Total pages in book: 130
Estimated words: 125517 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 628(@200wpm)___ 502(@250wpm)___ 418(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 125517 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 628(@200wpm)___ 502(@250wpm)___ 418(@300wpm)
Arden didn’t back down. She couldn’t. “Fine, I’ll leave,” she snapped without making a move to do so. “I’ll just call the police and let them ask to talk to Wizard.”
Her belittling tone of voice had the whole bar going silent. A golden-red-haired woman standing behind the counter shook her head in warning.
“Doom.”
The small hairs on her arms stood up at the way Long Legs’s expression froze. Arden didn’t have to be told how the man had earned the nickname. Every move he made was filled with lethal intent as she was snatched off her feet.
“Put me down!” she screamed, all the self-defense training she had taken flying out of her head. “This is assault!”
Raising her head from his back, she saw Doom wasn’t carrying her toward the front door and frantically scissored her legs when he made a sharp left to carry her down a long hallway.
“I’ll leave. Put me down right now!” she yelled, trying to throw herself off his shoulder.
The heavy sound of his boots striding down the dark hallway filled her mind with images from horror movies. Releasing a blood-curdling scream, she pounded on Doom’s back. She didn’t know what she had expected, but it wasn’t seeing doors opening along the hallway and a variety of male faces staring at Doom inquiringly without saying a word to him or her.
“Help me! He’s kidnapping me!” she screamed louder when they passed one doorway that was filled with a naked man grinning at her.
“I’ll help if you want. I love dealing with screamers.”
Arden snapped her mouth closed. The bearded man was covered in tatts and piercings in places that she had never imagined a man would want them.
“Back off, Buck.”
Closing her eyes when they passed another naked man and a big-boobed woman who looked more envious than willing to help her, Arden quit struggling. Instead, she arched her back so she could lock her hands behind Doom’s neck. Using all the anger she couldn’t direct at Luc, she started strangling the biker carrying her.
His strides didn’t falter, no matter how tightly she squeezed.
“Let go.”
A firm grip on her wrist had her blinking back to awareness. Realizing her feet were back on firm ground, she released the stranglehold on his neck. Frightened, she looked around the room he had carried her to, finding it was an office.
Straightening her top and jacket, she gave Doom a haughty stare-down, which would have made her third-grade teacher proud. “Becoming physical was completely unnecessary,” she stated firmly.
The giant standing just a couple of inches away from her cocked his head to the side. “I wasn’t the one trying strangle the life out of someone.” Reaching for the collar of his black T-shirt, he tugged it down to his collarbone.
Feeling the rush of blood fill her cheeks at the red marks around his neck, she instinctively moved closer to touch them, wanting to soothe the angry color.
“I’m sorry,” she apologized, unaware he was staring down at her quizzically as she ran gentle fingertips over the rapidly darkening marks. “I’m not usually so physical, but you scared me,” she confessed.
Doom pulled her hand from his neck and tugged his shirt collar back up. “You could have fooled me.”
Mocking, cyan eyes had her taking a step back.
“Like I said, I was frightened.” Making the excuse didn’t make her feel better. She hated that she had hurt him.
“You’re not now?”
“No, you aren’t carrying me to God knows where.”
He stared at her as if she had the IQ of a two-year-old. “Where did you think I was taking you?”
“I don’t know… Outside, a back door to kill me, or…” She felt her cheeks turning redder at the way he was looking at her.
“Or…?” he prompted, amusement entering his eyes.
She didn’t answer, her own eyes moving around him to the open doorway.
“A bedroom?” His amusement deepened. “You thought I was going to rape you just because you threatened to call the cops?”
“I don’t appreciate your humor. This isn’t a laughing matter.” Glaring at him, she pulled her shoulders back, trying to add another half inch to her height. It was hard to act high and mighty when she only came up to his waist. Sympathizing with how scared David must have been when he had confronted Goliath, Arden reached for her own courage to keep from making a sprint for the door.
“No, it isn’t.” He lost the humor he was regarding her with, making her comprehend the fact that she was still in danger. “It just blows my mind how you think that because I brought you to the office, you’re safe from rape.” He shook his head at her as if dumbfounded by her reasoning.
Arden took a tiny step to the side, preparing to run if he so much as moved a hair in her direction.
“Chill.” Doom sat down in front of the desk, sprawling his legs out. “I was speaking figuratively. I’ve never been accused of rape, and to be blunt—”