“Careful,” he clucks his tongue atme. “Don't move.”
His hand bites into my hip, possessive, fingers digging in hard enough to bruise. He moves fast, going for my mouth.
I jerk my head to the side, and his lips scrape across my cheek.
“No!” I gasp, theword tearing loose as I shove at him again, harder now, my terror spiking.
He grins. Then lunges in for another try.
Right before his mouth reaches mine, he’s yanked away from me.
A voice slices through the air behind Jackson, low and full of fury.
“Don’t fucking touch her.”
Chapter seventeen
Freak
Becky
Jackson stumbles a step away from me, then regains his footing. He whirls to find Carrson standing there, so angry a vein pulses at his temple like a warning.
“Why?” Jackson says lightly, smoothing a hand over his shirt where Carrson grabbed him. “Is she yours?”
Carrson doesn’t answer. Helooks right past Jackson.
To me.
“You okay?”
I nod. “I’m fine.”
It’s a lie. We all know it.
Jackson’s attention flicks between us, and he grins, entertained in a way that sets my teeth on edge.
“Keep a leash on your pet,” he tells Carrson. “She’s been wandering.”
Carrson moves before the words finish leaving Jackson’s mouth. His hand shoots out, grabbing Jackson by the front of his shirt and slamming him back into the wall hard enough to rattle the doors. The sound ricochets down the hallway. A quiet gasp rises from below.
Jackson grunts, more surprised than hurt, but he recovers fast, shoving back, trying to break Carrson’s grip.
“Watch out,” Jackson says. “You’re getting territorial—”
Carrson drives his forearm into Jackson’s throat, pinning him. Not enough to choke but enough to subdue.
“Don’t,” Carrson warns.
Fury flashes across Jackson’s face. His eyes drop to the men watching from below. The boy is back with blood under his nose. I bet he’s the one who went and got Carrson.
Jackson raises his voice, loud enough for them to hear. “As usual, Carrson Ashford loses his shit,” he calls out. “Like he did with his father.”
He runs his eyes over Carrson, his mouth curving with contempt.
“Don’t worry, Carrson,” he adds. “We all know you can’t get it up.”
The punch comes fast.
