Brodie's thumb pressed against the frantic pulse in her throat. His question, low and menacing, hung in the steam-filled air.
Avery's lungs burned for air, but a different kind of fire was igniting in her chest. Rage. The memory of his betrayal, the casual cruelty she'd overheard six months ago, flooded back, momentarily eclipsing her fear.
He didn't wait for an answer. He lowered his head and his mouth crashed down on hers.
It was a brutal, punishing kiss. A kiss of possession and rage, filled with the intent to break her. It tasted of violence and something metallic.
Humiliation, hot and sharp, pierced through her terror. She would not be his victim. Not again.
With a surge of pure, primal fury, she bit down. Hard.
She sank her teeth into his lower lip, tasting the hot, coppery burst of his blood.
Brodie grunted in pain, a shocked, guttural sound, and his hand flew from her throat.
The release was instantaneous. Avery shoved him back with all her might, gasping for air, the metallic tang of his blood sharp on her tongue.
Her hand came up, and she swung, the crack of her palm against his cheek echoing off the marble walls.
The force of the slap snapped his head to the side. A bright red handprint bloomed on his skin. He stood there for a second, stunned, a trickle of blood running from the corner of his mouth. A look of genuine disbelief flickered in his dark eyes.
No one, least of all this woman he thought he could break, treated him this way.
Avery's chest heaved, each breath a ragged gasp. She knew her defiance would only make things worse, but submission was not an option. She had to find a weapon. The only one she had.
Brodie slowly turned his head back to face her. He ran his tongue over his bleeding lip, a slow, deliberate motion. The pain seemed to focus him, sharpening the fury in his eyes into something else, something twisted and excited.
"You still have claws, Avery," he murmured, a sick thrill in his voice.
He started toward her again.
Just as his hands reached for her, she found her voice. It was shaky, but it was clear.
"Stop! Brodie Stanley!"
She forced herself to stand tall, to meet his predatory gaze, her nakedness forgotten.
"Have you forgotten who I am now?" she challenged, her voice gaining strength.
"I am your brother's fiancée."
The words hit him like a physical blow. He froze, his hands hovering inches from her skin.
Avery pressed her advantage, her mind racing. He didn't care about Joshua. He cared about the game.
"What do you think you're doing? In here? With your future sister-in-law?" she spat, her words like daggers. "Imagine if Joshua found his brother, in his own home, putting his hands on the woman he loves... What do you think he would do?"
Brodie stared at her, his jaw working, the muscles clenching and unclenching. The desire to dominate her, to punish her, was at war with a new, more perverse idea. The idea of the taboo.
He didn't touch her.
He took a step back. He stared at her, the rage in his eyes warring with a dawning, perverse curiosity. The pain in his lip, the sting on his cheek... it wasn't just humiliation. It was a challenge. A slow, chilling smile spread across his face, transforming his fury into something far more dangerous.
They held a dark promise.
"This," he whispered, his voice dripping with a newfound, twisted amusement, "is going to be so much more fun than I thought."
