Chapter 263

• Duke’s fingers tapped lightly on the steering wheel, the rhythm casual, yet there was nothing casual about the tension simmering inside the car.
• Beside him, Carmen clutched the bouquet of deep crimson roses against her chest as if it were a shield, their scent mingling with the intoxicating pull of Duke’s scent that seemed to fill every corner of the vehicle. She kept her gaze fixed out the window, but the awareness between them was a living, breathing thing—raw, electric, undeniable. The bond thrummed in the air, tugging at her wolf, reminding her who sat only inches away.
• Just when she thought she could endure the ride in strained silence, Duke moved. His right arm slid onto the center console with lazy precision, but the shift was deliberate. In the next heartbeat, his palm found the curve of her waist—her soft, delicate waist his wolf had already claimed as his—and his fingers pressed into the hollow of her back. A slow, teasing knead sent a jolt of heat tearing through her body.