The atmosphere tightened for a moment.


    Anneliese sensed it, yet she had no bandwidth to deal with anything else. Her thoughts were a snarled mess.


    She lifted her gaze briefly, only to recoil at the torrent of emotion crowding Jonathan''s dark eyes. Her dampshes dropped instantly as she forced herself to


    speak.


    "Sorry. I need a moment alone."


    Jonathan''s extended hand twitched, then-true to form he ignored her request and swept her into his arms anyway.


    "You—" Her whole body went stiff. She bit down on her lip and shot him a hard look.


    Lowering his head, he murmured, "What now? Are you nning to shut me out forever? Try it, Anneliese."


    Impatience and something darker smoldered in his eyes, leaving his intentions unmistakable.


    A sinking dread pooled in Anneliese''s stomach, panic spiraling faster than she could catch it.


    She angled her face away, refusing to look at him again.


    Carrying her out of the dressing room, Jonathan strode to the bed and gently set her down.


    His hand wrapped around her ankle. She couldn''t tell if he was burning hot-or if her entire body had turned ice-cold.


    The instant his skin touched hers, heat shot through her, a jolt racing up her leg.


    She leaned back, braced on one elbow, and instinctively tried to pull free. His grip tightened, turning from casual to unyielding, keeping her exactly where he wanted her.


    Her slight movements sent her hem fluttering, a sh of white catching the light.


    Noticing where his attention darted, a faint flush crept across her pale cheeks-an inconvenient bloom of color.


    "Let... go." She averted her face, embarrassed. Her voice was cool but unsteady, and the wobble irritated her.


    Jonathan watched the return of color in her expression-anger mixing with mortification—and something inside him finally loosened.


    His thumb brushed along the small ridge of her ankle bone, warming her chilled skin, as he spoke in a slow, resonant voice.


    "When we first crossed paths, you threw yourself at me. You poked at me nonstop. Don''t even think about running now.


    "Marriage isn''t yacting. You''re bound to me in this lifetime.


    "Don''t entertain those thoughts. You won''t survive the consequences."


    Every wordnded with weight, his voice rough and final.


    His grasp on her ankle felt like an unseen cuff, threatening to lock shut at any second.


    Even the soft drag of his fingertips spelled out a warning-unmistakable, unrestrained.


    Anneliese clenched her teeth. Her hands curled tight around the bedsheet. Shivers rippled along her legs, goosebumps erupting without her consent.


    Anger red through her as she red back. "You deceived me into marrying you!"


    Her usation sparked a faint, amused glint in his eyes.


    "Yeah, I went through all that trouble to make you my wife. Why would I ever let you go?"


    Anneliese was left speechless.


    She tugged her skirt closer and kicked again. Jonathan didn''t escte.


    Instead, he slid his palm along her sole, brushing off nonexistent dust from her bare steps, then tucked both her feet under the nket Without another word, he stepped away. .


    She wanted space. He wasn''t going to force her.


    The door opened. In the living room, Jessica was still awake, nerves clearly not settled.


    It was understandable. Couples freshly reunited after a short split tended to ignite easily.


    And Jonathan had rushed back solely for Anneliese. Jessica assumed he wouldn''t emerge again for at least a couple of hours.


    She did not expect him to reappear so soon.


    His gaze drifted toward her, and Jessica rose automatically. "Are you two... alright?"


    His mouth pressed into a thin line. Oddly, he struggled to answer.


    He put on a hard front before Anneliese, yet his confidence was hanging by a thread.


    Because he knew one thing with


    painful ritypared to the


    woman who had raised Annelieet


    for so


    many years, he would never outweigh her in Anneliese''s heart.


    Woof!


    The silence cracked with Meatloaf''s low bark.


    The golden retriever had sensed the tension too. Irritated at being shut out, he nudged against Jonathan''s legs, tapping him with restless paws.


    Jonathan bent to ruffle Meatloaf''s head before saying to Jessica, "Go stay with her."


    Jessica didn''t second-guess it and hurried toward the room-pulse spiking.


    Whatever happened inside, the atmosphere left her uneasy.


    Jonathan stepped aside to let her pass. As they brushed shoulders, his eyes drifted -unthinking toward Jessica''s abdomen.