Heat pulsesbehind my eyes as my fingers glide over the black, permanent letters sprawled on my dress. He branded me? Literally marked my dress with his name, as if I werehis possession?
My teeth clamp together until my skull hurts, anger thrashing through me like a heatwave.
Who does he think he is? He fucks his way around Fort, then wants to play with me when it suits him?
“Problem?” Mason arches an eyebrow.
“You ruined my dress!”
“On the contrary, I think it’s a massive improvement.”
“How dare you?” I spit.
“If you walk out there, you’ll leave wearing my name.” He smirks, making my hands curl into fists.
A long, silent minute beats between us, as I stare at him, trying to swallow my anger, my chin trembling with rage, while he stands there grinning at me, unfazed. I pull my expression together and put on the sweetest smile I can summon.
“Or I can take the dress off and walk out in myunderwear.” I take a step back. “That ought to be in line with the theme tonight, right?”
For a heartbeat, his smirk falters. A crack in his armor. Then it lifts again—taunting, teasing, daring me.
He waves a hand toward the door, then folds his arms at his chest, waiting. Calling my bluff.
This isn’t like me.
I shouldn’t do this.
But I won’t lose to him anymore.
He wants to see how an Etheridge plays?
I’m all in.
Once my mind’s made up, I don’t hesitate. My fingers clutch the hem of my dress, and in one smooth motion, I slide it off and throw it, along with his name, at his feet.
That wipes the sneer off his face.
His gaze turns dark as it lands on my naked skin, appraising me from head to toe, while I stand there in my red lace backless bra and panties that hardly cover my arse.
My knees weaken, bones turning rigid, as his feral eyes take their time devouring every inch of me, before they meet mine.
The hunger on his face turns wild.A swallow works down my throat.
Okay, in hindsight, this was a mistake.
Without a single breath to spare, I whirl around and reach for the doorknob. But I have no chance.
The door swings barely two centimeters before Mason’s hand lands on the door, stopping me dead in my tracks. With twice my strength, he shoves it closed, then pushes me into it, using my weight to keep it shut.
His finger knots at the back of my head, my face flattened against the hardwood.
“Big mistake, princess. You shouldn’t dare a man with no morals,” he snarls in my ear. “I will kill every man here with mybare hands before I let them lay their eyes onwhat’s mine,” he hisses.
The weight of his words slowly sinks into my chest, but I have too much anger in me to allow him to affect me this way.
“You caught me in one weak moment,” I murmur, suppressing the tremors coursing down my body. “That doesn’t give you a claim on me now.”
“Not a claim,” he growls, moving my hair away from my nape and slowly trailing his large hand down my back, electrifying me at the touch. “Everyfucking claim, princess.Youbelong to me.Only me.”
