Page 99 of The Trouble With Bad Boys

In place of the T-shirt and shorts she’d been wearing when I arrived, she now wore a short, silky black robe. One side had slipped off her shoulder, and it was clear she didn’t have much on underneath. Those fantasies hit me yet again, until I was clenching my fists at my sides to keep from doing the one thing I promised myself I’d never do.

“What are you doing?” Carina straightened but she didn’t bother covering up. One of her areolas was peeking out of the open neck of her robe, and I was having trouble pulling my gaze away.

When I finally did, when I found my control and forced myself to look at her face, I got distracted by the perfect bow of her ruby red lips.

“I came to find out where you’ve been,” I finally managed, my voice coming out all wrong. Even to my own ears, I sounded angry, and Carina reacted as if I was.

“I already told you, I had some days off! Can’t you read a calendar?”

Spinning away from her, I shoved my hands through my hair, tempted to pull it all out to keep from touching her. But I’d done a 360 degree turn and was facing her again. She was right there, so fucking sexy, so goddamn beautiful it drove me insane.

“I was worried.” I clenched my fists as Carina put her hands on her hips.

The collar of her robe shifted, showing off too much of her chest beneath the missed buttons. “You were worried?” She took a step forward, getting in my space. “Let me guess: you thought I’d brought someone home with me from the club? Or maybe you thought you’d come waltzing in here and find some guy’s cock in my mouth? Or maybe”—she stepped closer—“you thought you’d catch a show? See someone railing me from behind, their dick shoved so far insi?—”

“Carina, stop!” I stepped away, scrubbed both hands down my face to wash those images away—to wipe thoughts of her lips wrapped around my dick, of my cock shoved inside of her, out of my mind. “Would you let me speak?”

“Of course.” She crossed her arms over her chest. It caused the hem of the silky fabric to ride up, baring more of her tan skin and the swatch of black lace covering her pussy. It caused my brain to short-circuit and nearly miss what she said. “By all means, barge into my apartment and don’t bother seeing yourself out when I tell you to. I’d love to stop speaking for someone who shows so much respect for me and my wellbeing.”

Sharp laughter pounded through me in time with the harsh beat of my heart. I spoke through clenched teeth. “I was worried about you, Carina. After…”

She narrowed her eyes. “After what?”

Raising my hands to my face, I pressed my palms into my eyes. I couldn’t look at her. Not if I wanted to maintain control. “After our fight…”

“Our fight?” I heard her move, so I held perfectly still. “Do you mean when you barged into the dressing room without so much as a knock and yelled at us for doing our jobs?”

“Doing your jobs does not mean sucking cock!”

“Not anymore, it doesn’t. You made sure of that, didn’t you? You’ve always had an agenda, and you’ve finally pushed it through. Does it make you happy, ruining our livelihoods and taking money out of our pockets?”

Dropping my hands, I spread my arms wide, damn near hitting her in the face as I did. “I’m not trying to ruin your livelihoods, dammit! Can’t you see I’m doing this for your own good?”

“My own good? I’m sorry, when did you start giving a shit about what I do with my life? And what makes you think you have any say in what I do in my bed?” She tossed her hand out toward the giant bed that took up more than half the room.

It was a glaring reminder that I shouldn’t be here. This was her bedroom. Her personal space. The one place I should have stayed far, far away from. I could barely control myself. Couldn’t stop my body from shaking as I stared down at her fucking gorgeous scowl. I gritted my teeth, fisted my hands at my sides.

“I’m doing this for you, Carina. You should be thanking me.”

She stepped closer, encroaching on my space. “Thank you, Kingston. Thank you for taking money out of my pocket and dictating what I can and cannot do with my own body.” She took another step closer, and I could feel the heat radiating from her skin. “Thank you for treating me like a child who doesn’t know how to take care of herself.”

Another step, and she was so close I couldn’t breathe without brushing against her.

“Thank you for making me feel like I have no value unless I’m serving you. Does that make you feel better? Is that what you want?”

She pushed and pushed and pushed, and I couldn’t take it anymore. I grabbed her by the arms, just like I did in the dressing room three nights ago, lifting her toward me until our chests were touching, until her face was mere inches from mine. “That’s not what I want.”

“You could have fooled me.” She shifted like she was trying to get away, but it only made her chest rub against mine. I loosened my grip, but I couldn’t force myself to let her go. Not when her silky skin was against my palms. Not when her breath warmed my face.

My thumbs smoothed over her arms while my eyes were locked on her fucking enticing lips. “That’s not what I want,” I repeated, both because it was true and I didn’t know what else to say.

I couldn’t tell her the truth. Couldn’t tell her why this was so important to me. It may have made me look like an asshole, but I was okay with that if it meant she’d be safe.

All of them.

They’d all be safe.

“What do you want, King?” Carina asked, her voice losing its vicious bite. In its place was a rasp that stirred something inside of me stronger than that picture in the other room.

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