Page 22 of The All-Inclusive

Jarhead growls low in his throat. “If I’m not mistaken, you had plenty of time for talking before you left her.”

I narrow my eyes, wishing like hell he’d put on his goddamn shirt. The shirt Sara’s wearing, which means she’d be naked and that would be…bad?

Fuck, I can’t think straight.

“This doesn’t concern you,” I snap at Jarhead.

“Oh, I think it does.” Dropping his arms, he bunches his oversized hands into fists.

Sara gives us a look as she wraps up her phone call with Holyfield. “Okay,” she says. “I promise. He’s a dickhead and I’m so mad at him, but Trent would never hurt me.” As her gaze drops to me, there’s a flicker of pain in her eyes. “Not physically, anyway.”

That doesn’t appease the four angry guys who surround me. Jarhead holds out his hand for the phone. “May I also speak with Mr. Holyfield?”

Sara hesitates.

“Please,” he adds, and she hands him the phone.

“Holyfield.” He’s staring at me as he speaks. “With all due respect, this asshole came barging in on a guest in a compromised position. I don’t really care who he is. No woman should be violated like that unless she’s specifically requested it as part of an enchantment.”

Violated?

Fuckingviolated?

Okay, yeah…maybe I see his point.

Glancing at Sara, I will her to look at me. She’s watchingJarhead and a violent ache wracks my body. Her cheeks are still flushed and her hair looks like someone’s been running his hands through it. Did Jarhead touch her like that? Did she like feeling his fingers sifting through those silky-soft strands? Did she love his big palms coasting down her body, touching her breasts, her hips, her?—

I witnessed the answer already.

She fucking loved it.

Like she’s hearing my thoughts, she looks down at me. She stares like we’re strangers, like she’s not sure what to do with me.

“Sara,” I croak, needing to say something. “Fuck, I’m so sorry.”

“Save it,” she snaps. “You’ve got a lot to apologize for. It’ll take a helluva lot more thansorry.”

As Jarhead wraps up his call, he hands the phone back to the guard. His eyes drop to mine and I watch his jaw clench. “I’m not leaving you alone with her.”

I’m hardly in a position to argue, but that doesn’t stop me. “You’re calling the shots now?”

Jarhead crosses his arms again. “I’m certainly in a better position to do so.”

I open my mouth to snarl that his most recent position was on his knees in front of my girlfriend, but that’s not a point in my favor. Or is it? I’m enraged and a little bit dazed. Maybe it’s jetlag, or maybe the mindfuck of watching the woman I love ride another man’s face.

“Fuck you,” I mutter, like an absolute asshole. “I hardly think meeting her two hours ago qualifies you to know what’s best for Sara.”

Jarhead claps back without missing a beat. “And stringing her on since she was fourteen makesyouan expert?”

“I love her.” I sound fucking pathetic, but it’s true. “I love Sara a thousand times more than I love anyone else on this planet, including myself.”Especiallymyself. “Love’s messy sometimes, and I’ve messed it up plenty.” I focus on Sara, done withaddressing a stranger who has no stake in this. “Please, Sar. Give me a chance to explain. To talk things over in private.”

Tears fill her eyes and she nods. “Okay.”

Jarhead frowns, touching her shoulder with one of those oversized hands. “I know you think you want to talk with him alone, but a man who’d treat you like that shouldn’t be trusted.”

I wait for Sara to argue. To insist that I’m safe, that she loves me and everything’s fine.

But she waits for the guard to hang up the phone before speaking. “I want everyone out of my room right now.” She looks from one guard to the other. Then her eyes drop to me. “Even you.”

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