Page 24 of Reckless King

Her arms drop to her sides. “We’d bicker the whole time I was there.”

I take a step toward her. “And I liked it. It was refreshing.”

“You mean it was a nice change from all the women throwing themselves at you?” She doesn’t physically roll her eyes, but I hear it in her voice.

My lips quirk. “Something like that. Anyway, the takeaway is that Mark invited me along, and I was curious enough to say yes. And then…” I step forward again. This time when I do, I’m close enough to touch her shoulder.

When my fingertips brush her bare skin, she inhales sharply.

Doing my best to ignore the way her pulse flutters at the base of her throat, I turn her just enough to reveal the tattoo on her back. “I saw this.” Barely making contact, I trace the outline of the blue and black wings, the same way I did that first night.

Goose bumps erupt all over her skin in response to my touch. I inhale deeply, flattening my hand so it covers the entire tattoo. Then I close my eyes and imagine sliding it down the length of her spine until I can fill my palm with the curve of her ass.

After one long heartbeat, I force myself to step back.

Violet turns to face me. Her cheeks are flushed again, her nipples pressing against the thin material of her dress. She might not like me much, but there’s no disguising that her body likes my touch.

It’s obvious she knows it too, when she quickly crosses her arms again and clears her throat. “And tonight? Why did you come back?”

This is the tricky part. “I wasn’t going to. After I saw you at the coffee shop, I planned to leave well enough alone. But…” Idecide on a half-truth. “I didn’t like the idea of you waiting for someone who never showed up. I didn’t want you to think that I didn’t come because I didn’t want to see you. So I came here to tell you the truth, and then I was going to leave.”

For a second, her expression softens, but then her brow furrows. “But why did you chase off that other guy? Why tell him I was yours?”

Even now, I have to resist the urge to curl my fingers into fists at the memory of that douchebag touching her. It’s a completely irrational response, considering who she is and who I am, but I can’t help it. “I didn’t want you doing something with him you’d regret, just because your feelings might have been hurt.”

Her eyes widen for a moment before her delicate jaw clenches.

Clearly, that was the wrong thing to say.

“Let me get this straight. You only came tonight because you thought you needed to save me from myself? Because you assumed I’d be so devastated by your absence that I’d throw myself at the next man to come along, then end up regretting it because he wasn’t you?”

I really shouldn’t be turned on right now. But fuck, when she looks at me with those sparks flashing in her eyes, all I can imagine is pinning her to the bed and playing with her body until that fiery antagonism turns into a completely different but equally incendiary emotion.

I don’t think she’ll appreciate me mentioning that though. Not when she’s still on a roll.

“I’m more than capable of making my own decisions, Tate. Just because you made me come once doesn’t mean I would have fallen apart if I hadn’t seen you again. Not to mention, you gave me ayear’smembership. Did you think I wouldn’t use it to enjoy other men once you were inevitably done with me?”

Whether she means it or is reacting out of anger, the thought makes my blood pressure spike. Teeth gritted, I pin her with my gaze. “That was before I knew who you were.”

She lets out a cute little growl. “So once you discovered who I was, you regretted what happened between us, and now you feel guilty. But if you still thought I was a stranger, then you probably would have come here tonight and screwed me, then walked away, like you do with every woman. Would you even have cared what I did, or who I did it with, after that?”

The answer should be no. I’ve never cared who—or what—my sexual partners do before or after me. I expect the same courtesy from them. What Violet doesn’t know is that her very presence here now is unusual. I don’t invite women back because I haven’t had enough of them. I don’t pay for memberships so I can see them again. Since finding out who she is, I’ve been racking my brain and picking apart every detail of our interaction. Did some deep, subconscious part of me recognize her that first night? Was that why I couldn’t keep my eyes off her from the minute she walked into Onyx? Why I needed to be the one who took care of her?

I can’t tell her what I would have done after, because I don’t fucking know.

She takes my silence as agreement. “Oh my god. You are so egotistical. You came here to rescue me because you thought I’d be so heartbroken if you didn’t show that I’d lose all ability to reason and allow myself to get taken advantage of.” She steps forward and pokes me in the chest. “I’ll have you know, Tate King, I’m a grown woman, and I can, and will, sleep with whoever I want, wherever I want,wheneverI want. Your friendship with my brother doesn’t come with the obligation of protecting me, and it doesn’t give you any say in the matter.” She shakes her head. “I think we’re done here.”

Before I can formulate a response, she pulls her mask over her face, whips around and stomps from the room—quite a feat in the heels she’s wearing. I don my mask as well before following her out. I don’t care what she says. I won’t let her wander around back here by herself. Not that she’s in any danger. Reid designed this place with safety in mind, but I don’t want her being propositioned in the corridor by a random man.

And I don’t want her to do something stupid just to prove a point.

I walk far enough behind her to let her feel like she’s making a dramatic exit, but close enough to intervene if necessary. She walks briskly down the corridor, briefly glancing into each room as she passes. At one in particular, her steps slow. She doesn’t stop completely, but she definitely shows more interest there than she has the others. Then she shoots a look over her shoulder, sees me and hauls ass again.

I don’t bother hiding my grin. And when I draw even with the window she was so interested in, I can’t help but take a moment to check out what caught her attention.

A woman, skin sheened with sweat, is flat on her back on a bench, arms and legs tied, leaving her helpless to move. A man kneels between her spread thighs while she tosses her head, her eyes scrunched closed.

Does Violet like the idea of being held down? Made helpless and forced to endure more pleasure than she thinks she can take?

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