The One He Dismissed Became The One He Died For novel Chapter 170

She tried frantically to peel his hand away, but was terrified of causing a scene in the packed theater.

His hand absolutely refused to budge. Worse, his thumb began to drag slowly, heavily up the sensitive skin of her inner thigh.

Panic flared, and Claire instinctively slammed her knees together.

She shot him an absolutely murderous glare through the darkness.

[Move your hand. Stop playing around.]

He texted back.

[Stop squeezing my hand between your thighs, then.]

Claire wanted the earth to open up and swallow her whole.

Beside her, Julian suddenly leaned in. "Claire, are you okay? You look totally flushed. Are you feeling sick?"

"I..." she stammered, fighting desperately to keep her voice level. "I'm fine. It's just a little hot in here."

"Do you want to step outside for some fresh air?" Julian offered eagerly.

The hand on her leg clamped down so brutally hard she gasped from the sharp, sudden pain.

"No, no," Claire choked out, rigidly staring straight ahead. "The movie is getting really good. I want to see the ending."

"Alright," Julian smiled warmly, adding, "I'll stay with you."

Those words triggered something demonic in the man sitting next to her. The hand began moving higher, with punishing intent. A shiver of pure terror shot down Claire's spine.

She had absolutely no idea what happened for the entire second half of the film.

Just as the credits began to roll, Miles stood up and slipped out of the theater, swallowed by the darkness.

Claire's phone screen lit up immediately.

[You are forbidden from going to the beach dressed like that.]

The giant screen faded to black, the house lights flared on, and the crowd began filtering out with excited chatter, heading for the shore.

"Claire, the tide is out. We can walk quite a bit down the shoreline," Julian beamed.

"Listen, I..." Claire scrambled backward. "I think I'm coming down with something. I'm going to head back to my room and lie down."

Before Julian could utter a single word of protest, Claire had vanished down the corridor.

She practically threw herself into her suite, only to find Miles leaning casually against her bedroom door.

"How did you get in here?!" Claire gasped.

"The Zimmerman family owns this entire resort," Miles replied, his tone infuriatingly calm.

In the next second, she was swept entirely off her feet. Miles hoisted her onto the low console table in the entryway, boxing her securely into the corner. Escape was impossible.

The sudden movement ripped a sharp gasp from her lungs.

Hearing the noise, Julian's voice pitched higher with panic. "Claire, what's wrong?! I brought some medicine. Open the door, please! If you're sick, this will help."

Claire tried desperately to speak, but Miles's mouth crashed down, silencing her completely.

He bit her lip sharply, forcing a muffled, breathless moan from her throat.

Outside, Julian began pounding frantically on the door.

"Claire, what happened?! Claire, talk to me!"

Blind panic surged through Claire, but the man devouring her mouth showed zero intention of stopping. One of his hands gripped her waist like a vice, while the other pinned her wrists helplessly against her sides.

He was absolutely doing this on purpose!

Claire suddenly realized with terrifying clarity.

The usually composed, endlessly stoic Miles Zimmerman desperately wanted Julian Young to hear exactly what was happening on the other side of that door.

Julian's voice hit a fever pitch. "Claire, hold on! I'm going to the front desk to get a master key!"

Miles finally tore his mouth away. Pressing his lips directly against Claire's ear, he issued a ragged, dominant command. "Tell him to get the hell out."