Taming the Beast: 8. After the Fire

His mask caught the light, throwing half his face into shadow. “If you want to walk into my world… if you want me to trust you… then you prove you can take me as I am. All of me.”

Elodie swallowed hard. “And if I fail?”

“Then you’ll know you never should’ve come this close.” His gaze sharpened, predatory. “But if you don’t… if you endure me… I’ll know you’re not just another woman sent to break the Beast.”

Her chest rose and fell too fast. She should walk away. She should remind herself that she was still here under false pretenses, still pretending at professionalism while her body had betrayed her again and again. But when his fingers brushed her wrist—barely a touch—it was like being claimed.

“I’ll take the test,” she whispered.

His smirk was cruel, but there was something in his eyes—something raw, desperate, almost hopeful—that made her knees weak.

Ciaran led her beneath the steel rig. He bound her wrists above her head, leather straps biting