Page 17 of Sinful Pleasure

And why the hell do I find myself staring at him long enough to notice all this?

I quickly force my gaze away and turn back to Tamara and the girls.

Tamara pinches me from the side, her attention fixed on the table next toours.

“Do you see those guys?”

I nod. It’s hard not to when they’re at the VIP table right next to ours—a total of four guys, all seeming to be around our age.

“They’ve been staring at us since we got here.”

I’m a little tipsy by now, but it’s hard to miss the way the whole group is smiling at us with their drinks raised.

“What do you say?” she screams in my ear. “Should we invite them to our table?”

That’s probably not the best idea, but right now, I don’t find enough reasons to care. I nod in agreement, and that’s enough for Tamara.She waves her hand, and it’s like the guys have been waiting all night for that signal.

In no time, they’re at our table. All four of them.

We exchange names over the loud music, not that it matters.

I’ll forget them in a few minutes. I’m terrible with names, and now that I’m tipsy? Mission impossible.

The girls and Tamara hug each of them, welcoming them to our table. I’m about to do the same, staring at the tall blonde guy to my right, whenI’m suddenly shoved back.

Maddox steps in front of me, blocking my view with his muscular frame like a damn wall.

The guy steps back, raising his hands in the air and saying something about not looking for trouble, but the music drowns him out.

I shove Maddox aside.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

My face feels hot, and I’m not sure who’s responsible for that—the alcohol in my system or the man in front of me. My skin burns like there’s liquid fire running across it when all it is, is Maddox’s dead eyes boring into me.

He looks down at me, tilting his head slowly to the side, so slow it almost feels like he’s a serial killer about to strike. It’s terrifying, but at the sametime, my skin tingles from something completely different.

“Look, big guy, I don’t know what you think you’re doing, but you won’t ruin our night.” Tamara steps up, just as drunk as I am.

She tilts her head back, trying to look intimidating, but from the side, it’s about as ridiculous as it gets. Maddox is freaking huge—like a literal giant—and Tamara is shorter than me. You can imagine the scene.

She jabbed her finger into his chest.

“Just do whatever the hell your job is without ruining everything,” she scolded. “As you can see, Allyn is perfectly fine.”

He ignored her, turning to me.

“I suggest you tell your drunk friend to stay the hell out of this before I drop my gentleman’s card and handle it myself.”

“Maybe acting like a normal human being would do the trick.”

“Maybe if you acted less like a brat, my job would be easier,” he shot back. “But we don’t always get what we want, do we now, princess?”

Princess.

The way that word rolled off his tongue made it sound filthy, like an insult—yet it still managed to send shivers down my spine with something primal. Savage.

I pursed my lips, reminding myself that slapping him would be the worst- case scenario.

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