why was this particular man so damn violent?

Fury surged through Evelyn as Alexander's lips trailed from her neck to her collarbone. Seizing the moment when he seemed lost in sensation, she drove her knee upward with all her strength, connecting squarely with the hardened length pressed against her.

"Fuck!" Alexander jerked back, his hands flying to protect himself. Those usually impassive mercury eyes now burned with something far more volatile. Evelyn froze under that gaze, momentarily forgetting her nakedness in the face of his palpable rage.

The man's presence was overwhelming—like standing too close to a live volcano. She wasn't just outmatched; she was hopelessly outclassed.

Scrambling for the discarded robe, Evelyn barely had time to reach for it before Alexander yanked her back down. They tumbled onto the plush carpet in a tangle of limbs, his larger frame easily pinning her beneath him.

For one mad moment, Evelyn considered headbutting him like some deranged soccer player, but the mental image of her skull cracking against what was surely a much harder surface quickly doused that particular spark of rebellion.

"Alexander Blackwood, I'll have you arrested for rape!" The words exploded from her before she could stop them, immediate regret following the outburst.

"Attempted," he corrected coolly, not even breathing hard. "And you'd never win. Your lawyer fees would end up in my pockets anyway."

Evelyn's mouth opened, then closed. Could this man possibly be more insufferable?

Their current position couldn't have been more compromising—her completely exposed while he remained fully clothed, the imbalance of power so stark it made her feel like Little Red Riding Hood caught in the wolf's jaws.