Bound by the Past, Locked by the Heart novel Chapter 70

His hand slid from her back to the curve of her waist, caressing her through the fabric of her dress. The heat radiating from his palm was blistering.

Her body instinctively melted into him, her breathing growing chaotic.

But giving into that primal submission made her feel cheap, a traitor to her own pride.

Randal reluctantly broke the kiss, trailing a line of searing heat down the column of her throat.

His hands grew restless, his fingertips slipping beneath the hem of her clothes.

Willa jolted, her heart hammering wildly against her ribs. "Randal... stop," she gasped, her voice shaking violently.

He didn't stop. A dark smirk curved his lips, his eyes swirling with a reckless insanity that masked an undeniable tenderness.

"Willa, I want you."

She blanked out for a split second, transported back to that very first night six years ago.

He had pinned her down just like this, his eyes burning with the exact same heat, though back then, it was tempered by nervous hesitation.

She had been so shy she couldn't look at him, shivering from head to toe.

The experience that night had been clumsy and awkward.

But back then, she was the only thing in Randal's world. For that, she had ignored the discomfort and blindly believed every promise he made.

The sudden click of the door handle brought her crashing back to reality.

She shoved at his chest. "Someone's coming."

Instead of backing away, Randal dove back down to kiss her fiercely, entirely uncaring of getting caught.

Pure panic seized Willa, and she pushed him with everything she had.

But he was like a brick wall, unmovable.

"Randal... you're crazy..." The broken words spilled out against his lips.

He ignored her completely.

One hand cupped the back of her head, locking her in place, while the other slid up her spine, yanking her flush against his chest. He deepened the kiss aggressively, as if trying to devour her alive.

Willa's heart was about to leap out of her throat. On pure instinct, she clamped her teeth down hard on his lower lip.

The sharp, metallic taste of blood instantly bloomed between their mouths.

At that exact second, the door swung wide open.

The words hit Willa like a slap to the face, paralyzing her.

He was right. Randal was engaged to Scarlett. What did that make her?

Nausea suddenly churned viciously in her stomach.

The version of herself that had just melted into his kiss felt disgusting and foreign.

She couldn't utter a single word; she only felt completely degraded.

Frantically straightening her clothes, she curled up into a tight ball in the corner of the sofa.

Randal's laugh only grew louder, completely devoid of restraint.

Zack lunged at him again, twisting his hands into Randal's collar and slamming him against the wall. His voice broke into a hoarse roar.

"Did you forget she's my girlfriend?!"

"Zack," Randal scoffed, his tone dripping with mockery. "You put on an act for so long, did you actually start believing it yourself?"

Willa froze the second the words left his mouth.

Zack's hands, still locked in Randal's collar, halted mid-air, as if he had been suddenly nailed to the spot.