Page 213 of Maddening Fixation

The way he’d stopped to seek for my consent.

The way he’d held me afterward.

Had I imagined every bit of it?

Had I been foolish enough to mistake lust for something more?

Romeo looked down at the blood-soaked heart still resting in his hand.

He extended it toward me again.

“Eat it.”

I recoiled, my stomach churning as the thick metallic scent of blood invaded my senses. I gagged, bile burning the back of my throat.

“Please...”

“You have three seconds.” His voice remained terrifyingly calm.

Blood slid from the mangled organ and fell onto the marble floor, one drop at a time.

My voice broke into a sob.

“This is barbaric.” Fresh tears blurred my vision. “Please...”

I shook uncontrollably. “Don’t make me do this.”

For a long moment, Romeo simply watched me.

Then, without another word, he let the heart fall.

It landed beside my knees with a sickening wet thud.

Blood splattered across the marble.

Romeo leaned toward Keegan and murmured something too quietly for me to hear.

Keegan gave a single nod.

Without sparing me another glance, Romeo turned and walked away.

His men immediately followed him, their polished shoes echoing across the silent club.

I remained frozen on my knees.

The bloody heart lay inches away.

I slowly lifted my head.

“Get up.”

Keegan’s voice cut through the suffocating silence.

I looked at him for a moment before forcing myself onto trembling legs.

Pain shot through my knees where they had struck the unforgiving marble floor.

Every muscle in my body ached.