Page 107 of Wallflower in Bloom

Don’t make a big deal of it. “He had a hard time accepting I was your girlfriend.”

Jack sat down next to her and clasped her hand in his. “That’s not all of it. Tell me.”

Violet bit her tongue, but dang it, this man knew her. Really knew her. “He offered…to pay me to sleep with him.”

“I’m going to fucking murder him.” Jack stood up as the lights dimmed.

“No.” She snagged his arm. “Just stay with me. I don’t want to be alone.” She couldn’t let his temper ruin how far he’d come.

His eyes locked with hers as the flicker of the large screen lit up the room, and he slowly sank back into his seat. He kissed her temple, drawing her close as the premiere started. “Anything for you, my love.”

Despite all the drama, she was so proud to be with him at such a public event. Everywhere she looked in the crowd, there were beautiful, public faces. The upper tiers of the enormous theater were filled in with raucous fans, and they cheered when Jack’s face popped onscreen briefly as Wayridge ran the hit shows promo before the premiere began.

The screen lit up with a twenty-foot version of Jason’s face as the premiere began. Jack grimaced uncharacteristically through the hour-and-a-half syrupy love story kicking off the fall romance season.

As the credits rolled and the cast went on stage to take their bows, Jack tugged her hand through the row and hurried out the back entrance. An angry glint still clouded his eyes.

“Are you feeling okay?” Violet asked.

“No.” His tone was sharp as steel, and his eyes were dead set ahead.

His grip on her hand was a vise.

“Where are we going?” She jogged to keep up as they walked to the elevators in the theater lobby.

“You’ll see.” The elevator opened, and they stepped inside. His grip tightened on her hand.

“Is everything okay? Something seems…” There was a security guard in the elevator. She left the rest unsaid until they could be alone.

Jack simmered as they rode to the fourth floor. As they got out, they walked past the large circular glass balcony overlooking the theater’s lobby. Violet could see down several floors through the atrium opening, where people started trickling out of the theater.

He pulled her into a deep alcove past offices lining the glass balcony. They stepped behind several large ficus trees at the end of the alcove. The crowd gathering in the lobby below was still partially visible. People in gowns and tuxedos wandered out, chatting between the premiere and the after-party.

“What are you doing?” she asked as she turned around in the alcove. It was the size of a phone booth.

Jack turned, eyes dark. “That bastard touched you. Instead of smashing his face into a cement wall, I’m doing this.”

His mouth captured hers with all the passion of unspoken promises. There was possession and claiming in his kiss. She felt her core ignite into molten lust at how his hands grasped her possessively. His fingers dug into her ass, sliding around and grabbing each side, pulling her closer to him.

Yes, yes, yes. She wanted to be taken. She needed him.

“We’re ticking off that third item,” he growled, his hands bunching up the back of her skirt as his mouth sucked on her neck.

Her pussy throbbed at his words. “Here?”

“You wanted to be fucked in public.” He turned her around so her back was flush against him.

His hand palmed her bare ass between them, and the heat of it felt like a brand. Claiming her as his.

Twenty feet of hallway led to the glass balcony in front of them. She could see the tops of heads in the lobby, buzzing from the premiere.

“Old theater saying: if you can see them, they can see you.” His other hand came to her breast and squeezed it hard against her. Desire curled around her. She wanted to spread herself for him.

“And I’m going to fuck you where they can see,” he whispered. His possessive tone had her practically dripping with need.

Her heartbeat kicked up at the thought of being so bad. “But what if we get caught?”

He tweaked her nipples through her dress as his teeth scraped the nape of her neck. “They can fire me. But I will have you, Violet. Don’t you want to be fucked where someone might catch us?”

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