“Tell me you did not just cold-cock Selena,” said Dex.
She struggled in his arms, trying to ignore how right he felt wrapped around her. When was the last time a guy had been able to lift her up off her feet, anyway? “Get off. I’m not done.”
“Oh, I think you are,” another voice said.
Shit.Anson Black, the big know-it-all, had shown up.
“I’ll sue, you bitch,” Selena screeched. “For everything you’re worth.” She bled like a stuck pig and clutched the handkerchief Anson handed her to her face. Her eyes started to swell too. “I’ll hire so many lawyers your head will spin.” She might have sounded a lot scarier if she hadn’t been muffled behind a bloody hanky.
Maya grinned. “Fuck you. Nice raccoon eyes you got there.”
Selena took a furious step in her direction. Maya tried to jerk free of Dex’s hold, but the bastard couldn’t be budged.
Anson stepped between them. Selena turned to him and cried, “You saw what she did. You’re a witness.”
“Unfortunately, I just got here. I didn’t see a thing. What happened?” he asked.
Maya laughed. “I’ll tell you what happened. I—”
Dex squeezed tight, and she wheezed.
“Poor Selena ran into a door. You okay, sweetheart?” Dex asked.
Anson raised a brow. “A door?”
“With squeaky hinges,” he added and squeezed Maya tighter when she tried to talk.
“Gotcha.” Anson hustled Selena out of the studio with the promise of a hospital visit.
Dex lessened his grip on her but hadn’t set her down yet. Extraordinary strength for a guy she used to tower over.
“Um, she’s gone,” said Maya.
“Yep.”
She wriggled and swallowed hard when she noted the sheer strength in the man’s forearms. And that chest. Every breath he took emphasized the breadth of him. “Dex, you can let me go now.”
“Not yet.” He set her back on her feet but continued to hold her. He leaned in close to whisper in her ear, “Selena’s got you by the balls you surprisingly don’t have.”
She froze. “Huh?”
“As usual, you leapt forward without thinking things through. You don’t get divorced three times without knowing how to play the courts or who the best lawyers are. She sues you—and rightfully she could—or presses charges, and your ass is in jail and you’ll be broke before she can sleep with your attorney. A slam dunk, and you lose big.”
Shit.She hadn’t been thinking about repercussions when she’d busted the bitch’s nose. Maya knew she had anger issues, but this trumped all levels of stupidity. She felt scared for herself in a way she hadn’t been in years.
“But I can make that all go away.”
“How?” Was he going to offer to kill the woman? She’d asked around. Dex had been in the military. Maybe special forces. “Do you have a gun? A knife, maybe? Her brake lines could use some tampering.”
“Have a— Brake lines? Are you fucking nuts?”
So not offering to kill Selena then. “Bummer.”
“You are one scary woman.” He chuckled. “No, I’m not going to kill her. Though I understand the impulse. That is one unpleasant woman.”
“You think? Hey, can you let me go now?”
“Not yet.” He rubbed his cheek against hers, and the scent of pine and man made her lightheaded. When the hell had Dex started to smell good?
