Page 21 of Regret

Scarlet narrowed her eyes, then smiled as she started to undo her corset top.

Hunter balked. “What are you doing?”

She unwrapped the top from around her body and shoved it against his chest. “Giving you my token of gratitude.”

Hunter, stunned into silence, stared at her standing in front of him in her black strapless bra. For a moment she could see that he actually had difficulty thinking as he gawked at her breasts. And then his eyes fell to the fresh black bruise on her side, the remnants of the asshole who used her midsection as a damn kicking target.

With a slight shake of his head he forced his gaze up to her face. “You couldn’t just have given me a white handkerchief like all the other damn fairy tale princesses, could you?”

“I’m special.” She shot him a half grin.

“Oh yes. So I’ve noticed.”

The way he said that was giving Scarlet the impression he was thinking more in the line of she’s atrip-to-the-mental-hospitalkind of special.

Scarlet turned back around and headed up the stairs again. “Be sure not to drop my top, Ace. It’s my favorite.”

“Oh, you mean like this?”

She turned to the side and watched as Hunter held her top over the ledge.

“You wouldn’t. You wouldn’t dare.” She glared at him, and Hunter winked just before he dropped her top all the way down seven flights of stairs.

“Oh, you fucking asshole.”

Hunter suddenly had a huge-ass smug grin on his face. “Go fetch, princess.”

Good God this man was the biggest, most arrogant son of a bitch she had ever met. Dropping her top down the stairs and then ordering her togo fetchlike a fucking dog.I don’t think so.

He would soon learn that she was not just the princess, but the fucking queen when it came to playing the game oflet’s see who can drive who insane first.

She squared her shoulders and put on her game face, trying hard not to think of her favorite top laying on the ground just to be picked up by some random guy or woman who would never appreciate it as much as she did. “Fairy tale princesses don’t play go fetch.”

Hunter lifted a brow. “But I thought we’ve already established that you are not a fairy tale princess.”

“You made a weak case.”

He took another step up and was suddenly very, very close to her. There was no way she could stop from staring down into his eyes while he stared up into hers, seconds passing with not a word said between them. They were so close, she could feel the warmth of his breath on her lips, the subtle scent of mint tempting her senses.

With him standing so close, she noticed his hard, chiseled features. There was a subtle tick in his strong jaw, his nose slightly askew like it had been broken before—which she only noticed since they were practically standing on top of each other. And those damn full lips, they were disgustingly inviting. For the first time since meeting his annoying ass, Scarlet felt the crackle of anticipation starting deep within the pit of her stomach. It was faint, but it was there, and it certainly wasn’t welcome

Hunter moved up another step, his ocean green gaze pinning her on the spot. “If you were a fairy tale character, you would definitely not be a princess.”

Surrounded by his wild spice, sandalwood, and minty scent, she involuntarily leaned down. “Then who would I be, Ace?”

“Oh, that’s easy.” His gaze moved from her eyes to her lips, down to her breasts covered by nothing more than the thin fabric of her strapless bra, before he looked her in the eye again.

“You’d be Little Red Riding Hood, trying to get away from the big bad wolf.”

Shattered.

That was what happened to the atmosphere around them the minute those words left his mouth. Shattered, incinerated, and burned to fucking cinder.

“You’re an asshole.” She spun around and didn’t even try to make a show of her ass while she literally rushed up the damn stairs.

There were a lot of fairy tale characters she wouldn’t mind being referred to as. Maleficent, the Evil Queen, even the Wicked Witch of the West. Well,The Wizard of Ozwasn’t actually a fairy tale, but that was beside the point. She would rather be called every villain in every fairy tale ever written rather than hear someone refer to her as Little Red Riding Hood—or Little Red.

They didn’t speak until Hunter finally came to a stop in front of what Scarlet assumed was his apartment door.

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