Page 43 of His to Keep
Fuck. I’d been so pissed by what she described I hadn’t even thought about how it would sound to her when I went off. “No,” I say quickly, reaching for her hand. “I was just reacting to his threat. Of course I don’t think you would do that.”
She closes her eyes. “I feel like a terrible person for even considering it.”
I have to fight very hard to keep from lashing out again. “Why would you consider it, baby?”
She turns her wide, worried blue eyes to me. “It’s not just my father,” she says softly. “Aden could really screw things up for me. He said he’ll out me to the dean of my department. If he follows through, they won’t let me come back. Who’s going to hire a teacher who has kinky sex pictures floating around?”
“I won’t let—”
“And that doesn’t even take into account what he said about you,” she goes on, wringing her hands, hardly seeming to be aware of my presence. “He could ruin your reputation, Luke. What would that do to your business?”
I take her hands, wanting her to stop rambling. “Rebecca. Slow down.”
She blinks those worried eyes at me. “He said he would go to the papers, Luke. Said he would start rumors about you and the club and whatever you did in Asia and—”
My lip tugs up. “And what exactly am I supposed to have done in Asia?”
She stares at me. “Are you laughing?”
“No.” But it’s impossible to stop the turn of my lips. “Okay, maybe a little.”
“Luke!” she looks outraged. “This isn’t funny! He could ruin us.”
I force my features into a stern expression. “Rebecca. You don’t honestly believe someone like him could ruin someone like me, do you?” When she doesn’t answer, I tsk softly. “How little faith you have in me.”
She shakes her head quickly. “That’s not true! I told him he couldn’t mess with you. That you were stronger, more powerful, richer—”
I cut her off with a squeeze to her hands. “Better in the bedroom?”
“Luke! This isn’t funny!”
But I can’t let myself agree with her. The fact that she said those things to Roth, that she stood up for me like that, it kills me in all the best ways. My heart has never felt so full, my chest tight with emotion. I lean forward to press a kiss to her mouth. It would be impossible not to touch her right now.
“You’re right,” I murmur against her lips. “Aden Roth can’t mess with me. I will destroy that pathetic excuse for a man if he even dares to try.”
She pushes back on my chest. “I’m sure you would. But that doesn’t really help me when it comes to school or my father.”
A bit of the anger returns, boiling my insides. “Are you fucking kidding me right now?”
She blinks at me. “What do you mean?”
“You think I’m going to let him harm you? Jesus, Rebecca.” I stand suddenly, afraid that if I stay too close to her I might lose my temper. I would never hurt Rebecca. Not out of anger, at least. I have every intention of spanking her ass for this later, but that can’t happen unless I’m in complete control.
“You still don’t get it, do you?” I ask, pacing in front of her. “When I said he couldn’t mess with me, I meantus.” I stare down at her. “You are included in that statement, Rebecca. By hurting you, he hurts me. You think there’s anything I wouldn’t do to keep you safe? I would fucking tear down this entire city to make things right for you.”
She stares at me, looking shocked. “You barely know me.”
“Bullshit,” I snarl. “I know everything I need to know.”
“Luke—”
I lean over her, clutching the arms of her chair, my face close to her. “You. Are. Mine. I told you that already. And I didn’t just mean for the weekend. I didn’t just mean for a while. This is real.”
Her eyes fill with tears. “But it’s so fast.”
“Baby.” I shake my head, then bring my hands up to cup her cheeks. “It doesn’t matter. This connection we have, I felt it from the first minute I laid eyes on you. When Andres called Phillip’s ticket in The Draw, I offered him five grand to switch his with mine. I didn’t even hesitate.”
“You offered him money for my ticket?”
