“What I wasactuallythinking,monsieur,” he growls in a freakishly calm tone, “is that if youeverreflect on what’s mine again, I’ll cut your fucking heart out.” He hisses, resting the broken glass against Xavier’s throat. “You won’t look at her. You won’t remember her face. You won’t say her name,ever. If you do, I’ll find out, I’ll findyou, and I willprima noctayour rarest, most prized bottle of wine so far up your ass they’ll need a sommelier to perform the autopsy.”
I stare unblinkingly at the violent scene in front of me.
“Nod if I’ve made myself clear,” Vaughn mutters.
Xavier arches his brow, but nods. “Perfectly clear,Monsieur le Marquis.”
“Excellent.”
Vaughn chucks the broken bottle across the room, kicks Bertrand in the ribs as he writhes groaning on the floor, then grabs my hand.
“Let's go.”
I’m still in stunned, shocked silence as he drags me from the room.
31
EVELINA
It’s alla blur as Vaughn pulls me after him back upstairs and through the ball. Suddenly, the cool night air tingles over my skin, and I realize we're outside.
He doesn’t stop.
He yanks me stumbling after him as he storms off the driveway, through the side garden, then into the darkness past the floodlights illuminating the château.
“Vaughn!” I blurt, almost twisting my ankle as my heel catches in a divot in the lawn. “Stop! Where are we?—”
He whirls, and for the first time since we stormed out of the basement, I see his face.
White. Shaking with rage. A cold mask of fury, vengeance, and violence.
“No one talks to you like that.”
He surges into me, wrapping an iron hand around my throat and lifting my wide-eyed gaze to his livid one.
“No one touches what’s mine,” he growls.
He pulls me tight against him, his muscles twitching like a caged animal's.
A huge piece of me wants to throw my arms around him as my savior and hero, but his words stick and catch in my mind.
“What’syours?”
His eyes narrow down into mine. “Youare fuckingmine?—”
“So you freak out and go ballistic when an asshole makes a crude remark?—”
“Whatthat assholesaid,” he snarls, “was?—”
“Was just one more man making one more gross comment!!” I hurl back at him. “Vaughn, I’m awoman! I’m sheltered, but do you seriously think I’ve never had men say disgusting, vile shit like that to me before?! Welcome to being female! You want to track down every creep who’s ever brushed up against me on the subway or slid into my DMs with obscene messages since I wastwelve?!”
“YES!” he roars, making me jump as he surges into me. “Yes, I fuckingdo! Maybe I can’t hunt down every fucker who's ever sent you a dick pic, but you’ll forgive me for taking the opportunitytodo something when it’s shoved in my goddamn face!”
“Vaughn, Ilovethat you stood up for me!” I yell. “And…okay…I kind of love that you went off the psycho deep end like that, probably more than I should.” I swallow. “But you’re missing the point.”
“So arrive at it!” he roars.
“You freaked the hell out when that asshole was a jerk to me. But that wasthe whole reasonyou brought me to the meeting!”
