Page 9 of Forbidden Obsession

He frowned, grabbed her ass, and his lips curved in a sinister smirk when he whispered again, no doubt issuing threats or something crass.

The pulse in my throat thumped, my hands fisted, and my gut tightened. As expected, he made the wrong move, yanking Penelope toward him as she pushed him away.

Their voices grew and eyes turned toward them as partygoers looked to see what the fuss was about.

As for me, I was halfway across the club, my hurried strides lengthening as she slapped him across the face. He lifted a hand to return her assault when I snatched him up by his collar, yanked him away from her, and dropped him to the ground.

“What the fuck, man!”

I hated when people addressed me as “man.” It was rude and diminished a person’s worth to the measly definition of wretched humanity.

“I’m not your fuckin’ man,” I snarled.

He jumped to his feet and lifted a finger in my face. “You should mind your business and get the fuck out of my—” I grabbed his finger and snapped it before he spit out his threat.

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

Nostrils flaring, I clutched the back of his neck. “What were you going to do, hmm? Drag her out of the club kicking and screaming?” I slapped him across his face, and his face turned beet red.

“Did you plan to rape her?” I slapped him again, so hard I left a bright red mark from my palm across his face. “Speak, you son of a bitch.”

“No! No!”

“What’s wrong? You sound distressed. Respect the ladies and watch your motherfuckin’ mouth when you speak to me, or I’ll rip your tongue out and feed it to my pit bulls.”

I slapped him a final time and released him, and his body crashed to the floor. Whining and wounded, he rolled from his back to his stomach, climbed unsteadily to his knees, and hurriedly dragged himself away from us.

A soft hand grabbed my bicep, and a string of heat slipped through my body. I turned, and Penelope’s wide-eyed attention knocked me back into reality.

“You came.” Her eyes lit up, and pleasure moved through her features as her lips curved.

I touched her chin with the tip of my fingers. “Pretend you didn’t see me.”

Turning away from Penelope, I walked through the crowd. My plans were to escape her, and the prying eyes now aimed in our direction, wondering who the man was who’d just saved the girl.

I was uninterested in their curiosity and needed to keep a low profile. That was almost impossible in today’s times as people clung to their phones and electronics like extra body parts.

I pushed my shoulder into the exit, entered the garage, and stepped into a waiting elevator. The doors closed as a figure darted through them, almost getting caught. She collided with my chest.

Penelope.

The doors hesitated, then closed, and I gritted my teeth and glared at her.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m going with you.”

Frustration riddled me. “Get out, Penelope.”

“No.”

We had a stare-down, and I reached for the open-door button when she swatted my hand away. I snarled, the sound a warning.

“I don’t care about your dark growls or wolfish snarls, professor. I don’t think you’ll hurt me.”

“Are you sure about that?”

She bit back her response but kept her head high and lips puckered. I wanted to grab her, kiss her mouth, suck her tongue, and then gag her with my erection.

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