Chapter 34 : Fires Ignited

The moment stretched tight between them, brittle and raw, like a fragile thread pulled to its limit. Amara's hands slammed hard against his chest, desperate to shove him away, but Caden's weight only pressed heavier, crushing, unyielding.

"You're impossible," she spat, voice cracking, fingers trembling as she struggled to break free. "You ruin everything; just leave me alone."

His eyes darkened, shadows pooling deep and dangerous. "Ahhh, you're too loud," he growled, voice thick with venom and amusement, lips curling into a cruel, teasing smirk. "Always so fiery. It's infuriating, and I like it."

Before she could spit another sharp word, he lunged forward, capturing her mouth with his own. The kiss was brutal, a savage clash of hunger and control no softness, no mercy just raw fire and desperate need burning beneath the surface. His teeth grazed her lower lip, tugging sharply, a silent demand to submit.

When they finally broke apart, Amara's chest heaved, her eyes wide and glossy with tears she refused to own. Surprise, anger, and confusion tangled fiercely inside her like a storm about to break. She parted her lips, searching for words, but the venom in her throat choked them down.

Caden's dark smirk deepened, eyes gleaming with cruel satisfaction. He leaned in again before she could speak, crushing her protests beneath his lips. This kiss was different less frantic, more deliberate, sharp as ice and slow as poison. His tongue flicked against hers, teasing, taunting, claiming every inch, driving her pulse wild and ragged in her ears.

He pulled back just enough to let his breath brush over her trembling skin, eyes locked on hers with a cold, dangerous fire. "You think you can fight me?" he whispered, voice low and threatening. "You think I don't see through your act? That stubborn spark you hide behind all your rage and defiance?"

Amara glared, furious, her body trembling with equal parts fury and something darker something he was expertly stoking. "I'm not yours to take," she snapped, voice sharp and fierce. "Not like this."

"Not yet," he said, voice thick with promise and challenge. "But I'm patient. I'll wear you down. Slowly. Until there's nothing left but me."

His hands tightened on her waist, fingers digging in just enough to remind her he was in control. His eyes flicked to the thin nightdress clinging to her curves, a smirk tugging at one corner of his mouth. "You're far too precious for this mess. But I don't care. I want all of you fire, fight, and all."

Amara pulled back, chest heaving, eyes blazing with hatred and something rawer. "You're cruel."

"And you're beautiful. Too beautiful to waste on anyone else. Elias doesn't stand a chance, never did."

Her throat tightened. The name struck like a blade, but Caden's eyes held only relentless obsession.

"You're mine," he repeated, cold and unyielding. "And I'm done waiting."

Caden's grip on her waist tightened, not enough to hurt, but enough to remind her that resistance was futile. His eyes locked on hers, burning with a reckless hunger that made her pulse race—and freeze at the same time.

"You really think you can walk away from this?" he whispered, voice low and sharp like a blade. "From me?"

Amara shoved against him again, fury burning in her veins. "I'm not your possession, Caden. I'm not some prize to be claimed or fought over."

He laughed, dark and bitter, the sound reverberating through the cramped room like a warning. "Prize? No, Amara. You're something far more complicated. Far more dangerous." His hand slid under the thin fabric of her nightdress, fingers tracing slow, teasing patterns over the sensitive skin of her ribs.

"You're fire," he growled, lips hovering just over her ear. "Unpredictable. Wild. And hell if I'm not addicted."

Amara jerked away, breath catching sharply. "You're drunk. This isn't you."

Caden's eyes narrowed, a cold smile twisting his lips. "You don't get to decide what I am. Not anymore." He pulled her closer, his body pressing against hers, every inch a silent demand.

"You're angry," she accused, her voice shaking with frustration and fear. "But anger doesn't give you the right to do this"

"To what?" he interrupted harshly. "To want you? To need you? To finally stop pretending I don't care when every damn thought in my head is about you?"

She met his gaze, her own fierce and unyielding. "Then prove it. Without hurting me."

Caden's jaw clenched, frustration flashing in his eyes like wildfire. "Prove it?" he spat, voice thick with bitterness. "You think I'm some kind of knight here to rescue you? You think this is a game?"

"No," she said, voice steady, "But I'm not your damn project, and I'm not going to be your pawn in some stupid fight with Elias."

His eyes darkened, the shadows growing heavy. "This isn't about him anymore," he hissed, voice low and dangerous. "It's about me, and what I'm willing to do to keep you."

Amara swallowed hard, a shiver running down her spine despite the heat radiating off him. "You don't get to choose how this ends."

Caden's grin was razor sharp, cruel. "Maybe not. But I get to choose how it starts."

His hands moved again, roaming possessively over her, memorizing every curve, every sigh. The nightdress slipped against her skin, delicate and fragile, but beneath it, Amara's heart pounded like a drum, wild and reckless.

"You think I'm going slow?" he murmured, voice dark with challenge. "Watch closely, firecracker. I'm just getting started."

Amara pushed him one last time, fierce and desperate, but Caden caught her wrists easily, holding her like a cage.

"Not tonight," he growled. "Tonight, you'll learn what it means to be wanted like this."

Her eyes blazed, matching his fire for fire. "I'm not yours to tame."

"Maybe not," he said, voice low and rough. "But I'm the only one who can handle the flames."

He bent his head, lips trailing a scorching path down her jawline, breath hot against her skin. The world narrowed until only the two of them remained, tangled in rage, desire, and a dangerous game neither wanted to lose.

His voice was low, rough, equal parts promise and warning that sent a shiver down her spine. The nightdress she wore clung stubbornly to her curves, the thin fabric doing nothing to hide the way her body betrayed her furious heart. Every tremor, every quickened breath was an unspoken confession, a crack in the armor she fought so hard to keep intact.

Caden's hands moved with ruthless purpose, tracing paths over her skin like he was mapping a secret territory sometimes rough, with a sharp edge that stoked the fire within her, sometimes surprisingly tender, but always claiming. Claiming her. Her body tensed, instinct screaming to resist, but something deeper, more chaotic, answered his touch despite herself.

Her breath hitched sharply as his lips brushed the sensitive skin at the curve of her neck. A bite, soft and deliberate, left a burning kiss that seared deeper than any words could. It was a mark, a message: You belong to me, even if you refuse to admit it.

"You don't have to be quiet around me," he murmured, voice thick with a satisfaction that was almost predatory. His breath was warm and intoxicating against her skin, the dark promise behind his words sending a jolt of something fierce and wild through her veins. "But Elias? He won't ever see you like this. Not this fire, you hide so damn well, but I see it. I feel it."

Amara's eyes widened, a sudden flush blooming at her neck, spreading like wildfire down her chest and settling deep inside her core. She was burning from the inside out, a fierce, dizzying mix of confusion, anger, and something darker—something dangerous and raw she didn't quite know how to name. It frightened her. And yet, even as her mind screamed for distance, her body betrayed her with every shudder.

Caden pulled back just enough to meet her gaze, his eyes blazing with a fierce, almost brutal intensity that stripped away every lie she'd told herself. "You think I'm rough?" His voice was a low growl, thick with hunger and challenge. "You haven't seen anything yet."

She opened her mouth, ready to protest, to scream, to push him away with every ounce of strength she had left. But all she could do was tremble beneath him—caught, trapped in the storm he stirred with every touch, every heated word. The fire between them was alive, unpredictable, dangerous.

His teasing smile crept back, cruel and victorious. "I guess you'll learn fast," he said, voice dropping even lower, almost a whisper that slid over her skin like smoke. "Because this—" he paused, letting the moment hang heavy, thick with promise and threat, "—this is just the beginning."

The night was far from over, and neither of them could deny that whatever this was—dark, twisted, fierce—it was theirs. And Caden wasn't about to let her go.