Page 22 of Exclusive

“Not so fast,” Kai laughs, snatching her up. “Your daddy will kick all our asses if we let you get in a fight. Now settle your ass down.”

“Trade me,” I growl at him, taking hold of my woman, and giving him a look that clearly warns him to never let me catch her in his arms again, no matter what the circumstances. “Calm down, babe. I need to help Roman.”

“With what? Kai already did that, those two dudes got bounced outta here ten minutes ago. Now lemme’ at that bitch! What the, wait, Kai, bring her back here!” she screams, flailing to escape my hold. “I mean it, Kai!”

I glance away, seeing Malakai’s got the girl halfway to the exit, and laugh, looking back at Presley… face flushed, eyes glowing with deadly intent, and full, sexy lips pursed to match her bent brows. Nothing in existence could stop me from kissing her, so I do, ending with a hummed, “thank you” upon them.

“For what? You didn’t let me do anything,” she pouts.

“Nope,” I chuckle, taking another taste of her, “but the fact that you wanted to? Liked it, babe. Liked it a lot.”

She rolls her eyes and clicks her tongue. “Don’t read too much into it, I just have a hot temper.”

“True, but not why you did it. Or is it?” I goad, refusing to let her backtrack even one damn step; not when we’ve come so far lately.

And I’m more than secure enough in my manhood to admit, my heart stutters out of rhythm at her immediate confession. “No,” she reaches for my cheek, cupping it while pressing her forehead to mine, “well, not entirely. Oh, my temper was flaming for sure, but not just because. It was almost all because, because it was you. No one gets to slap my man; especially not some twiggy, drunk bitch. This face is way too gorgeous for any of that nonsense.”

“Your man and gorgeous? Damn, babe, you just flipped the scales on our flirt to roast ratio.” I laugh some, but more so groan, leaning in for a taste of her neck.

Her head falls back, long brown tresses brushing my arms, and lets loose an intoxication peal of laughter. It’s a beautiful sound, a breathtaking sight, and a sheer happiness I want to bring out in her every chance I get. “Our flirt to roast ratio?” she repeats once she’s caught her breath. “What is that?”

“You know, how many times we flirt versus how many more times we’re usually zinging each other. And by we, and each other, I mostly mean you.” I wink at her, secretly loving the verbal spars almost as much as the flirting. “Hate to do this, but, I gotta get back to work, babe. You gonna hang out, or… by the way, you never got to tell me what you were doing here in the first place.”

An innocence I don’t buy for a damn second falls over her face, and if her voice was any sweeter, she’d choke on the sugar. “What, I can’t just drop by to say hi to you at work?”

“Of course you can, but you didn’t,” I laugh, my eyes thinning, searching hers for a clue. “Would take a helluva lot more than a slap and a couple of drunk fools fighting for me not to notice this little red dress you got on. Awful fancy for a quick drop in to say hi.”

“Maybe I just wanna make sure every girl in here knows you’re taken.” She grins, batting her endless eyelashes. “Or for you to remember who you have waiting at home.”

“Presley, baby,” I cinch my arms around her, skimming her jawline with my lips. “You’re the only woman I see, even when I’m not looking at ya. Jessica Alba could strut up in here, while on fire, and the guys would have to call for my help before I noticed.”

“Alright,” she drawls on a laugh and eye roll, “now I’ve heard enough; my work here is done. Walk me out?”

“Always.”

With help from Malakai, I re-enact my plan; the one stalled by the fight earlier, and the slap-happy bitch I wanted to tear apart limb by limb. Swear to God, I ever see her again and I will show her what a whack across the face feels like; I’ve never been that mad in my entire life.

It’s one thing to mess with me; I’ll make sure you wish you hadn’t. Another to mistreat my family; I’ll make you very sorry. But Sutton? Putting your hands on my Sutton. Well, I realized tonight just how fucking insane with rage that makes me — I’m out for blood.

And one day, maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but one day… I’ll catch up with her.

In the meantime, I’ve got a point to prove.

“You ready?” Malakai pokes his head around the corner of my hideout and asks. “He’s in perfect position.”

“Almost.” I send Sutton the text, then nod to Kai. “Now.”

The sultry bass of the first of two songs I’d hand-picked, “Oops,” by Tweet, bounces loud overhead, and I sashay my way out of the shadows, headed for the dancefloor. I spot Sutton, looking at his phone, and my text that reads, ‘Ready for your lesson?’ then his head pops up, eyes searching and landing on me. I shoot him a devious smile and start moving to the beat, slowly sliding my hands down my gyrating body, putting on a show — a show that clearly says I do not need dance lessons — just for him. My fingers tease at the bottom of my already short dress, an act to raise it up further, and his look of interest instantly turns dark and foreboding, his head shaking side-to-side. ‘Don’t you dare,’ he mouths, stepping closer, but I hold up a hand to halt him. I spin, giving him a shot of my ass, and lean forward, propping it up and out while rotating my hips side-to-side. On my way back up, I glance over my shoulder to see his reaction… but he’s gone.

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