The MC President's Forsaken Wife (Zara and Knox) novel Chapter 294

Chapter 145-1

The penthouse smells like cardamom, toasted garlic, and warm spices by the time nine o’clock rolls around.

The heavy, silent chill of the evening has settled outside. Inside, the deep, amber glow of the fireplace casts long, dancing shadows across the leather sofa where Locke and I sit side by side.

Clas

On the low wooden coffee table between us, paper containers from the local Indian place sit open: tikka masala, garlic naan, lamb rogan josh, and a tub of spiced basmati rice that’s already half-empty.

I take a piece of warm naan, tearing off a corner, and look over at Locke through the soft firelight.

He’s already shed his heavy leather cut, leaving him in a fitted black T-shirt that hugs his broad shoulders and muscular chest.

“You know,” I say, dipping the bread into the rich red sauce and glancing at him with a faint, playful smirk. “I’m pretty sure my hands still work. I actually know how to turn on a stove.”

Locke doesn’t look up immediately, his thumb absently tracing the rim of his beer bottle, but a slow, dimpled grin tugs at the corner of his lips. “Is that right?”

“It is,” I say, leaning back against the cushions and crossing my legs under me. “I used to cook dinner every night. Then I moved into a high-rise with a broad-shouldered handsome MC guy who keeps bringing home bags full of takeout like he’s trying to bribe me into staying.”

Locke tilts his head, his eyes catching the golden reflection of the flames as he looks over at me.

“Bribe is a strong word, Zara. I call it tactical efficiency. Why let you stand over a stove for two hours after a six-hour shift in the garage when I can make one phone call and get three pounds of butter chicken delivered?”

“Because if you keep feeding me like this every night, I’m going to get fat,” I say, the sentence slipping out offhandedly. But as soon as the word leaves my mouth, an old, toxic shadow flickers behind my ribs.

My mind flashes back to those dark years with Knox.

The quiet, humiliating comments, the way he’d stare at my hips with cold disgust, telling me I’d gotten too heavy, too soft, that I was too fat to touch, too fat for him to ever want in his bed. I’d starved myself down to bone back then just to earn a shred of his affection, leaving me ghost-thin and miserable.

I look down at my plate, my throat tightening slightly, but Locke’s reaction is instant.

He sets his beer bottle down with a sharp, heavy clink. Before I can draw another breath, his big, calloused hand reaches across the gap, wrapping firmly around my waist. In one smooth, effortless pull, he hauls me off my side of the couch, directly into his lap, trapping me against him.

“Don’t ever say that bullshit in front of me again,” Locke growls low in his chest. “Never, baby.”

His large hands spread wide across my hips, his fingers digging into my skin with a fierce, possessive grip that asserts complete ownership. He tilts my jaw up until I’m forced to look straight into his dark, burning

eyes.

1/24

Chapter 115

Clam

“Knox was a blind, pathetic idiot who didn’t know what the fuck he had,” Locke says. “You are gorgeous, Zara. Every curve, every inch of you. I want every single ounce of this body on mine, under mine, all around mine, every fucking night. If you gain weight, I’ll just have more of you to sink my teeth into. You hear me, baby?”

The raw, unfiltered heat in his tone burns away the lingering phantom of Knox’s voice like acid. A shiver rolls down my spine, my body warming instantly under his heavy hands.

“I hear you,” I whisper, my breathing growing shallow as I rest my palm against the hard, steady rhythm of his heart. “I really do.”

Locke’s jaw flexes, his thumbs stroking firmly over my hipbones through my jeans, making sure the lesson settles deep before he lets the heavy tension ease back just a fraction.

“Good,” he murmurs, his gaze holding mine for a long, quiet moment.

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