Warning; [Mature Content]
With his broad arm wrapped around her slender waist, Zane guided Selina into the room, her body clinging to him as she staggered with unsteady steps.
Reaching the king-size bed, he tried to pull away, but she refused to let go, still tipsy.
"Let go. Get some rest here," he said coldly, hoping she would release his shirt as her face buried into his chest like a comforting pillow.
But to his surprise, Selina loosened her hold and let her hands move across his waist, embracing him tightly, her head resting against his chest. She could barely hear his heartbeat, as if they were frozen in time, drained of emotions.
"I thought I wouldn't be able to see you again," she whispered, her voice cracked with a mix of excitement, longing, and pain. "I've been worried sick about you… if it was cold, if it was lonely there…"
"Don't worry about me. As you can see, I'm doing better. So, worry about yourself," Zane uttered, his tone cold.
"Is that why you had to return this way, Zane?" she asked softly, searching his eyes for any trace of the boy she had once known.
"You should know better now that your father is my sworn enemy—one I must eliminate." Zane tightened his grip on her hands, pulling them from his body, though heat lingered wherever her touch had brushed him.
Selina's grip around him tightened instinctively, as if refusing to let go and face the harsh reality. But she eventually released him, locking her tear-filled, tipsy eyes onto his detached gaze before daring to ask,
"Does that mean you hate me too… just because I'm my father's daughter? Your enemy's daughter?"
"Yes. You don't know how desperate I've been to see you suffer because of your father. I must return the favor a hundredfold." His bitter words cut through the air, his piercing gaze unwavering, sending chills down her spine.
Selina bit down hard on her lower lip, silently studying his stance—unyielding in everything.
Hate. Resentment. Revenge.
That darkness compressed around him, almost suffocating in its intensity, and she hated the pain hidden behind his eyes. It gnawed at her ruthlessly because she had never imagined him suffering so deeply.
One she didn't wish for him.
Selina lowered her tear-filled gaze from his blazing eyes and whispered, "I'm sorry. I'm truly sorry you went through this… and that my father caused it." She lifted her head quickly. "But trust me, he truly won't harm you for any reason. There might be some misunderstanding."
Her words seemed to strike a raw nerve. Zane's grip on her wrist tightened, his fingers pressing almost painfully into her skin.
Selina barely flinched, meeting his furious hold with steady eyes.
"Don't tell me what's true or not. You weren't there. I was there watching as a twelve-year-old boy, watching my family being killed. Burnt to nothing before my eyes." he growled under his breath, cold and unyielding. Though it couldn't conceal the deep-seated pain that cracked beneath his composure.
With that, he yanked her hands away, and she stumbled back a step, clutching the sides of her dress to steady herself and keep her mind clear.
Looking up at him, she let a faint, knowing smile grace her lips, her eyes gleaming with concealed emotion. "I've always wanted you to be happy… free from the things that bother you."
Zane's expression hardened, his gaze refusing to meet hers. "I don't need your pity," he muttered flatly, turning toward the door.
"It's not a pity," she murmured, her voice soft but unwavering. "I'm not good at comforting people, either. I might not know exactly how you feel… or how long you've contained this pain. But I know it must be suffocating to bear alone, without those you love by your side. I feel that too." Her eyes shone with genuine sympathy, and her words made him freeze in his tracks.
Zane let out an incredulous snort and turned back to face her. "Don't act like you know me. And don't even try." he rebuked, his tone sharp.
Feeling his grip tighten around her wrist to pull her away, Selina was quick to seize the moment. She tiptoed up to his height, capturing his cherry cupid's bow lips in a slow, sultry kiss—urgent enough to leave him stunned.
Her hands roamed over his chest, feeling the warmth and strength beneath his clothing. She searched for a response, for a sign he might give in—but he remained stiff.
A pang of frustration cut through her nerves as Selina pulled away. The intensity of his unreadable stare felt like a heavy, leaving her uncertain if her attempt had offended him.
Silence between them was heavier than their argument. Their eyes locked in a quiet standoff, thick with everything neither dared to say.
Zane remained unmoved, eyes filled with surprise, while he had been processing her mesmerising touch, and the way she kissed him gently as if she owned him caused his pulse to race in a way he couldn't understand. He was nearly breathless, yet it unsettled him.
How did she do that to him? Only one person had made him feel this way. And it wasn't her.
His expression darkened, shutting down the unwelcome stirrings within. He could feel every part of him, screaming to claim her right away as her scent mixed with alcohol smelled intoxicating, pulling him despite his efforts to restrain.
He reminded himself that this desire was forbidden. He shouldn't claim her this way which was supposed to be about breaking her until she was bent to his will. Though she had ignited fire within him, breaking his control to crave this fleeting moment once.
Only this once he had promised himself to release the aching desire already tugging his aroused big boss beneath his pants.
As Selina tried to turn away, she felt a sudden possessive hand curled around her slender waist. His firm grip pulled her closer, colliding her chest against his chest as her hands felt his well-built abs beneath his chest.
Zane finally broke the silence.
"You're playing with fire, Little Bunny," he whispered in his husky voice.
"Then let me burn in the flames with you," Selina declared without realising whatever deal she was making with him.
It wasn't out of desperation but something real within her. Neither was it surrender, it wasn't forgiveness—it was a plea he would always reject.
"You're drunk." He said, hoping she wasn't being provocative. He had no intention of taking advantage of her in this vulnerable state.
"I'm not Mr Zane. I know what I want," she replied, pressing his abs harder, her fingers biting in. She was half sober and half tipsy.
Zane's lips twitched in an amused, cold smirk at her consent. "Be careful with what you wish for." He warned, his voice was low and possessive. "For, I do not let go so easily,"
With that, he leaned closer, capturing her lips in a slow, searing kiss, his tongue claiming hers with possessive rhythm in a seal.
The heat between them was thick and undeniable as their kiss deepened for a while, tongues dancing with hunger neither wanted to quell. Selina shivered, heat spiralling through her at the sensation tingling beneath her skin.
Instinctively, they pressed toward the bed, Zane guiding her as he kept his body flush against hers. His hand slipped beneath the hem of her gown, giving her every chance to pull away—but she didn't.
Selina's chest rose sharply against his lips around her nipples as his mouth trailed down, teeth grazing her skin with bruising hunger while his free hand fondled her other breast that matched his grip tenderly. Zane drank in her taste, the softness, sweetness and innocence of her sending fire through his veins. He couldn't stop himself, greedily chasing every shiver, every soft gasp with his name escaping her lips was intoxicating.
His mouth trailed from her chest to the hollow of her neck, biting and sucking as if claiming her entirely, every touch and lick dragging him deeper into a hunger he never intended to feel. One he shouldn't experience with her either.
By the time she realized, he had half undressed her without her noticing. Vulnerable and flushed, she was left exposed beneath his hungry gaze, roaming over her curves with hands flexing from a restraint that barely contained his need.
When he undressed, her breath hitched, eyes wide at the sight of his hardened length. Fear, excitement, and helpless anticipation twisted through her, making her pulse race loudly.
He approached slowly, every step slow, until he knelt between her parted thighs, gripping them possessively.
"Will it hurt?" she whispered, trembling—not just at the coldness in him, but at the burning hunger beneath it.
He didn't answer. His fingers traced her skin, cool and precise, until they reached her heat.
"Ouch…" she winced, body quivering at the sharp sting of his first touch.
His amber eyes widened in disbelief—she was still untouched until tonight. His nature was too rough, too unyielding to be gentle, yet he couldn't let her slip away unclaimed. Fate had delivered her as his forbidden prize.
"Can't lie—I won't be gentle," he murmured, voice low and hoarse. "Though… I'll see how gentle I can try."
Her legs shifted instinctively, not resisting but eager to know how far he'd go—feeling his length rubbing her dripping core as each precision sent jolts through her quivering body, building intense heat until its warmth blurred nervousness with desperate need, leaving her body betraying its own readiness to take him in.
Her leg twisted beneath him, trying to find purchase, her body aching with need she hadn't known before. Every part of her screamed for more of his sinful touch.
Selina almost let out a desperate cry for him to stop teasing her and just bury himself inside her, but she bit it down, keeping herself composed.
"Z-Zane…" she moaned, her voice trembling.
"See? My touch makes you tremble so easily," he murmured, his voice low but laced with amusement. A wicked grin curved his lips as his gaze lingered on her flushed face. "So soft… so eager. Won't you beg for it, little bunny?"
His amber eyes never wavered from her gaze brimming with hot desire. He loved the way she arched for him.
"I'm a human, and it's natural I'd be this responsive. But you're the one who is scared of claiming me." She taunted in a teasing tone, grasping the sheet.
Zane leaned closer, his breath ghosting her ear as his deep, husky voice rumbled with raw possession in response to her daring. "Once I claim you, there'll be no turning back. You'll be mine alone. Forever. No man—no one—will ever touch you, Selina."
His words seared through her like a wildfire. She swallowed hard, warmth rushing hotter to her cheeks as her pulse drummed faster than it ever had tonight.
"No one else," she whispered, her voice fragile but resolute, sealing the vow between them. Her teary eyes clung to his conflicted gaze as she added softly, "And no woman should have you either."
He gave a slow nod.
"Ahhh…" she whimpered as a shiver of pain and pleasure coursed through her.
Every movement drew a gasp or whimper from her, building the fire between them. Her body quivered beneath him, muscles tightening and releasing with every claim of his, until the pain blurred into hot, burning pleasure. She couldn't look away from his eyes—flickers of lust, anger, regret, and domination warred behind his cold mask. Her hands clutched his shoulders, pulling him closer instead of pushing him away.
"Ahh… Zane… it feels so good."
His lips curved into a dangerous smirk. "Should I stop then?"
Her thighs tightened desperately around his waist, trapping him against her. His grip on her hips was unrelenting, holding her in place.
"N-no… please don't stop," she pleaded breathlessly, her voice breaking between need and surrender to the pleasure she had been craving shamelessly.
Her sobs became ragged moans, raw and unrestrained, echoing through the room as he thrust into her relentlessly, gripping her hips with possessive insistence.
When release finally tore through him, she trembled violently, thighs shaking as her body shuddered under the force of his claim. The air hung heavy with their shared heat, damp with sweat and the lingering evidence of their encounter. Ragged breaths filled the silence, brushing against each other's skin thick with everything left unsaid.