Page 25 of Her Vampire, His Ruin

“I heard what you said, you fucking ignoramus. It was a rhetorical question. First, don’t insult my friend. She’s fucking hot, and way too good for the likes of you, and second, have you looked in the mirror lately?” she laughs then and Mark grabs her arm, his whole countenance changing.

“You should watch your mouth,” he warns.

“Watch my mouth?” Henrietta snaps, trying to yank her arm out of his hold. “Actually, I’ve changed my mind. You’re not welcome. So why don’t you both just fuck off? You clearly have no idea how to treat women.”

Except they don’t fuck off, and despite the fact the pub is full of people, they’re all too busy watching the band to notice what’s happening. Instead of fear, anger blooms inside my chest.

I lean across Henrietta, grabbing Mark’s wrist, attempting to pull him off her.

“Let her go, arsehole,” I seethe, my fingernails digging into his flesh. I don’t care if they draw blood, but I do care I might break a nail whilst doing it. I’ve only just redone them.

“You fucking bitch,” Mark hisses, still refusing to let Henrietta go.

“Don’t call her a bitch,” Henrietta shouts, and with her free hand, slaps Mark around the face.

John decides at that point to wrap his hand around the back of my neck in an attempt to pull me off of Mark, and I’m just about to let his arsehole friend go so I can punch him in the face, when a familiar figure steps into my periphery.

“Take your hands off my woman before I remove them from your fucking body.”

Dorian’s voice is low, but the threat is loud. Loud enough for John to release his grip on the back of my neck, and for Mark to let Henrietta go, too. I let out a whoosh of breath, partly in gratitude and partly in lust, because when my gaze meets Dorian’s it’s very clear that the gangster side of him is about to come out to play, and I’m pretty sure I’ll like it.

“Get the fuck out of here before I make sure Dorian follows through on his threat,” Logan says, stepping out from behind him.

Henrietta gasps, her attention snapping to Logan. “Oh Lord, have I died and gone to heaven? Because you are an angel”

He cocks a brow, his blue eyes sizzling. “No, you haven’t, and no, I’m not.”

She grins, licking her lips. “I beg to differ.”

“Unless you want to lose your tiny little cocks as well, I suggest you get the fuck out of here,” Dorian interjects, that dangerous look in his eyes more menacing than his threat.

I’ve never seen two men dash from the pub as quickly as John and Mark. It’s comical watching them scramble out of the booth and barge through the crowd as though they’ve both got a firework shoved up their arse.

I can’t help but laugh.

It bursts out of me, and I smother my mouth with my hand as Henrietta joins in, giggling too.

“Talk about saving the day,” she says, absentmindedly rubbing at her arm where Mark had held her so tightly. “You’re our knights in shiny Armani suits.”

“Did he hurt you?” Logan snaps, his gaze focussed on the red marks tainting Henrietta’s skin.

“I’m fine,” she replies with a smile. “I’m tougher than I look.”

“Hmm,” Logan mumbles, a muscle feathering in his jaw as he slides into the seat beside Henrietta and runs his fingers over the mark. Her sharp intake of breath is drowned out by the band crucifying It Only Takes A Minute. Henrietta gives me a wide-eyed look, as if she can’t believe her luck. Logan on the other hand has quickly removed his fingers from her skin and is staring at his hand like it doesn’t even belong to his body.

“Edie, are you okay?” Dorian asks, drawing my attention back to him.

His whole body is practically vibrating with repressed anger. I’m not sure if it’s aimed at me or the men who just hightailed it out of here. Probably both.

“I’m fine…” My voice trails off as he pins me with his stare. I square my shoulders to stop myself from squirming in my seat, not because I’m intimated, but because he’s just so damn beautiful.

“You stood me up,” he says.

“I—”

“Wait, Edie stood you up?” Henrietta questions before poking me in the side. “You told me you were free tonight. Why on earth would you stand Dorian up? Have you seen this man? He’s bloody delectable.”

“He’s not that impressive,” Logan states, and Dorian slowly turns to look at him, brows raised.