Bound by the Past, Locked by the Heart novel Chapter 294

Randal's hand froze inches from the car door handle.

He whipped his head around, his dark gaze locking onto hers, his voice strained. "Willa... what are you talking about?"

Willa turned slightly, her eyes casually tracing the rigid line of his jaw. Slowly, she reached out, her fingers lightly brushing against the freezing skin of his hand.

A violent shudder tore through him, as if he had been struck by a live wire. His immediate instinct was to grab her hand and never let go, but he violently suppressed the urge at the last possible second.

He stood paralyzed, letting her cool fingertips trail agonizingly slowly up his forearm.

Willa leaned in, erasing the distance between them. When she looked up, her clear eyes were glazed with a hazy, intoxicating warmth.

She parted her lips, her warm breath ghosting over his ear, her voice dropping to a husky, seductive whisper.

"I'm saying... if everyone is so determined to treat me like an object to be traded... I might as well negotiate my own price."

Her movements were deliberate, a calculated tease. Her fingernail traced a feather-light line over the tense muscle of his arm.

"Randal... do you want this favor?"

His breathing turned ragged, the sound harsh in the quiet night.

He wanted it. He was losing his mind with how badly he wanted it.

But a deeper, darker fear paralyzed him—the fear that this was just a cruel game, that the moment he gave in, she would shove him back into the freezing abyss.

"I do..." he rasped, forcing the words past the lump in his throat.

Seeing the pathetic, desperate longing in his eyes, a tiny fracture appeared in the ice shielding Willa's heart, leaking a complicated swirl of emotions.

She squeezed her eyes shut, took a deep breath to force down the lump in her throat, and placed her hand on the back of his neck. With a gentle pull, she brought him down and pressed her soft lips against his.

It was a kiss completely devoid of lust, yet it sent shockwaves through Randal's entire system, wiping his mind completely blank.

Just as he helplessly leaned in to deepen the connection, Willa abruptly pulled back. She put distance between them, a distant, detached smile playing on her lips.

"For tonight, just take me home."

Without sparing him another glance, she opened the door and slid into the back seat.

Randal hastily followed her in.

The driver was new, but clearly knew how to read a room. The moment Randal was inside, the privacy partition seamlessly glided up, sealing off the back cabin.