Page 93 of Slay Ride

“Cat, you never have to fear me. Do you understand?”

I shake my head.

“I will never hurt you. Never. But if you walk through this mansion naked, I will have to hurt every man who looks at your body. You are blameless, but if they see the parts of you that are meant only for me, you force my hand.”

He steps into me, and I take a step back because this feels like a threat. My ass bumps into the wall, and I have nowhere to go.

“I will hunt them,” he continues. “I will hold them down and pull their eyeballs from their heads with my bare hands. When they scream and ask why, I will tell them they have sinned and coveted what belongs to me. So no, maybe I don’townyou, but you’re still mine.”

This is insanity. These are the men our mothers warn us about. There are entire television networks dedicated to dramatic retellings of what happens when a girl like me ends up with a guy like Bennett.

And I’ve never been more turned on in my life.

Wrapping my arms around his neck, I leap up, and he catches me under my ass. I no longer care that he was just raw-dogging a turkey-cantaloupe hybrid. I want him to raw-dogme.

“I thought you wanted to wait until we were back in the contiguous US?” he says as I reach behind me to unfasten my bra.

“I do.” I toss the bra to the floor. “But what I want and what I need are two very different things right now.”

“Aren’t you angry that I was fucking the food?”

“Yes, but now I’m horny. I’ll be angry later.” I reach for the hem of his shirt, and he raises his arms.

But as I pull the shirt away, he stops. “Would you try something with me?”

“Try something? Like what?”

He smirks and kisses me once more. “Meet me in your room.”

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Cat

It’s the turkey. I know this as a fact before he ever enters my room with the massive pan cradled against his chest. What I don’t expect is for him to bring company with him.

“Maverick?” I shout as I scramble to cover my nearly naked body. Bennett’s warning rings in my head, and I don’t want the poor guy to lose his eyes. “What are you doing in here?”

He looks at Bennett. “He explained it to me, and I still don’t understand.”

Bennett places the pan on top of the dresser. The shining metal side bumps against a moose statue, sending it to the floor. Thankfully, it doesn’t break, and he places it back where it goes.

“It’s fucking simple,” he says. “I want to spend the night with Cat. That means you have to spend the night in my room.”

“Why does that mean I have to sleep in your room? Why can’t I stay in mine?” Maverick shifts his weight and tries not to look at me. Bennett must have issued the same warning to him. “Won’t people justassumeI’m in here if they hear the sounds of lovemaking?”

“Please don’t call it that,” I say.

“What’s the pan for?” Maverick asks. “That’s not part of the fucking, is it?”

“Please don’t ask any more questions,” I manage to squeak out. All of this embarrassment is doing a number on my vocal cords. “Can you just sleep in his room?”

Maverick blows out a breath and swipes his hand through his hair. “I guess so, but I’m fucking glad this thing is over after tomorrow night.”

“Tomorrow night?” Bennett and I say in unison.

“The retreat is supposed to run for two more nights,” I say, “with everyone departing for the airport on the last day.”

“Oh, that’s right. You guys weren’t here earlier when they discussed it,” Maverick says. “This snow we’re getting tonight is just the start, and we’re due for a whiteout on what was supposed to be the departure day. Jim didn’t want us to be stranded, so he thought it would be best to end things a day early. Everyone agreed, and Ezra went into town to adjust everyone’s flights. Everything has been taken care of.”

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