Page 22 of Into the Woods

“What problem? We got no problems, man. I don’t got a problem with you,” he said, his words rasping across the palm of my hand.

I looked down at him and squeezed cutting off the rest of his bullshit. “The girl in the alley. That’s where our problem lies, my friend, with the L’Ourson girl. She is absolutely off limits, understand?”

“The little bitch? She owes me?—”

I squeezed again. “She owes you nothing. You have a problem with what went down back there, you take it up with her father. If I hear of you messing with her again, this problem between us is going to come to a head, and I promise, that’s not something you want to be a part of,comprenez-vous?”

“I just want my money back. I deserve?—”

Yep, I cut him off again, but that time with my fists until he slumped to the pavement. “This is what you deserve, nothing else. And if I find out that you or anyone touches that girl, I will hunt you down and kill you. You put the word out that she’s not to be touched. You make sure the rest of the shit like you knows the score.”

I pulled my pocket square free and wiped the blood from my knuckles.

Chapter 10

Darkness

Christophe

Motherfucker.Winnie’s going to be the death of me. The goddamn death of me.

My footsteps echo down the long corridor as I storm out of her suite. I can handle a lot of things but having her under my roof might not be one of them.

At the end of the hall, I turn left, back into the relative safety of my office. Not that this is where I want to be. Fuck no. I would much rather be back in her bathroom, watching her pluck at her nipples and strum at her clit, playing her body like an instrument to get off.

Who am I kidding?

I want to be the one playing with her. Winding her up. Bending her over and sinking into her. Feeling her tight cunt strangle my dick.

I fill a fresh glass with whiskey and empty it twice, the memory of her scent lingering at the edge of my memory.Fuck.This is not how things were supposed to go. This was not my goddamn plan.

How, in the course of a moment, did I develop this gripping desire? This need for her? But, if I’m honest, it’s been a hell of a lot longer than a moment. It’s been there for a lifetime.

An eternity of watching over her, protecting her, making sure she had what she needed—at least that’s what I thought I’d been doing. As it turns out, her parents were fucking that up too.

“Boss?”

I startle at Teague’s tone.

“Sorry to… Did you jump?” he asks, brows high.

I glare at him and shake my head. “What?”

Teague laughs, low and full of disbelief. “I called your name four times. What’s got you so tied up in knots?”

“What do you need?” Ignoring his question is the easier option by far.

“I mean, seriously. You look like you lost a game. Or like someone’s playing keep away with your favorite toy.” He’s hit way too close to the truth with that observation.

I clench my jaw, the muscles jumping at the motion. “Do you have something to tell me, or are you just here to fucking comment on my countenance?”

The bastard smirks at me, like he knows something he’s not supposed to. Like he can read me and knows where my mind is—who has a stranglehold on it.

With a sardonic laugh, he states, “I wanted to let you know the other girl is here.”

“In a suite? Did she give you any trouble?”

He tilts his head and shrugs. “I had to call Hibou in to give her something to calm her down.” Teague rubs a hand down his face, pulling at his short ginger beard. “She was a mess. Catatonic and then…I’ve never seen someone shake the way she did. It was?—”

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