Page 3 of What Doesn't Kill Us

I push the violent thought down and let my gaze slowly shift over him, and I see he’s staring in my direction. I raise my eyes to his face, meeting those golden eyes briefly before moving on, not wanting to focus on him for too long for fear I’ll lose my focus. But I feel his eyes on me still, and I can’t stop the physical reaction as my skin tingles, and I feel the heat rise in my cheeks. My heart swells in my chest, almost choking me, and my breath stutters as I turn back toward him, my eyes lifting slowly until I’m staring into golden orbs that are practically burning a hole right through me.

Out of nowhere, a man rushes from behind Dare, skirting around him as he continues in my direction. I do a double-take, genuinely shocked by what I see. He’s taller and broader than Darius, with an exquisitely chiseled jaw, his dark hair perfectly styled, and all of those muscles rippling under his tailored black tux. If I were any other person in any other life, my panties would melt right off.

I’m gaping, so I snap my mouth shut and take a few small steps toward him before he’s on me, sweeping me up in his arms. A little squeak of surprise falls from my lips as he lifts me, and then one of his hands moves into my hair, and he’s pressing his lips against mine in a rather demanding public display of affection.

I do my best to relax, my arms coming up over his shoulders and my hands tangling in the soft tendrils of hair at the nape of his neck. He purrs, a little growl of appreciation vibrating against my lips as he pulls back, smiling into my eyes as he says, “There you are, pet. I’ve been waiting all day for that bit of sugar.”

His subtle British accent washes over me, and I find I’m tongue-tied for a moment, something I’m not at all used to. I have no idea who this person is. He’s no movie star I’ve ever seen before, but the amount of sex appeal and charisma oozing from his pores should be illegal. Peter finally lowers me back to my feet, then takes me by the hand and leads me down onto the red carpet.

He appears to be popular here, considering the number of photographers, reporters, and non-celebrities I see waving at him, trying to get his attention. I say nothing; instead choosing to duck my head as I do my best to keep up, infinitely grateful that my panties haven’t disintegrated.

Peter releases my hand to sign autographs for the fans lined up behind the ropes along the red carpet, and I take a moment to glance back to where I last saw Darius and his fancy little whore. They’re no longer standing there, so I nonchalantly scan the area, but they’re nowhere in sight. I squint, forcing myself not to frown in annoyance, when I suddenly feel the fine hairs on the back of my neck prickling again.

I freeze in place, sensing his presence behind me, afraid to turn around for fear of what seeing him up close and personal will do to me. He’s standing so close I feel the heat of his body through the thin fabric of my black satin dress, and I shift back slightly until I’m barely touching him with my shoulder and my ass, and he leans into me.

Did he just sniff me?

He growls low in his chest, quietly enough I’m sure I’m the only one who notices, and my breath catches at the same time my heart stutters in my chest. I inhale slowly through my nose, catching the familiar scent of him beneath the expensive cologne he’s wearing at the same time his finger grazes my ass cheek and strokes up to the skin at my lower back. I grind my teeth together, trapping the gasping moan that threatens to erupt, my focus shifting suddenly to Peter, who’s waiting patiently for me to take the hand he’s holding out to me.

I smile at him, grabbing his hand like the lifeline it is, allowing him to pull me close until we’re pressed tightly, chest to chest. His hand skims down my back, and my gaze jumps to his face to find he’s not focused on me at all, but on a spot behind me. He strokes his fingers from the small of my back down along my ass cheek, the reverse of how Darius touched me a few moments ago, and he smiles haughtily like he wants other people to know how much he enjoys putting on a show.

I hear a much louder growl behind me, and I tense, pushing at Peter’s chest, but he doesn’t release me. Instead, he moves his hand from my ass to the back of my neck and presses his mouth against my lips with such force my mouth opens automatically. And then he puts on a proper show, not giving one fuck as the crowd cheers wildly. After a few moments, he releases me, a self-satisfied grin on his face as he once again looks behind me. I turn around to peek, but Darius is gone, and I’m unsure if I’m relieved or disappointed.

Rattled, I follow Peter into the theater, and we eventually find our seats. Lilith is next to me, and beside her is a man I’ve never seen before. He’s not as good-looking as Peter; however, he appears similar in his features. Lilith stands as I move to take my seat beside her, and she catches my hands in hers and leans closer like she’s going to give me an air kiss, but instead, she whispers, “Good job.”

I lean closer to her and whisper back, “What do you mean? I feel like this was a mistake.”

She gives a small laugh. “Oh, no. It was perfect. You should’ve seen the look on his fucking face.”

I’m genuinely surprised. I suppose I was so taken aback by the entire encounter I lost track of what was happening around me. Since Tony and Matt were the ones out there, keeping a close watch on his actions and reactions, they would certainly know what his outward reaction was.

I can’t help but smile a little smugly as Peter comes over and gestures for me to sit beside him. I do, and when he reaches for my hand, I give it over willingly.

And then, for the rest of the night, I give an Oscar-worthy performance of a woman in love with her man.

Chapter Two

Toni

Wedidn’thavetowait long to find out what Dare thought about my little date with Peter.

I figured it would take him a time or two before it would’ve pushed him over the edge, but Tony and Matt were sure this one time was all it was going to take. And they were right.

What Dare wasn’t expecting when he broke into our Parisian apartment was that my new friend, Hans, would be waiting for him. Hans is a retired black ops specialist turned muscle for hire, and since he knows a thing or two about the Beast, he was all too happy to pull one over on him. The look of shock on Dare’s face when Hans grabbed him from behind was poetic, and I think it was that two-second delay that prevented him from being able to escape.

All it took was a well-positioned take-down move and a solid rear-naked chokehold, and that fucker was down for the count. And I made sure the last thing he saw before he lost consciousness was my smiling face. It was glorious.

Now, here I am in my bedroom, watching him being strapped down like an offering from the gods, and I can’t help but chuckle to myself. The fact we so easily turned the tables on Darius Hughes is fucking amusing. I didn’t expect him to be out for so long, but Tony said Hans had given him a little nip of something to keep him out longer; otherwise, there’s no way they’d be able to restrain him. It must have been a decent nip, considering it’s been twenty minutes, but that’s fine. I can wait.

I glance at my watch again and then decide I have time to head back to the kitchen to grab some water. The fucker will probably be thirsty when he wakes up, so I may as well prepare.

My journey there or back is uneventful, so it doesn’t take very long, but I’m startled when I return to the bedroom and find the bed empty.

“Motherfucker,” I sputter as I spin to leave the room. I go to raise the alarm, but I’m a few moments too late, and his hard body presses against my back, his firm hand covering my mouth.

Excitement pitter-patters in my chest, but I ignore it and bite down hard on his palm. Dare curses, his hand falling from my mouth, and I bring my foot up and quickly stomp down hard on his instep. He flinches in surprise, his arm loosening on me enough for me to break free.

I don’t have anywhere to go because he’s standing in the doorway. I rush to the far side of the room and dive for the bedside table, where I have a gun stored in the drawer. Dare slams into me from behind, one of his hands hitting the drawer shut before I can get my hand inside. He yanks me back, and we both go down hard onto the floor, where we roll around, both of us grappling for the upper hand.

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