Page 96 of In Shadows We Dance

His hand moves to my throat, and I tip my head back, enjoying the way his fingers flex. “You think you have the power here, pretty Ballerina?”

I drag my hands up his chest, his throat, until my fingers can stroke the line of his jaw. “Maybe more than you want to admit.”

For a moment, the tension in the room shifts. It’s his breath that catches, his eyes that darken. I let my fingers trail down to the neckline of his shirt, feel the rapid beat of his heart beneath my touch, and for the first time, I become aware that I’m affecting him as much as he’s unraveling me.

“You feel it, don’t you?” His voice drops lower, darker. “How right this is. How completely you belong to me. How much you need what only I can give you.”

His words invade my mind, and when he pulls me back again, his lips crash against mine. The kiss is pure possession, domination. A promise of what’s to come.

“Mine,” he growls against my lips. “Every secret. Every fear. Every surrender. Everything you are, and everything you’ll become belongs to me now.”

He spins me again, the dress flaring out, baring my legs. He catches my wrist, bringing me to a stop, then reaches out to pull the elastic from my hair. It falls wild around my face. The last of my defenses slipping away.

“You think you’ve won something. But this only makes you mine even more.”

“Maybe.” My heart is racing. “But you can’t deny it. I’m under your skin now, as well.”

The words hang between us. He pulls me closer, his hands moving over my back, my hips, but there’s a new intensity to his touch. It’s hungrier, more urgent.

“Keep dancing. Let’s see how far you’re willing to take this.”

I’m losing myself—in the movement, the music, the dark promises he whispers against my skin … and I don’t care. I want it all.

“Did you know Operation Rossi Crown was the FBI's crowning achievement?” His fingers trace patterns over my bare back, leaving heat in their wake. “The same week your family appeared here?”

His words throw me off balance, my moment of strength fading. My steps falter, but he doesn’t let me stop. He keeps me moving.

“So many coincidences, pretty Ballerina. So many questions you’ve never thought to ask about who you really are. About why everything from your past was erased so completely.”

I spin, my body flowing through the motions, but as I turn back, he catches me, his hands firm on my hips, pulling me against him. His erection presses against my stomach, and he holds me there, one arm wrapped around my waist. A tremor runs through me, my breath stuttering, tension tangling between us.

“Do you feel it now? You’re mine, even when you fight it.Especiallywhen you fight it.”

Another turn, spinning me away, only to pull me back, his hand pressing at the small of my back, flush against him.

“Your parents kept secrets. But I see everything. I know every hidden part of you.”

A shiver runs through me, his forehead pressing against mine, his hand lifting to my throat, his thumb stroking over my racing pulse.

“You can’t escape me. No matter how hard you try. I warned you that day in the cafeteria. I told you not to attract my attention.”

He tilts my chin up, his lips finding mine in a hard, demanding kiss. I gasp, my fingers curling into his shirt, my breath shuddering as I lean into him. His hand tightens on my waist, pulling me closer until there is nothing left between us.

“Every part of you is mine.”

The haunting melody continues to swell, and he guides me through each step, his hands never leaving me, his touch keeping me tethered to him. My movements grow fluid, my body giving in, my breath coming in ragged gasps as I dance.

My chest rises and falls, gaze locked on his. He pulls me into him, his lips hovering just above mine, his breath hot against my skin, and I lean in, wanting him to kiss me again.Willinghim to kiss me.

The dance … it isn’t just a dance. It’s something deeper, something that’s unraveling me in more ways than one. With each step, each turn, Wren is peeling away my defenses, exposing me in ways I’ve never allowed anyone to. And I finally let myself accept the truth.

I crave it. Iwantto be seen by him, want to be understood in that dark, twisted way, only he can.

By the time the music fades, I’m trembling in his arms, broken open, ready to be remade.

CHAPTER 50

Power’s Price

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