Something in her stomach flipped. She shifted in his arms, trying to wriggle free from the rising heat between them.
“Stay still!” Cole’s hold clamped tighter as his tone turned cold. “One more twitch, and I won’t be responsible for what happens next.”
Elliana went completely still, afraid even the slightest twitch might set him off. Moments ago, he had been all tenderness and charm. Now he radiated pure dominance, like a storm that had snapped without warning.
Cole’s eyes stayed locked on hers, sharp and unblinking, until her skin prickled from the weight of it.
Part of her was rattled, but the rest? Furious. “What’s with the forceful approach? Is this how you win women over?”
“And if it is?” Cole retorted without a second thought.
Elliana had nothing to throw back. When someone like Cole pushed forward, convinced he was right, resistance felt like trying to stop a freight train. The sting of his intensity made her voice crack slightly. “You’re being unfair to me!”
What threw her off was the flash of real hurt in his eyes. “Tell me what I’m lacking. I’ve done everything I can. And still, you hesitate. Why? What’s there to think about?”
That sulky expression of his nearly broke her-she had to bite the inside of her cheek to stop the grin from escaping. Still, she kept her amusement buried, not wanting to spark another emotional flare-up.
Elliana took a breath and chose to level the tension. “It’s not because there’s something wrong with you. It’s the opposite. You’re more than I expected. And something that good deserves real thought, not just impulse.”
Her honesty didn’t soothe him-it sparked something else entirely. Her logic made no sense to him. If something felt right, why wouldn’t she just grab it and hold on? To him, it wasn’t hesitation-it was leading him on without giving him any serious thought, plain and simple. Without warning, the car door swung wide. The next thing she knew, Cole had thrown her out like he was done playing nice
Before Elliana could react, Cole had tossed her out of the car with startling speed.
Instinct kicked in-Elliana landed on her palms and knees, barely managing to stop herself from slamming into the ground. Still, her landing wasn’t exactly graceful-she ended up crouched like a startled cat, breath short and pride bruised.
The driver and the three men outside stood frozen, their eyes darting from Elliana’s crumpled form to Cole’s thunderous expression inside the car. What just happened? One minute, the two were all over each other like teenagers sneaking kisses in the back row of a movie theater, and now this? Cole had literally thrown Elliana out? Clearly, something had gone down-and judging by the looks on their faces, it wasn’t pretty.
As Myles and the others debated helping Elliana up, she sprang to her feet with surprising grace.
Standing tall, her posture sharp and fearless, Elliana’s glare could have shattered glass. Her fists clenched at her sides as though she was ready to throw the first punch.
Cole stared back at her, unflinching. His gaze was cold, his face carved into something cruel.
The atmosphere was thick, heavy enough to snap. Every man present held their breath, silently wishing to disappear into the background. Just as Elliana seemed ready to charge at Cole, his voice sliced through the silence.
“Go think it over, damn it! You’ve got three days. If I don’t get an answer that pleases me, you’re going to regret wasting my time.”
The second those words left Cole’s mouth, Myles, Aron, and Hugh blinked like they’d been dragged straight back to the past. That tone-sharp, raw, straight from Cole’s reckless teen days-hadn’t surfaced in years. But there it was again, out in the open.
By the time Cole hit seventeen, he’d refined himself into the image of restraint. His friends used to joke he looked like one of those stone gods in a museum-perfect, polished, untouchable. But Elliana? She unraveled that statue in minutes, drawing out a temper he’d buried years ago.
Whatever judgment lingered in the eyes of Myles and the others didn’t faze Elliana. Cole’s smugness, his nerve-it made her blood boil.
“I don’t need three days!” she shouted, her rage rising with each word. “I’ve decided now!”
That stopped Cole cold. His gaze locked onto hers, unreadable and rigid. With venom in her voice, Elliana sneered, “I don’t like you. I’ve never loved you. And if the world were empty and you were the last one breathing, I still wouldn’t choose you.”
She spun on her heel and stormed off without hesitation. Her eyes caught sight of a motorcycle in the courtyard. Without pause, she snatched the helmet, climbed on, and kicked it to life-tearing off with a roar of defiance and dust.
Myles, Aron, Hugh-even the driver-stood frozen, mouths agape as the scene unfolded. There was no sugarcoating it. Cole’s pursuit had crashed and burned, and Elliana had torn into him.
Never in Cole’s life had he been rejected like this. Women usually begged for his attention-Elliana had thrown it aside without a second thought.
Myles and the others started silently sweating, wondering if witnessing this moment would put a target on their backs. With that thought, they threw nervous glances toward Cole-his expression looked like it belonged to a man about to flatten an entire city block.
Not even registering their presence, Cole stepped out of the car with fire in his eyes, tracking Elliana’s retreat like a predator on the hunt.
On the roaring bike, Elliana raised her hand high, her middle finger extended, slicing the air like a final word Cole couldn’t respond to. That wasn’t just a rejection-it was a full-on gut punch.
Cole’s jaw clenched so tightly that it felt like his molars were trying to start a fire. Every muscle in his body screamed to go after her, to haul her back and remind her exactly who he was.
The crew stood frozen, mentally kicking themselves for witnessing Cole’s embarrassment. Part of them wondered if they’d live to regret having eyes at all.
With a growl and no warning, Cole sent a heavy planter flying. His voice cut through the silence, “Heartless woman!”
That woman had no mercy. She reeled him in with those wide, sweet eyes-and then sliced him to pieces. She took it all-his wallet, his kisses, and his affection. To top it off, she rode away on his four-million-dollar bike like she’d just pulled off a heist.
After smashing the planter, Cole caught sight of his crew watching him. His gaze sharpened. “What’re you looking at?”
Instantly, a cold dread crept down the crew’s spines, as if a knife had been pressed to each of their necks.
Myles pushed up his glasses with deliberate caution. “As far as we’re concerned, nothing happened.”
“Totally blind!” the driver interjected, his panic mode fully activated.
Cole sneered, “Since you all have energy to stand around staring, how about you burn it off with an all-night marathon? Go on!”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.