Page 23 of Wicked Proposal
“That’s okay,” Brad croons. “I knew you’d come home eventually. Shoulda known you’d wait until the last second to make an entrance. You always did love your drama.”
I expect Mia to lash out. To tell him to go fuck himself, threaten to shove a syringe up his ass and fill him up like a balloon.
The woman I met in Brownsville, the one who got my car towed and didn’t show an ounce of remorse afterwards—she would have done that and more.
But this one isn’t doing anything.
I turn, incredulous, and see her staring at the floor. She’s biting her lip hard enough to draw blood, and still, she isn’t saying a damn thing.
React,I want to roar.For fuck’s sake, just say something.
Just then, Brad lifts a hand. A single hand, headed straight for Mia’s cheek.
And Mia doesn’t move.
Like she can’t get her body to do it. Like she’s too scared to.
So I do it for her.
I snatch Brad’s hand out of the air. My fingers clench around his wrist,hard. Any harder, and they’d be crushing his bones like a little bird’s.
To his credit, Brad doesn’t cry out. Just emits a quiet grunt and grimaces. “Get off me.”
“No. I don’t think I will.”
“This doesn’t concern you,” Brad spits. “She’s mine. She always has been.”
The whole room is watching us with bated breath. As if they’re wondering who’ll throw the first punch. Whose blood will spill first, hm?
Their curious eyes drift to Mia, puzzled, almost asking,Why her? What’s so good about her?
I don’t give a shit. Let them look. No one’s taking her away.
She belongs tome.
The flash of possessiveness takes me by surprise, but I don’t dwell on it. My whole focus is on Brad—on keeping his filthy hand away from her.
Tonight, I paid Mia to be my date. I put her in that dress, brought her here on my arm, and taught the guy flirting with her at the bar a lesson in manners.
I taught everyone what happens when you touch what’s mine.
And Mia Winters is mine. Until the sun rises, she ismine.
Certainly not Brad fucking Baldwin’s.
Brad’s expression turns vicious, cruel. It falters between a grin and a snarl, like a feral dog with a bone. “I’ll say it one more time: that girl isn’t yours. So get the fuck off me.”
His voice is dripping with entitlement. I catch Mia flinching at his words, her body shaking harder against mine.
Don’t let go,her blue eyes beg me.Please, whatever you do, just don’t let him touch me.
I decide then and there that I won’t.
Not ever.
“You’re mistaken, Mr. Baldwin.” My grip tightens, just enough to draw another wince out of Brad. I’m not looking to break bones yet, but that can change. “Mia Winters is with me now.”
“Mia Winters?” Brad barks out a laugh. “So that’s what you went with? Your great-grandmother’s maiden fucking name? I should have known you’d do something like that. You’ve always been sentimental.”
