Page 114 of King of Pride

And once again, she pulled it away.

This time, she burst into laughter at the annoyed expression on his face.

“Rose.”

She only laughed harder.

Determined to have the last word, she brought the candy toward him a third time. Maverick opened his mouth, expecting her to finally give it to him, but at the last second, she slipped the candy into her own mouth instead.

Before she could laugh at him again, Maverick’s expression changed.

His hand slid from her waist to the back of her head, and he pulled her toward him. With one smooth movement, he turned her in his arms and kissed her, stealing the candy from her lips.

Rose’s laughter disappeared into a startled breath as she instinctively gripped his arm.

Neither of them noticed the third person who had entered the house.

The sight in front of them kissing made Ivan’s fury explode.

He stormed toward them and grabbed Maverick by the arm, roughly pulling him away from Rose.

Maverick stumbled back a step, completely caught off guard by the sudden intrusion. The impact made him lose his balance for a fraction of a second, but he recovered almost immediately.

The moment he saw Ivan standing there, his entire demeanor changed.

Maverick moved toward Rose without hesitation, stepping directly between them and blocking Ivan’s view of her. His shoulders squared, his body becoming an unmistakable barrier between Rose and the man who had just barged into the room.

His expression turned cold.

“What the fuck are you doing here?”

Ivan’s face was already flushed with rage. His chest rose and fell heavily as he glared past Maverick, his eyes fixed on Rose.

“Are you fucking doing this to me?” he shouted. “Have you forgotten that you’re my girlfriend? What the fuck is wrong with you?”

Rose stared at him in disbelief.

For a moment, she couldn't even find the words to respond. Then her shock gave way to anger.

“Are you kidding me?” she demanded, her voice steadier now. “I broke up with you before I left. I told you we were over. We’re not together anymore.”

She stepped closer to Maverick, her fingers instinctively wrapping around his arm. She looked up at him again, her expression softening as concern replaced the anger in her eyes.

“Are you all right?” she asked quietly.

Ivan seemed to lose whatever restraint he had left.

“How can you betray me?” he shouted, his voice cracking under the weight of his fury. “You and I are supposed to get married in a few weeks! How the fuck can you kiss someone else? Is this the bastard you’ve been sleeping with? Is he the one you were with the other night when I called you? Were you making out with him then, too?”

Rose drew in a slow breath, forcing herself to remain calm despite the anger boiling in her chest. Then she lifted her chin and met his furious stare head-on.

“What the hell is wrong with you?”

Her voice rose with every word.

“And I didn’t just kiss him or make out with him. I slept with him, too. More than once.”

Ivan went completely still.