Page 80 of Silken Chains
He’s so close I can count the threads in his suit.
“Why? Do you want to get locked up in a secret chamber?”
My eyes narrow. “Asshole,” I snap back.
Victor’s eyebrows raise. “Let me remind you, asking too many questions isn’t exactly healthy around here.”
I’m breathing heavily, staring into those goddamn captivating, wild gray eyes.
“You don’t scare me,” I bluff, quickly dropping my gaze to avoid those intense eyes, landing on his chest instead. Big mistake. His chest looks like it’s straight out of an action hero’s wardrobe, all muscle and no fluff.
“Back off, or I swear—
Victor laughs, low and husky. “Warnings from you sound more like invitations.”
Pushing against what feels like a marble statue, I try to regain some personal space.
To my utter shock, he takes a step back, his smirk turning into a twisted grin. “Remember that fire when we fuck. Let’s see just how explosive you can be, little firecracker.”
What the hell did he just say?!
My blood runs cold at the suggestion, and I open my mouth to protest, but his hand shoots up toward my face.
Great, now he’s going to silence me the old-fashioned way.
I flinch and brace myself to scream, but… instead, his fingers brush past my ear, and there’s this beep sound. Like magic, the wall behind me shifts, and I’m falling backward, only to be yanked back into his arms.
He’s got me now, close enough that I can feel the heat radiating off him, and all I can think is how absurdly good he smells—like sin and something spicy, a scent that makes me want to forget why I was mad in the first place.
Victor steadies me with a firm grip.
“Let’s go,” he says, his voice steady. I catch his gaze, then turn around.
“What the…?” I stumble over my words.
Chapter 30
Laura
“WELL SLAP me sideways,” I blurt out, my eyes darting between Victor and the entrance to this hidden passage to the unknown.
I’m trying not to let my jaw hit the floor because the wall, along with its parade of antiques and family history, just vanishes like a magic trick.
“You actually have a secret chamber down there?” My voice sounds as brave as a kitten in a dog park. I glance down at the passage that’s suddenly revealed, its tiles so intricately detailed and historic, they’d put the finest gallery to shame.
“Come with me,” Victor commands, his hand a steady presence on my back, guiding me forward as my body trembles with a cocktail of emotions. My mind’s racing with wild, not entirely appropriate fantasies about what might lie beneath us.
This can’t be real, can it? What if there’s a secret BDSM lair?
As we step down, Victor’s hand clasps mine, providing some warmth in the chilly air surrounding us like a cloak. Suddenly, a high-tech sensor goes off, and the door—excuse me, wall—seals us inside. The loud click makes me shiver, along with the cold draft coming from somewhere.
My eyes are wide, every sense on high alert. “Victor, you need to tell me where we’re going,” I demand.
Rooted to the spot, I make it clear—I’m not taking another step until he gives me an answer.
“My father built this chamber for my mother,” he reveals, his voice softening with nostalgia and sorrow. As he talks, he nudges me forward, guiding me down the steps with him.
“Your mother?” I blurt out, trying to connect the pieces. There was no older woman beside Andrey at the family dinner tonight.
