“I’m not your property! You don’t get to boss me around!”
He catches my wrists, but I thrash, twisting, kicking, screaming until it echoes back. My nails rake his cheek. My knee rams between his thighs.
“Fuck, hellcat...” He grits his teeth, spins us around and drags my wrists above my head, his other arm on my throat, his body pinning me to the wall. “Baby, stop fighting me. I’m not him. I’m nothing like him.”
“Get off me!” I buck against him, wild, dazed.
His mouth crashes down on mine.
It’s violent, bruising, all teeth and fury. He forces his tongue past my lips, grinding his hard cock against my thigh. I jerk against him, torn between shoving him off and yanking him closer. My eyes close. The fight bleeds into something raw and hot. His fingers tighten around my neck, squeezing harder.
“Enough,” he grunts, biting my lip before pulling back. “I’m harder than steel andthisclose to pulling your skirt up and fucking you right here, against the wall.”
My body thrums with adrenaline, the image he paints a tempting idea, but he doesn’t move.
“You want to help?” His thumb grazes the line of my jaw. “Fine, but only if you promise me a few things. Whatever plan we settle on, you stick to it. You don’t play the hero. You don’t improvise. If anything goes south, you get the fuck out and you prioritize your safety. Understood?”
My pulse hammers so loud I can barely hear myself answer, “Yes, understood.”
He studies me for a long moment as if making sure I’m not lying. Satisfied with whatever he found in my eyes, he presses a tender kiss to my forehead, releasing my wrists.
“I hate when you lose your shit like that... but I love it, too.”
I rise on my tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “I only love it when it ends with you wringing orgasm after orgasm out of me.” Patting his cheek, I move away, opening the back door.
We return to Dante’s office, finding the room much brighter.
“We decided Leilani can play her part,” Koby says.
Carter shakes his head. “Unbelievable.”
“What do you meanwe?” Broadway glances over his shoulder at a wall of screens, each showing a live feed from outside. They were switched off when we left. “From what we saw, she beat you up until you conceded.”
Dante bites back a smile, saluting Koby with his glass. “Gotta admit... it was the best show this house has seen in a while.”
Koby drops into the couch, pulling me with him. “She’s in. Now quit grinning and let’s get back to business.”
31
Koby
It took hours before everyone in Dante’s office was content with the general idea for the provocation. We’re yet to dissect every angle and every possible fallout, but the skeleton has been built.
And because the plan isn’t finalized, because there are so many unknowns, I can’t fucking sleep, uneasy about Leilani being dangled like a worm on a hook.
I’d love to lock her up until the Grey brothers are dead, but... there’s always a fuckingbut.
Don’t you fucking dare manipulate me like he did!
That one sentence feels like thousands of bullets striking my heart. I can still hear her voice breaking. I can still feel her fists pounding into me as if fighting her way out. I’d rather cut my own heart out than make her feel caged.
It was never my intention but the growing protectiveness, the bone-deep need to keep her safe, got the better of me. I couldn’t fathom allowing her in the same room as Anton.
I still can’t.
I drag my hand down my face, flipping onto my side for the nth time. It was well past midnight by the time Leilani and I settled into one of Dante’s many guest bedrooms. The emotional cocktail inside me couldn’t be bottled, so I shoved her into the mattress and fucked the fight out of us.
I thought the mental and physical drain would let me sleep, but I’m wide awake, staring at the ceiling while Leilani lies comatose beside me after three screaming orgasms.
