Page 97 of My Temptation

He smirked and revealed it.

Arrogance.

He didn’t like to be challenged or thought to be less than he thought of himself. With any luck at all, his narcissism would land his ass in jail, where he belonged. “My reach is coast to coast.”

“So why choose Devil’s Lake as your home base?” I asked. “Can’t imagine this location brings you many girls.”

“It didn’t,” he admitted, “until we started the festival. Bike week brings in even more. You’d be surprised what people will do when they’re out of their comfort zone. How much they like to experiment in, well”—he snorted—“everything.”

“So you offer them a chance to experiment, maybe delve into things they’ve never done, like BDSM, and then what?”

He shrugged. “That all depends on who’s interested in what they see.”

I narrowed my eyes. “You recording?”

“That make you nervous?” He grinned. “After your performance?”

“No.” I put my elbows on the bar top but swallowed back the bile that rose in my throat. I assumed he was talking about Mila and me last night. I could only hope nobody ever saw that fucking recording of us. “Figured you might be recording in that room. Giving buyers a front-row seat as to what’s in store for them if they invest is brilliant, actually.”

His eyes flashed at the compliment. “Gives us the reach we need. We can advertise anywhere.” He tilted his head. “I’m surprised it doesn’t bother you that I have someone very interested in April, especially after how much work you put in to her.”

“There’s a good reason for that.” I rolled the bottle between my hands to keep from making a fist when he mentioned Mila being sold. I knew it couldn’t happen. Nick was right outside, but even the idea that it could made my blood boil.

His eyebrows rose slightly. “Which is?”

I lowered my voice to a growl. “April’s not for sale.”

He smirked slowly. “Every girl who walks through my door is for sale.”

He studied me, and I saw the change in his expression. What had once been interest in me was now dismissal. He almost seemed disappointed that I failed his test, but I didn’t fucking care. No way in hell would I ever say Mila was for sale. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw someone move through the doorway to the left of the bar, but I again kept my stare locked on Samson.

The man approached and stood beside the bar, waiting for the sign. He was there for me. He was huge, obviously the muscle in this place, and I was about to be escorted out. I wondered when Samson gave the signal because I hadn’t noticed any change in his posture, but he’d done something to alert the bodyguard that I was no longer someone he was interested in talking to.

He leaned down and whispered something in Samson’s ear before Samson nodded and faced me again. “April’s ready. Roman will show you to the room where you can wait for her to finish.”

I jerked up my chin, pretending to be sticking to the deal, and stood with my beer in hand, but I wasn’t walking away without him knowing who he was dealing with. “I better see April as soon as she finishes dancing.”

His eyes hardened. “Or what?”

“Or I’m coming for you. And trust me, you don’t want to know what happens to people who lie to me.”

His eyes turned almost black, and he stood. “Are you threatening me?”

“No.” I reached out and wrapped my hand around his shoulder. “I’m giving you my word.”

I walked out around Samson and stepped up beside Roman, who led me to the door where he’d just exited. I could’ve used that opportunity to say one of the words Nick had given me because I knew what was waiting on the other side of that door.

But I didn’t.

My adrenaline spiked the second Samson mentioned bringing out Mila, and I needed somewhere to release it.

Roman opened the door and gestured for me to go ahead of him, which I did, but I braced and spun to face him, refusing to keep my back to him. I saw Mila walk into the room in a small skirt and a glittery bra when he began closing the door. Fire raced up my spine when one of the men at the tables stood and started toward her.

Roman had barely closed the door before I moved. I had my hand around his throat in less than a second and watched the surprise register on his expression when I threw him against the door. He hadn’t expected me to fight and instead judged me as someone he could easily overpower.

That was his first mistake.

He didn’t know that I’d spent hours in the gym learning to defend myself and any member of the team with me. It had been a stipulation of hiring me. Brody taught me how to fight efficiently. I wasn’t trained as a street fighter like this man obviously was. I was trained the way Brody had trained in the military because he taught me my mind was my greatest weapon. He taught me that I could disarm or put down any man quickly if I learned how to fight strategically. And one of the first steps was to catch the opponent off guard, which I had, but that didn’t last. He grabbed the front of my shirt and forced me back with one hand, pulled back his other, and punched me in the stomach. I bent over and, with all my body weight, slammed my shoulder into him, knocking us both to the floor. We were equally fighting with blows to the ribs and an uppercut to my jaw that split my lip. Blood dripped onto his shirt, but I smiled and returned the favor. Rolling, he got me on my back, pulled back his fist, and landed a blow that had the power to force me into darkness. I struggled against the black spots seeping into my vision and then remembered Mila was just beyond that door and fighting her own battle. Adrenaline poured through my system, and lifting my hands, I wrapped them around his neck, squeezing as hard as I could. He continued to land punches to my ribs, but as those lost their power and I saw him struggling to breathe, I rolled us until I was on top. Quickly cocking my fist, I slammed it into his temple. His hands dropped slowly, and his eyes rolled back into his head before they closed. He was limp when I stood, but he was alive.

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