Chapter 2: The Predator's Sanctuary (Silas's POV)
I've spent my life surrounded by people who fear me. I liked it that way. Fear is clean. Fear is honest.
But the way Seraphina Thorne looked at me in the back of my car—with a gaze that was a jagged blade of defiance—was the first thing that had made my blood feel hot in years.
She didn't cry. She didn't scream. She sat with her arms crossed, watching the gates of my estate approach like she was a queen inspecting a new, slightly disappointing province.
"Is the brooding silence part of the 'Reaper' package, Silas?" she asked, her voice smooth and unimpressed. "Or did you just run out of threats for the night? Because if you're trying to intimidate me into silence, you're going to need a much bigger house."
I didn't answer. I reached out, grabbing her chin and forcing her to look at me. I wanted her to see the darkness in my eyes. I wanted her to understand that she wasn't a guest.
"You're in my world now, little bird," I whispered. "And in my world, you don't speak unless I tell you to. You don't move unless I give you permission. And you certainly don't look at any other man the way you're looking at me right now."
"Or what?" she challenged, her eyes flashing with a beautiful, dangerous fire. "You'll buy my soul next? I'm afraid that's not on the menu."
I felt a dark smirk pull at my lips. I leaned in, my nose brushing against hers. "I don't need to buy it, Seraphina. By the time I'm done with you, you'll be the one begging me to take it."
I let go of her, but I didn't move back. I watched her pulse—that beautiful, frantic thrumming in her neck. She was terrified, but she was sharp. She was the enemy's blood, the collateral for a sin.
But as the car pulled into the driveway of my fortress, I knew she was the only thing I would ever truly want to own. And I was going to enjoy every second of her trying to break free.