Page 98 of By His Rule

She sucks in a sharp breath, ready to continue coming at me with reasons, but then she looks around and takes in our surroundings. “Where are you going?” she asks firmly.

“For dinner.”

“For dinner?” she echoes. “Why the hell are we going for dinner?”

“Well, there are a number of reasons. First and most pressing is because I’m hungry,” I mock. “Second, and only very closely second, is because I just love being on the wrong end of your temper, and I’m not ready to say goodbye to it yet.’

“You’re not funny,” she snarks, crossing her arms beneath her chest and lifting her chin.

“And you’re not going to win. Not against me, Temptress.”

“I knew it,” she shrieks at a pitch that I’m sure only dogs should hear. “You called me that earlier.”

“And?” I ask, refusing to be embarrassed by the fact she is a fucking temptress. Her last name fits her to a tee.

“Do not call me that. It’s Lori. Anything else is unnecessary.”

“I’ll call you whatever I want to call you,” I say as I take the next left, our destination appearing up ahead.

“As long as the same goes for me.”

I smirk. “As long as it’s sir, boss, or maybe even daddy, I’m pretty sure I can get on board with it.”

“Pig,” she scoffs.

“That wasn’t on the list, Temptress.”

“Kian,” she warns, only dialing up my amusement over this.

“Dinner, then I’ll take you home. Deal?” I ask as I pull the car to a stop.

“What is this place?” she asks before committing.

“This is where you get the best buffalo chicken wings in the state.”

Lorelei’s eyes widen in interest. “Oh?”

“So do we have a deal?”

She makes a show of pretending to think about it.

“Okay, fine. But let me make this clear—I’m only doing it because of the wings.”

“Sure you are.”

Without waiting for me to even kill the engine, she pushes the car door open and climbs out.

“Fucking pain in my ass,” I mutter as I follow her out.

By the time I catch up to her, she’s already asking for a table for two.

The server opens his mouth ready to speak, but then he looks up at me.

“Kian, long time no see.”

I might be standing behind Lorelei and unable to see her face, but I know she rolls her eyes hard enough to hurt as I’m greeted personally.

“Good evening, Ash. Table for two?”

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