“Stop this bullshit,” he said sharply. “She means nothing to me.”
He exhaled once, visibly forcing himself calmer.
“It’s business. That’s all.”
His thumb brushed slowly across her cheek.
Amara’s expression didn’t soften.
“Does it look like I care about your life?” she asked flatly.
Silence.
A short, humorless laugh escaped her.
“Yeah. Exactly.”
She shifted slightly on his lap, her eyes cutting straight through him.
“I don’t care what she is to you. I don’t care what you do tomorrow. Even if you run back to her right now and decide she’s the love of your life, it still wouldn’t matter to me.”
Her palm pressed firmly against his chest again, trying to force distance between them.
“I’m not your wife anymore, Elias.”
Something in his expression snapped at those words.
His grip on her tightened instinctively.
“Stop saying that,” he muttered darkly.
Before she could react, he suddenly leaned in. His face buried against the side of her neck.
Amara stiffened instantly.
Then his mouth closed roughly against the sensitive skin beneath her ear.
A sharp bite. Then a slow lick over the sting.
Another harsher one lower against her throat.
Amara’s breath hitched despite herself.
“Elias—stop.”
But he only dragged her closer against him.
His hand slid up the back of her neck, fingers tangling lightly into her hair as he inhaled deeply against her skin like he had been starved for it.
“Do you know how long it’s been?” he muttered hoarsely against her throat. “I can barely get any sleep without you in my bed, Amara.”
His lips brushed her pulse again.
“I miss your scent.”
Another slow kiss against her neck.
The roughness in his voice sent heat crawling across her skin despite how angry she was.