Chapter 206

The car turned onto an unfamiliar street. Sophia Lowell instinctively straightened her spine.

"Where are we going?" Her fingers tightened around the seatbelt.

Ethan Roscente rested one hand on the steering wheel, his profile flickering under the streetlights. "A hotel."

"I want to go home!" Her voice rose sharply.

The rearview mirror reflected his faintly amused smirk. "Afraid I'll devour you?"

Sophia scoffed. "Who wouldn't be scared of sharing a room with a rapist?"

Tires screeched as Ethan slammed the brakes. He turned and gripped her chin. "Then keep quiet." His thumb brushed her lips. "Or I might just prove you right."

The scent of leather and cedar filled the car. Sophia turned away, fogging the window with her breath.

"I saw the footage." He tossed a phone into her lap. "Tiffany knelt in the ancestral hall all night."

The cold screen pressed against her thigh. She hesitated before touching it. "With your busy schedule, why bother—"

"Still angry?" He leaned in suddenly, his breath hot against her ear.

She flinched back. "Do you even care?"

"Of course." His hand closed around the nape of her neck, dragging her close like a misbehaving kitten. "You pout so much—were you a pufferfish in your past life?"

"Let go!" She clawed at his fingers.

Instead, his arm tightened. He buried his face in her hair. "Stop running off with other men." His voice was muffled. "It irritates me."

Sophia laughed abruptly. "Jason was the first to ever fight for me." She drawled deliberately. "His skills were—"

Thud.

The leather seat dented under Ethan's fist. A blizzard raged in his eyes. "Say that again."

A bodyguard up front stammered, "Miss Lowell, actually that day—"

"Get out!"

The window rolled down. As icy wind rushed in, Sophia watched the man scramble away in terror. Ethan's grip on her waist trembled, as if he was barely holding back.

"You have no idea..." His Adam's apple bobbed. "That night, I—"

A shrill ringtone cut him off. The screen flashed brightly: Jason Roscente.