Chapter <b>262 </b><b>Kiss </b>Me
<b>Marley </b>screamed. One smack split the corner of her lip.
“Continue,” Julius murmured, never lifting his eyes from the book in his hands..
Smack<i>! </i>Smack!
Each blownded harder than thest until her mouth filled with the copper taste of blood.
“Please… spare me, Julius… please,” she gasped between strikes.
She had heard tales of Julius‘
cruelt
and had felt perversely proud, certain she was different.
As long as her desires were not outrageous, he humored them.
ver
She had watched him torment strangers and intervened, standing by while their screams echoed.
She even mocked the fools who dared provoke him.
But now that the victim was herself, the terror tasted bitter and real.
When the ps finally stopped, her cheeks and lips were little more than throbbing numbness.
“Marley Bridger, do you understand now?” Julius‘ voice sliced through the room.
“Yes,” she rasped, though resentment zed hotter behind her swollen eyes.
She could not believe that, for Quinn, Julius had turned his cruelty on her.
Marley lifted her head. “Do you really believe Quinn will stay true to you forever? No matter what wrongs youmit, will she always forgive and embrace you?”
Julius‘ answer was calm. “She will forgive me because I will never do anything she truly loathes. Quinn and I will grow old together. As for you, extinguish those unworthy fantasies.”
Marley’sughter was hollow, her eyes glittering with jealous hate.
<i>Would </i><i>Quinn </i><i>still </i><i>forgive </i><i>him </i><i>if </i><i>the </i><i>day </i><i>came </i><i>when </i><i>everything </i><i>he </i><i>had </i><i>once </i><i>done</i><i>–</i><i>everything </i><i>she </i><i>would </i><i>surely </i><i>despise </i>-was <iid </i><i>bare</i><i>? </i><i>I’m </i><i>looking </i><i>forward </i><i>to </i><i>that </i><i>day</i><i>! </i>
“He returned from Whitethorn Manor just after dusk and found Quinn asleep on the couch, one hand curled protectively around a photograph.
Bending closer, he recognised it at once. It was the family portrait of four that Quinn always kept close<b>.</b><b>” </b>As gently as lifting a feather, Julius eased the picture from her ck fingers. His gaze fixed on <b>Caleb</b>.
<i>Caleb</i>, <i>are </i><i>you </i><i>still </i><i>alive</i>? <i>No. </i><i>You </i><i>must </i><i>be</i><i>, </i><i>you </i><i>have </i><i>to </i><i>be</i><i>. </i>
“If I bring you home, do you think Quinn will forgive me?” Julius whispered.
He set the photograph on the coffee table, then leaned down to carry Quinn to bed. Before his arms <b>could </b>
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Chapter 262 <b>Kiss </b><b>Me </b>
<b>slip </b><b>beneath </b>her, <b>her </bshes fluttered open and she stared straight at him.
“<b>When </b>did you wake up?” Julius asked, his body suddenly rigid and the question <b>quivering </b><b>on </b><b>his </b><b>lips </b>
<b>“</b><b>I </b>woke up when you started muttering to the photograph. What’s the matter, Julius? Are you feeling <b>lif </b>Quinn asked, pushing herself upright to study him.
“No,” he said.
She tugged him down beside her and pressed a palm to his forehead. “Hmm, your temperature is <b>normal</b><b>, </b>yet your face looks pale.”
“Thepany’s been hectic thesest two days. I haven’t slept well,” Julius replied, offering the <b>first </b><b>excuse </b>that came to mind.
“Then what exactly were you muttering to that photograph a moment ago?” Quinn pressed.
Julius watched her face carefully and felt a flicker of relief. She obviously had not caught his whispered confession, or she would not be asking.
“I was only saying that I hope we find your brother soon,” he answered.
“Thank you,” Quinn said, knowing he had already set the entire Whitethorn family informationwork in motion for her.
“He’s your brother. It’s the least I can do,” Julius replied, pushing the guilty weight in his chest even deeper<b>. </b>If he had reached out to help Caleb back then, the siblings might have been reunited long ago.
“All right, if you’re tired, go nap in the bedroom,” Quinn urged, rising. Julius‘ hand shot out and caught her wrist.
“Kiss me, will you?” Julius said suddenly.
“What?” Quinn blinked, wondering if she had misheard.
“Just kiss me. One kiss from you and I’ll be fine,” he insisted.
She was bemused; the request was absurd and endearing in equal measure.
Still, Quinn cupped his jaw and answered, “All right.”
The words had barely left her mouth/before she leaned in and pressed her lips to his.
He released a low sigh and parted his lips, an unspoken invitation for her to venture deeper.
She kept the kiss gentle, but his left arm curved around her waist while his right hand slid to the back of her head, drawing her impossibly close.
Just as Quinn was about to pull away, Julius seized the moment and deepened the kiss with sudde hungry intensity.
He kissed her with a fierce, consuming hunger, as though determined to swallow her whole. A muted whimper slipped from Quinn when she tried to draw back, but Julius only pressed harder, unrelenting 2/3
Chapter <b>262 </b><b>Kiss </b>Me
<b>She </b>knew she could have pushed him away if she truly wished.