Chapter 4
Natalie froze, her wide, startled eyes locking onto Jonas. Those soft, innocent eyes of hers widened even further, almost comically so.
Jonas let out a low, raspy chuckle–deep and dangerous, like the rumble of distant thunder. There was a twisted edge to it, as though he was
thoroughly enjoying this sick game. “I heard he’s got a thing for lanterns.
“You, with that silky, flawless skin of yourst If I peel it off and turn it into a human–skin lantern for him. I bet he’ll be moved to tears.”
He said it with such unnerving calmness, even nodding to himself in grim approval
The words landed like a gut punch, but instead of breaking down, Natalie felt a strange shift inside her.
Maybe it was the series of shocks that had battered her nerves into submission, or maybe her brain had simply short–circuited from the sheer absurdity of the moment. Whatever the reason, her mouth suddenly found the strength her legs couldn’t.
“No,” she blurted out, voice trembling but still audible. “If I die, he’ll grieve, sure, but he’s a man with bigger ambitions. He wouldn’t let himself get bogged down by emotions for long. My death would just give him another excuse to destroy you.”
Jonas didn’t respond right away. Instead, his knife–cold and gleaming–moved with unnerving precision along her neck. The blade’s edge grazed her skin, not deep enough to cut but sharp enough to send a shiver racing down her spine.
His control was so meticulous it bordered on inhuman, as if he truly did treasure this “perfect skin” of hers.
Every nerve in Natalie’s body screamed in alarm. Goosebumps prickled along her arms, her breath catching in her throat
Fighting back the urge to break down completely she forced herself to keep talking, though her voice quivered like a fraying string. “So.. so why
not take me to him?
“Let him see how madly in love I am with you. That would humiliate him. Crush him. Make him wish he were dead”
Something in her words must have struck a chord because Jones finally turned his full attention to her. His sharp, calculating gaze bore into her, as though he were dissecting her every thought. That’s your fiance. And you’d do that to him!“
“It’s… it’s an arranged marriage,” she stammered, her face heating with embarrassment. The excuse sounded flimsy even to her own ears. But desperate times call for desperate measures. Pride means nothing when survival’s at stake,’ she thought bitterly,
“Oh, rebelling against outdated traditions, are we?” Jonas’s lips curled into a cold, mocking smile. His voice was laced with disdain, but there was an undertone of amusement as he added, “But tell me, how exactly do you plan to convince him you’re head over heels for me!”
Before she could staminer out a response, Jonas’s arm moved with lightning speed, his grip strong g and unyielding as it clamped around her thighs. With a single, fluid motion, he lifted her off the ground with one arm like she weighed nothing.
The sudden shift made her gasp, her stomach flipping as she realized her feet were no longer touching the floor. When her mind caught up, she found herself cradled in his arm, her body held securely against his solid frame.
Their eyes met on a level playing field now, though her position left her slightly higher than him. It didn’t feel like an advantage. Not with the way he lazily looked at her his sharp, smoldering gaze pulling her in like a whirlpool
Jonas’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed, the sound deep and deliberate. His voice, low and husky, seemed to reverberate in her chest as he murmured, “What’s the plant Offering yourself up to me?”
There was a new spark in his eyes now–curiosity mixed with wicked amusement. For the first time, he seemed genuinely entertained, leaning in ever so slightly as if eager to see what clever little excuse her trembling lips would spit out next.
Natalie was still frozen in a daze, her wide, bewildered eyes darting helplessly. Jonas smirked, his tone laced with wicked amusement as he offered a cruel suggestion. “If you want to prove you’re madly in love, there’s got to be some blood involved, don’t you think?
“Maybe carve my name into your forehead! Shave your head bald for me? Or better yet, rip out your nails one by one?”
The more he spoke, the more Natalie’s scalp tingled with sheer terror. Every word felt like the blade of a guillotine hovering over her, ready to drop
She was certain of one thing–if she didn’t come up with something convincing, this lunatic would actually go through with every single one of his twisted ideas.
Jonas seemed to grow impatient with her silence. Without warning, the hand supporting her beneath her thighs tightened, his grip firm and unrelenting The sudden shift sent a jolt of panic coursing through her, and her heart raced wildly as she struggled to keep her balance.
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Dreame–Road Romance..
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Chapter 4
Her hands were tied behind her back, her center of gravity thrown off. Whether it was the sheer terror or the precarious position, her body instinctively arched forward in a desperate attempt to steady herself. And that was when it happened her soft lips collided with his.
For a second, the world seemed to stop. The shock of what she’d done slammed into her like a freight train. Natalie’s back snapped straight, her body stiffening. Her wide, startled eyes grew impossibly bigger, so much so that they looked like they might pop out of their sockets.
Her heart pounded violently, each beat a deafening drum inside her chest. It felt as though a frantic linde rabbit had been let loose in her ribcage, thumping and leaping in utter chaos. The sudden rush of adrenaline made her head spin.
“This is it. I’m doomed. I can feel it. If I say that it wasn’t intentional, he’s definitely going to cut off my lips for this. Her as her beautiful eyes began to shimmer with unshed tears
r panicked thoughts swirled
Summoning every ounce of her survival instinct, Natalie did the only thing she could think of–talk. Words tumbled from her lips in a wild. breathless rush, her voice trembling yet determined to save her skin. “H–he cares about me. Treasures me, even. I’ve never slept with him.”
Her face burned with mortification, but she pushed on. “S–so, if I get intimate with you in front of him–if I show him how much I adore you–it destroy him.
“He’ll believe I love you with every fiber of my being. That kiss just now that’s my sincerity. My absolute sincerity”
She finished with a quivering breath as she didn’t even buy it herself, clenching her eyes shut as though bracing for a blow. Her delicate features twisted with despair, her expression so pitiful it could have melted even the hardest of hearts.
A heavy silence hung in the air, thick and suffocating.
Unable to bear it. Natalie peeked through her lashes, her gaze cautiously drifting up to Jonas’s face. To her surprise, his piercing blue eyes were wide, their usual sharpness dulled by something almost like disbelief.
Jonas blinked, seemingly coming out of a daze as he registered the hesitant look she was giving him. His focus shifted, zeroing in on her lips, now slightly swollen from the unexpected kiss.
His own lips parted faintly, and his tongue flicked out, tracing over one of his barely noticeable canines. What the hell? Did I just get kissed against ITE will
“1…” Natalie’s trembling voice had barely left her lips when she felt the rough, bandaged hand clamp firmly around the back of her neck. In a flash, Jonas yanked her downward with unrelenting force, leaving no room for escape.
He tied his head slightly, his mouth panting just enough before his lips descended on hers–not in a kiss, but in a savage, primal bite. The sharp sting of his teeth grazing her made her heart lurch, but just as he was about to sink in, his grip softened.
It wasn’t mercy. No, the raw, untamed energy that exploded from him was like a storm crashing through an open window, violent and overwhelming
It bore none of the playfulness he’d shown earlier, none of the fleeting softness she thought might still exist in him. This was domination— uncompromising, absolute, and suffocating
His piercing blue eyes, which moments ago had carried a deceptive trace of warmth and tenderness, now blazed with unrestrained aggression.
surged
to the surface, taking over entirely. “This,” Jonas growled, his deep voice rolling like
The feral untamed edge hidden deep within him s thunder, “is what I call sincerity. Understand?”
Then he thought of something and leaned in closer. His lips brushed so near to her car that the warmth of his breath sent shivers cascading down her spine.
His voice dropped lower, rich with huskiness that both threatened and enticed, as he added with a dark, almost teasing clarity, “Oh, so this is the game you want to play, huh!
“Then don’t forget, sweetheart, you need to love me like your life depends on it. Lie to me, and we’ll get back to skinning you alive and gouging out your eyes.”
The languid drawl of his voice carried a sinister edge, its rasp still tinged with a maddening seduction that left her unable to breathe properly. His next words sliced through her, soft and unhurried but no less ruthless.
“Oh, he added, almost like an afterthought, “and let’s throw in cutting of those lips this time.”
“So,” he asked, his words curling like smoke, “do you still want to stay
with me?”
