Page 41 of The Biting Bargain

He glares at me with obsidian eyes, grabbing my arm instead.

"We're leaving."

"Fine," I hiss, shaking with rage as he leads me out the main entrance. As if summoned by a magician, his limo pulls up and Vincent unceremoniously shoves me inside. As soon as the door slams shut behind us, I snap.

"What the ever fucking hell is fucking wrong with you, you fucking bastard!?"

He visibly flinches, and so do I, because it's been forever since I’ve yelled at anyone. Let alone at this volume. With my own ears ringing. He looks at me perplexed, as if I've just smacked him one right across his stupid handsome face.

"Are you out of your fucking mind?" I yell on. "That was no part of our deal! I'm no poker chip for you to bargain with!"

The limo purrs into motion and Vincent seems to shake off his initial surprise, scowling back at me.

"You almost ruined the entire plan with your little performance in there," he says coldly.

"Plan? What the heck kind of deluded idiot plan is that, betting me to another vampire?" I yell. "I thought if you and I got separated, you'd turn into a fucking werewolf!"

He's on me before I can draw another breath, his hand covering my mouth as he presses me into the seat.

"A little louder for the people in the back," he hisses, staring me down, not loosening his grip. His eyes dart toward the cab. The window to the driver’s cab is rolled up and sealed shut, and I'm pretty sure with Vincent's reputation this area of the limo is soundproof. But aww, the poor little vampire is afraid his secret is spilled to his servants. I squirm in his grip, pushing his hand away.

"I'm not a cow you can just sell," I hiss.

"A cow would’ve behaved," he retorts.

My choke with rage. Who the hell does he think he is? Just because I'm his employee and he is some immortal vampire lord, he can do whatever he wants? Not to mention that he has drunk from me twice and hasn't paid a single cent yet!

"Fuck you!" I shove him away from me, and I probably only manage because he’s completely off guard. His eyebrows twitch upward.

"Pardon me?"

Wild, angry triumph washes through me. No, he doesn't get to experience his foot people talking to him like that. But it’s about time. One night in his world was enough to show me that none of this is worth this degree of humiliation. I might as well have gone to Balzar and his mobster friends and ground against the dancing pole.

"You heard me right! Fuck you, and fuck your fancy suit and your fancy car and all your fucking money! If things are going to go down like this, I'm gone like Emron. Goodbye!"

I grab the handle and pop the door open, already swinging a leg out of the car, forgetting in my righteous anger that this entire operation, e.g. the car, is literally in motion. A gush of cold air hits me and a wall of asphalt rushing by at a dizzying speed has me squeal. For a nauseating second I hang between the car and the world racing by and wonder how stupid one single person can actually be — then I'm seized by the shoulders and yanked back.

"Are you insane, woman?"

Vincent glares down on me, pinning me into the seat by my shoulders, the door slamming shut again. His hair is wild, ruffled by the sudden burst of wind, his eyes glinting with that feral amber shimmer again. I breathe in heaps of air, staring back at him, fury searing through my veins.

"Sir, are you all right?" a voice is croaking from the overhead speaker. The chauffeur, probably wondering why he has an alarm going off about an open door while driving.

"All is well, Christopher," Vincent roars, slamming a fist against the speaker, which immediately falls silent again.

I use the second he’s distracted to squirm out of his grip, pressing my back into the seat in an attempt to crawl away from him. I'm so angry I could rip shreds from the upholstery.

"You run away, you get your leash off, you jump out of a moving car," Vincent says, low, leaning over me and propping his massive arms left and right of me. "What's next? Are you so desperate to make a fool out of me, little dove?"

"You're already doing a stellar job at that yourself," I say, holding his gaze. "Letting yourself get provoked by Stellan Whatshisface is an indictment of yourself."

He narrows his eyes, towering over me. He is so close now, shielding me like a human wall. Damn, those eyelashes are thick…

"You apparently have no idea how a companion is supposed to behave."

"Hah! I'm a great companion! You're lucky I'm even going along with your little let’s-impress-a-bunch-of-conceited-vampires charade! If it wasn’t for me, you wouldn't even have been able to enter the club without leaving a trail of dog hair everywhere!"

His brows draw together.

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