Warm hands drag down my chest, down my bare ribs, and across my hip to finally stop at the high slit in my tight dress. He pushes at the smooth material, searing heat into my flesh as my thighs lock together instinctively.
If he paws all over me too much he’ll find an embarrassing wade of cash pressing against my cleavage and there’s nothing less attractive than stolen dollars slipping from your boobs.
I pull back from him, my eyes anxiously shining up into his.
“I like you.” The words are a forced confession but they don’t make his hand fall from its place high on my upper thigh. The scruff of his strong jaw meets my lips as I kiss his cheek delicately. “Pick me up again tomorrow night. I’ll have a surprise for you.” Another kiss skims his jaw with the tease of my promise.
It’s a lie.
I’ll be long gone tomorrow. Probably just as he realizes how much money he’s missing out of the cash drawer.
“But tonight isn’t over.” That charming smile slashes across his face before twisting into something dangerous as he smashes his lips to mine.
A pounding sound thrashes through my chest. My fingers splay against his shoulders but his enormous body doesn’t budge an inch beneath my shoving palms.
“Stop,” I grind out between forcefully clenched teeth.
The pressure of his lips against mine intensifies, bruising my lips as his warm hand slips beneath the high slit in my dress.
A mixture of anxiety and anger floods me.
Sharp teeth sink into his lip. There’s nothing sexy about it. I bite hard enough for his warm blood to fill my mouth and he jerks back from me. Rage as hot as fire burns in his eyes. His glare pierces into me as his palm snaps across my cheek.
Stinging pain shoots through my jaw, making me flinch but I don’t cry out. His hands grip my wrists. The hard wall meets my spine as he slams me back into place beneath his powerful body.
Then his body is spiraling away from mine. Boots thunder across the shaking porch. Ryder’s shoulders are strung tight with power. He gives Mackel a violent shove. The man’s feet stumble down the steps and he lands hard in the dirt.
Ryder’s fists shake as if something within them demands to be released.
Mackel’s jaw shudders before he snaps it shut. Blood stains his lower lip. His golden eyes dart from me to the man between us. My back is still against the wall, my palms pressed there as well, to keep them from shaking. I’ve felt worse fear before. Right now, anger trembles through me in waves.
Mackel isn’t nearly as nice as I thought he was.
Ryder folds his arms across his chest, making him appear even bigger than normal.
As he stands, Mackel spits. A crimson color tinges his saliva. With a careless swipe of his thumb, he wipes the blood from his chin.
“If you were already busy tonight,” his attention falls to Ryder, “all you had to do was say so, Kara.”
Slowly he shakes his head back and forth. It’s like I can see his mind working. He considers Ryder one more time, his eyes flickering back to me before he apparently declares me a waste of his time. He turns his back on us and strides down the road.
“Good night, Mackel.” The whisper of my voice quivers and I blink hard.
Why do I do this to myself? My heart stings as I wonder if my father would be embarrassed by the situations I put myself in to survive.
Ryder finally turns toward me, and an angry line is pulled between his brows.
“I didn’t need your help. Not everyone is as defenseless as they appear.” I stand to my fullest height and let my hands rest high on my hips.
With deliberate slowness, his gaze travels down my body, taking in the way the thin material of my dress hugs my hips, the way my shirt doesn’t touch my skirt and leaves my slim abdomen exposed to the cool night air. He seems to linger on the top of my breasts that are carefully pushed up for maximum approval.
He slouches down into the closest chair, his shoulders hanging low. A look of exhaustion pulls at his blue eyes.
“What did you expect to happen on this date tonight with you dressed like that?” Glaring anger stings his voice.
“I thought I would come out ahead.”
I flick open my palm and the gold chain swings with vengeance as I release Mackel’s pocket watch for Ryder to admire.
