Page 7 of Only His

“What’s wrong with it?”

David suddenly stepped forward, breathing hard as he crowded me. His eyes were hooded and I gasped when I felt a finger touch my neck. In a daze, I looked down and watched as he trailed the digit down to touch just above my cleavage before he snatched his hand away. He took a single step back and leaned down to touch the hem of my dress, rubbing the fabric between his fingers.

“A dress like this on a first date might give a man the wrong idea,” he said lowly, his eyes snapping up to meet mine. “Do you at least have panties on? Cause you sure as fuck aren’t wearing a bra.”

“Wha—Yes!” I exclaimed, my face flaming.

“What kind?”

“I-I don’t—”

David growled and pushed me back against the wall. My heart beat wildly as he pressed his body so close to mine that I could feel his body heat. The gentle friction of our clothes made my nipples harden into stiff peaks and David groaned low in his throat when he leaned in enough to feel them against his chest.

“You’ll be the death of me, baby,” he murmured against the shell of my ear, sending shivers racing up my spine.

The pet name alone was enough to make my head spin, but his other words caught up to me after a brief moment. Before I could ask him to elaborate, the sound of a car approaching made me open my eyes. I saw the silver Mercedes pull to the curb and stop and I quickly pushed David away from me as I tried to straighten myself up.

Not that I intended to go on the date anymore. There was no way I could—not with whatever just happened between me and David. No, I would tell David to wait for me and rush down and tell James that I wasn’t feeling well and—

“You wait here. I’ll take care of him.”

The words barely left David’s mouth and he was already storming down the steps. He had enough presence of mind to set down the food containers first and that simple action gave me the strength to shake myself out of the trance I’d been in since he touched me. I started to carefully make my way over to them in the grass, cursing myself for the heels I chose as they sunk into my lawn and made it difficult to walk.

I stole a glance up to the men as I walked and began to panic. The tension between them was palpable and I could sense the looming violence if I didn’t put a stop to it. David was speaking quietly to James, but the other man wasn’t backing down. If anything, James looked like he was just as ready as David was to start swinging.

When David took a step closer and balled his hands into fists, I cried, “Wait!”

Unfortunately, I was so busy trying to break up the fight before it started that I forgot to mind my footing. My heel sunk into a particularly soft spot and next thing I knew—I was flying forward with nothing to grab hold of. I fell flat on my face, my ankle screaming with pain as it twisted.

“Emily!”

David was at my side before I fully registered what happened. Dazed, I let him roll me over and cracked open my eyes as he started ghosting his hands over my body, checking for injuries.

“Are you okay?”

“My ankle—”

James appeared in my view a second later, his brows pulled together in a frown. He started to kneel beside me until David growled and pushed him out of the way.

“Don’t fucking touch her!”

“For fuck’s sake—I’m a doctor!Move,” James growled back between clenched teeth.

I’d never seen either man so angry. The two glared at each other for a long moment before David finally looked away with a grunt. James rolled his eyes and gave me a tight smile before kneeling at my feet and gently inspecting my ankles.

When James found a tender spot and I hissed in pain, David’s warm hand found mine and squeezed softly. I squeezed back, unable to stop myself from smiling despite the pain and total embarrassment I felt.

“I don’t think it’s sprained,” James announced after another minute of inspection. “Put some ice on it tonight and get some rest. I’ll call you tomorrow to see how you’re feeling and we’ll take it from there.”

“But our date—”

He cast a dark look toward David and said, “I don’t think our date was going to happen either way.”

“You’re right,” David practically snarled. “She’s spoken for.”

James looked back at me once more, studying my face closely like he was searching for any sign of distress. I gave him an apologetic smile and nodded, silently telling him I was fine being left alone with David. He conceded a moment later with a nod of his own and a soft promise to check in on me the next day.

David waited for him to drive away before lifting me in his arms and carrying me into the house. He placed me on the couch with an order to stay put. I tracked his movements by sound—going outside for the food, locking my front door, bypassing the living room for the kitchen, the microwave turning on—until he finally reappeared with an ice pack.

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