my own Council was busy trying to gut my marriage for sport. I felt a spiral of cold, black fury tightening in my chest, the kind that usually ended with someone’s throat in my hand.Like I wasn't already going through it all, two sharp knocks echoed on my door.I didn't turn. I stayed staring out the floor-to-ceiling window at the jagged treeline of the northern woods."Come in.” I muttered after what seemed like forever. “Report."The door swingi