Instead, he leaned in slightly, his gaze locked on her, intense and unblinking.
Then, lower—his voice dropped as he studied her face.
“You’re going to sleep without me again?” he asked, almost irritated. “How are you even sleeping properly?”
His eyes narrowed slightly.
“You used to call me all the time at night when I wasn’t home,” he added. “Why did you stop? I haven’t gotten a single call from you in so long, Amara.”
Amara stared at him for a second, then let out a slow breath. She pushed at his chest again, harder this time.
“You don’t need to worry about that anymore,” she said coldly. “You can have all the time in the world for your business now. So stop behaving like it’s bothering you.”
With a sharp shove, she finally created enough space to slip off the hood.
She immediately turned and started walking away.
But she barely made it two steps. Elias caught her arm.
A hard pull spun her back toward him, and before she could react, he yanked open the car door and pushed her inside.
“Elias—!”
Amara scrambled instantly, trying to push herself back up, but he had already slammed the door shut behind her.
She reached for the other side immediately.
Too late.
Elias moved faster, sliding into the car right after her. The second she shifted to escape, his arm wrapped tightly around her waist and dragged her back against him, settling her forcefully onto his lap.
Amara froze, eyes widening in disbelief.
Then she started struggling again.
“Get off me—what the hell is wrong with you?” she snapped, shoving hard against his chest.
But Elias caught both her wrists easily.
One large hand pinned them behind her back while the other locked around her waist, trapping her completely against him.
“Stop moving,” he said roughly.
“No!”
She twisted harder, satin sliding against his suit as she fought to get free, but the movement only made his jaw tighten further.
A frustrated breath left Amara when she realized she couldn’t overpower him.
After a few seconds, she finally went still, glaring down at him furiously.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” she hissed. “Let me go! I have no interest in wasting my night on this. Go spend it with your lover instead. She’s probably dying from loneliness without you.”
She tried shoving him again.
This time, Elias grabbed her face.
His fingers slid along her jaw, forcing her to look directly at him.
