Page 24 of Vicious Sabotage

She took a deep breath and then closed out the payroll spreadsheet she’d been trying to work on for hours to no avail. She couldn’t concentrate.

Her mind was overloaded from that attack on her friend, the man she’d shot, the break-in at her bar and all the destroyed property that would affect her bottom line for the month.

Not to mention things that needed done in Badlands and the distillery too.

Great—that brought Wolfe to mind again. What he told her about her rum…was probably right. Not that she’d tell him that. Let him run a distillery and see for himself that getting the product out into the world was the fastest path to money in the bank.

Still, his rudeness rankled her.

She pushed away from the desk and walked out into the bar.

The noise level was at a high, bordering on the tipping point where they’d start receiving noise complaints.

Her waitresses were bustling through the crowd, serving drinks. Two bartenders poured them as fast as they could manage.

And Wolfe stood at the front of the room, his back to the wall…and his heavy stare fixed on her.

A thrill she didn’t want to experience tore through her. Lifting her jaw, she started toward him. His eyes registered the challenge she sent him.

She strode right past him. To the door.

Rule number one—no leaving without him.

Watch me, big guy.

Without so much as a backward glance, she whipped open the door and walked out into the night.

The cool mountain air cut through some of the fog in her brain.

She hadn’t taken a single step before Wolfe blocked her.

“Maybe you didn’t hear me, Livia. Or you didn’t understand me when I told you not to leave without me.”

The big overhead lights in the parking lot carved shadows over his chiseled features, making them even more rugged than they already were.

She squared her shoulders. “What are you gonna do? You gonna spank me, Commando?”

“For the first and last time…I am a SEAL. And actually, the spanking is a great idea.”

Her jaw dropped. When he yanked her off her feet, a scream tore from her lips. She struggled against his hard body.

Oh god, it was sooo hard.

“Let me go! What the hell are you doing?”

In long, purposeful strides, he carried her around the side of the building to the alley and planted her on her feet.

She took off—but he grabbed her by the shoulders, whipped her around to face the wall of Badlands and trapped her.

She twisted and turned in his grasp, fighting to escape. His hot breath washed over her neck, and his muscled torso anchored her against the wall.

“I’m going to scream!”

“Go ahead. It won’t stop me from doing this.” He brought his hand down on her ass cheek. Hard. The sting tore through her. Shock tore through her.

Desire tore through her.

Her chest heaved.

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