Page 57 of No Rules

Iris stares at me, a smile forming on her lips, as if she had just won something, as if I’ve just reacted exactly as she expected.

“What’s wrong with you?” the guy spits as he pushes me away.

He reeks of cheap beer, and his glassy eyes don’t make him threatening at all. I absorb his shove, but as he tries to push my shoulder away again, I shift and grab him by the throat. I hate fighting with these assholes. This is my territory. I don’t have to use my fists to get respect. Playing tough guy has never been my thing. But I can feel my fingers tightening a little more.

“Get out of my way or I’ll break your knees,” I say through clenched teeth.

I release him and push him away, sending him bumping into one of his buddies who was waiting at his back. He passes by me to get away, but I hear him mutter to himself, “All that for a little pussy.”

Nobody seems to have heard his words, but I did. “Hey!” I call out to him.

He turns to me, looking annoyed. I send my fist into his right cheekbone. His head snaps back as several people scream. The student is too drunk to get up. He spits at my feet, grumbling that he is going to kill me. Dan pushes him back, blocking my view.

The music continues to echo between the four walls, yet no one dares to speak anymore.

“Is there a problem?” I ask the silent crowd.

Nobody answers, but someone lets out a little laugh. It’s Iris, who seems to be laughing at me.

What is all this shit?

“OK, the show’s over,” says TJ in a friendly voice. “We came here to drink, so let’s drink!”

People are slowly looking away, going back to drinking and finding hook-ups. As for me, I don’t move. I continue to stare at Iris, who is standing on the other side of the table.

She leans towards me.

“An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.”

With furrowed brows, I analyze her words, and then I understand. She did this on purpose to provoke me. And, damn it, I jumped right into her trap. “You bitch,” I spit in her direction.

“You jerk,” she retorts, now with a dark look on her face.

My head gets closer to hers. Our bodies are still separated by this damn table.

“Shut up,” I snap at her. I hate her behavior. It makes me want to…why the fuck is she turning me on when I’m so mad?

She lets out a throaty laugh. “I’m not a dog, I’m not going to shut up just because Tucker Bomley asks. You may be a king to them, but to me you’re just a big asshole.”

My jaw nearly drops as an unrivaled fury rises inside me. She stares at me with a disdainful look and then rolls away with her hips. Dan, who was watching the scene with his arms crossed, joins me.

“Well, it seems that this time you have found a playmate worthy of you…”

***

Iris

I walk away from the living room without a backward glance. Yet I feel his eyes burning into the back of my neck. Oh, he’s on edge. I’m pretty sure he’s going to start a fight with someone else, just to let out his anger, or maybe he’s going to grab a girl who’s flirting with him and fuck her. I block out my thoughts, my feelings, wanting only one thing, to get out of here. I didn’t think tonight, I acted on my instinct to push Tucker over the edge, like he had just done with me. He had to understand that I’m not a little thing that obeys him at his word.

And that fool finally dared to talk to me like a dog that should be begging at his feet.

As I cross the hallway toward the front door, I hear footsteps behind me. I don’t need to turn around; I already know who is behind me. I pick up the pace, and instead of going straight ahead, I turn right into the hallway. When I feel a hand grab my upper arm, I give him a nudge with my elbow.

“Easy,” Tucker growls as I hit him in the stomach.

I turn to him, refusing to let him reach me. “Don’t touch me,” I order him. Then I push him again. “Don’t touch me again. Or next time I won’t aim for your chest, I’ll aim for your balls.”

Everything comes out, my anger at his grumpy tone and the so-called jealousy I felt when I saw the chick touching him.

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