Page 128 of Heart Strings & Hotlines
Fire ignites the blue flames in her irises, threatening to combust at any moment.
“You have two options, Thane. You can get your ass in that elevator with your memory of my middle name erased from your genius-sized noggin, or I will leave without you, and you can watch me from afar as I make my way around the room introducing myself to every”—she presses closer into me—“single person at this event. Did I mention that I’m very good at entertaining anyone and everyone in my proximity when I want to?”
“Charlotte.” I growl like a feral bear. In my periphery, Rafe is ushering Kara out of the room.
“Thane.” Jesus. When did she learn to growl like that? I wonder if I could get her to do that around my cock? “You will not now, nor will you ever, dictate the way I dress. If you’re uncomfortable with what I’m wearing, you can stay home, or you can go fuck yourself. And if you ever try to tell me what to wear again, you are the only one you’ll be fucking in perpetuity. Got it?”
She’s bluffing.
She must be.
Is that a risk you’re willing to take?Now my narrator takes her side. What the fuck, man?
“You have exactly ten seconds to decide. I promise you, if I walk out of here alone, I will not acknowledge you again until I’ve calmed down from your caveman and, quite honestly, misogynistic request.”
I’ve always dreamed of the silent treatment from people. When was she able to turn it into such a viable threat?
“Fine.” I almost stomp my foot but catch myself at the last moment because I’m not a goddamn child. “But I swear to God, Lottie. One wayward look from anyone and you’ll be bailing my ass out of jail. Where did you even find a fucking dress like that anyway? Is there a witch close by with a magical incantation keeping that thing from falling off? Because I have to tell you, I’m not impressed with anything witchy. Harry Potter scarred me when I was younger, and I’m not interested in coming face-to-face with anything demented or invisible.”
She stares at me with a blank expression. I spend all this time learning every facet of her face, and then she goes blank on me?
That’s just not fair.
“You had a tantrum over my dress.”
Clutching her hand in mine so she doesn’t leave without me, I dig around the sofa cushions for my phone. When I find it, I slip it into my pocket and then drag us both toward the elevator.
“I do not have tantrums.”
“But you did. Admit it. You almost stomped away like a bratty child.”
“Never.”
Her reflection in the mirrored doors of the elevator is breathtaking.
“You’d better be on your A game tonight, sweetheart. As soon as we collect that award, I’m dragging you from this event.” I cast a suspicious glance around the room, but don’t find Rafe or Kara. “And then I’m going to shred this dress from your body and fuck you so hard you’ll forget you ever bought it in the first place.”
She sucks in a breath, and I pull her closer to my side. If I could handcuff her to me so everyone knew she was mine, I would. But after that little episode in the family room, she’d probably knee me in the balls.
“This dress cost two thousand dollars. Don’t you dare ruin it.”
I lower my lips to her exposed ear. “Sweetheart, I don’t care if it cost twenty thousand dollars. By the end of this night, it will either be in shreds or covered in our cum, and trust me when I say it will be unsalvageable. I don’t care which way it goes, but this dress is done after tonight.”
She smiles sweetly as we step onto the elevator.
“That’s fine,sweetheart.” Oh hell. I’m in trouble. “But remember this, I can always up my game. You don’t like this dress? Wait until you see the next one.”
This is escalating quickly, and I finally admit, at least to myself, that I’m in over my head.
Charlotte Dorcas Sinclair will be my downfall.
CHAPTERTHIRTY
LOTTIE
Trading barbswith Thane on the way over kept me from having any space for fear, but now that we’re entering the ballroom, I’m ready to choke on it.
“What’s wrong?” His voice is low enough that only I can hear him, but my mouth is full of cotton, and I can’t get words to work.
