Page 37 of Playing By His Rules

He started moving toward her again, this time with malicious intent in his gaze, and Madison knew she had to get to her cellphone, which was in the bedroom. It was the only hope she had left to call for help, and she spun around and ran in that direction, trying to slam the door shut to lock herself inside, but once again, he shoved his way past, then stalked her toward the bed.

The back of her knees hit the edge and she fell onto the mattress. Fear escalating, she crawled backwards toward the headboard to get away, but he easily grabbed her ankle and yanked her back down to the middle of the bed, causing the hem of her dress to bunch around her waist, leaving her panties on full display.

The depraved look in his eyes made bile rise in her throat, and when he reached up to yank down her underwear, she kicked out at him, connecting with his stomach and ribs. But instead of stopping him, her attempts at self-defense only pissed him off more. Rage filled his expression and he lunged back toward her, straddling her thighs and slapping her face so hard she literally saw stars and was momentarily dazed by the solid blow.

Before she could regain her bearings, he pinched her cheeks between his fingers and forced her to look at him. He leaned in close, his upper lip lifting into a sneer. “Looks like you want it rough, which is exactly how I prefer to fuck. Feel free to fight me because I get off on the control and power of subduing you.”

“You’re a sick fuck,” she spat at him, refusing to give up without doing everything possible to stop his attack.

With his free hand, he reached down to the v-neck of her dress and jerked on the material, tearing open the bodice, then yanking down the cup of her bra. He lowered his head and bit her breast so hard she screamed from the pain radiating through her. She grabbed a handful of his hair and pulled, and he merely laughed and knelt between her thighs, his strong hands intent on ripping her panties right off her body.

She fought him with every ounce of energy and all the adrenaline rushing through her veins. She kicked at him, scratched at his arms and face when he tried to pin her down, and bit his hand when he pressed it over her mouth to smother her screams.

They grappled fiercely, and even though William was clearly much bigger and stronger than she was, she managed to swing her fists and connect with his face and arms and chest . . . until his hand came up and wrapped around her throat, pressing down on her windpipe and causing her to panic at the loss of air. The fight went out of her as both of her own hands went to his wrist to pull his fingers away, all to no avail. The pressure he exerted was too steady and firm, and she had no choice but to be still or lose consciousness. She could barely breathe as it was, nor could she stop the tears that leaked from the corners of her eyes.

“Jesus, you’re a fucking wildcat.” He was breathing hard from his position above her, his eyes glittering with something dark and twisted, but it was the vile, malicious look on his scratched face that made her whimper, because with his fingers nearly cutting off her airway, she knew she was totally at his mercy.

With the back of his hand, he wiped away a trail of blood from the lip she’d managed to split open with one of her blows, then started unbuttoning his pants with his free hand. “But now, you’re right where I want you, and if you want to keep on breathing, you’re going to let me pull your underwear off and then you’re going to spread your legs like the good whore you are and beg me for my cock.”

She couldn’t speak, but a roar of sound filled her ears, and in the next instant William was forcibly yanked backward, and off her, by the collar of his shirt. He automatically let go of her throat to defend himself, but Rick didn’t give him the chance and tossed him to the floor.

Madison gasped for breath, drawing precious air into her lungs while desperately trying to regain her bearings, and her strength. From somewhere at the foot of the bed she heard the sounds of punches and grunts and groans, along with a plethora of livid curse words from Rick. Not knowing what was going on, and fearing for Rick’s safety, she moved off the mattress and found him on top of William. He was straddling the other man’s waist with his knees, pinning William’s arms to his sides, while mindlessly beating the shit out of the other man. William didn’t stand a chance against Rick’s upper hand, nor could he defend himself from the steady stream of blows that Rick delivered.

Rick’s fist connected with William’s jaw once again with a sickening crack of sound, snapping the other man’s head to the side. “Fucking prick,” Rick growled, the words low and lethal as he twisted his other hand in William’s shirt to jerk him upward. “I warned you not to come near Madison, let alone fucking touch her.”

Realizing that Rick was in a tunnel vision of rage and was on the verge of doing some serious damage to William’s face, if he hadn’t already, Madison tried to stop him before things went too far.

“Rick, please don’t do this,” she begged, shocked at the amount of blood he’d already drawn from William’s nose, mouth, and a cut on his brow. “He’s not worth the trouble.”

Despite his defenseless position beneath Rick, William’s insolence remained. “Yeah, listen to the whore,” he sneered, his words a bit garbled by what was possibly a dislocated jaw.

Rick’s jaw clenched and he raised his fist again, but Madison was close enough to grab his wrist with both of her hands before he could strike William again. Somehow, she managed to hold back the next enraged punch with everything she had.

“Please, no more,” she pleaded, her voice choked with tears. “He’s not worth going to jail for.” She’d never forgive herself if that happened.

After a few more tense seconds, Rick finally released William’s shirt and stood up, his entire body still vibrating with rage. William rolled to his side with a small groan, then gradually got to his hands and knees before attempting to stand. He swayed a bit on his feet, his face a mess of smeared blood, along with the start of swelling and bruising.

But through it all, William managed an insolent smile as he touched his fingers to the blood trickling from his nose and glared at Rick. “I’ll be pressing charges for assault, and you can kiss that multi-million-dollar contract with Reign goodbye after my father finds out you’re the one responsible for attacking me.”

Rick’s eyes flared with barely suppressed fury. “You were trying to fucking rape her before I pulled you off her!”

William had the audacity to appear affronted by the claim. “No, I wasn’t. It was just a little rough, consensual sex between a Penthouse client and a woman who spreads her legs for a living.” He shrugged callously, though the movement caused him to wince in pain. “Besides, it’s her word against mine, and I think the Coleman name has far more leverage and power around here than she does.”

A deep, dark, animal like snarl erupted from Rick’s throat, and before he could pounce on William again, Madison grabbed his arm to hold him back. “Don’t do it,” she said, trying to keep Rick from lunging and doing any more damage. “Just let him go.”

Rick’s hands flexed into fists at his sides, his gaze narrowed with savage intent on the other man. “Get the fuck out of here while you can still use your legs.”

Still maintaining an arrogant demeanor, despite his busted-up face and the beatdown he’d just endured, William made the right choice and walked away, though Madison was certain that this wasn’t going to be the last they heard from him. That his threats hadn’t been idle ones and what had just happened between the two men might possibly cost Rick a multi-million contract with the hotel and casino . . . all because of her.

Rick followedbehind William to the living room area to make sure he walked out the door, and once he was gone, he released a harsh stream of breath before hearing a strangled noise behind him. Turning around, he found Madison standing a few feet away, her dress torn down the front. Her arms were wrapped around her mid-section and her body trembled uncontrollably—as if shock had finally settled in now that the rush of adrenaline was gone.

“Fuck,” he muttered, hating seeing her like this. Not knowing everything she’d endured before he’d arrived, he didn’t hesitate to pull her into his arms and hold her against his chest while tremors wracked her body. “Are you okay?”

She nodded shakily. “I’ll be fine now that he’s gone.” Her hands went around his waist as she burrowed closer, her face pressed against the front of his shirt. “I’m so sorry that happened.”

“Jesus.” He slid a hand into her hair and cupped the back of her head in his palm, wanting to absorb all her pain and fear. “You have nothing to be sorry for. You did nothing wrong. I’m just glad I walked in when I did.” He shuddered to think of what William might had done had Rick returned to the suite even fifteen minutes later.

She lifted her head from his chest and met his gaze, hers filled with unmistakable worry. “What happens now?”

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