Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 68630 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 343(@200wpm)___ 275(@250wpm)___ 229(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68630 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 343(@200wpm)___ 275(@250wpm)___ 229(@300wpm)
He laughs outright, and his friends follow like monkeys. “You’re warning me?”
“Yeah, asshole. I’m warning you.” Without a moment’s hesitation, I ram my knee into his groin.
He grunts, hunching over, and his arms fall away from me.
The instant they do, I whirl around and trip over his feet in my haste to get away. I’m sure I’d fall flat on my face if it wasn’t for the chest of the man I slam right into.
“Whoa.”
Big hands close around my arms, catching me before I go sprawling, and my nose smashes into the middle of his very hard chest.
I hear the jerk I just kneed mutter a curse behind me.
“Everything okay, sweetheart?” asks the man I just crashed into with an accent I can’t quite place. It’s familiar but not, and he smells good. Not like sweat or beer or cigarettes.
I blink, looking straight ahead at what would be his pristine white V-neck T-shirt but for the smear of magenta lipstick. It matches my hair and has ruined his shirt.
“I…” I take a tiny step backward because he still has me. I turn my gaze up.
And up.
The first thing I see are his eyes, beautiful and dark, and for a moment, I can’t look away.
He pauses too, or I think he does at least. And when I smile, he smiles back, and a little dimple forms on his right cheek. It softens his features and brightens his eyes.
Then the room around him goes darker, the music and people too loud.
“I need to sit down.” I sway on my feet.
He mutters a curse under his breath and catches me.
“My girlfriend’s had a little too much to drink,” the man from outside says as he grasps my arm so hard it hurts.
“I’m not—”
“Your girlfriend, huh? That’s not what it looked like a minute ago,” the one with the accent says.
I look at the hand wrapped around my arm and open my mouth to tell him he’s hurting me, but before I get the chance to, the one with the accent shifts me, placing his body partially between ours. He doesn’t even have to touch the guy to get him to let go. Even I can see he’s bigger, badder, and his body language alone is enough to get the other guy to back up a step.
My knees buckle again, and he tightens his grip around me, pulling me into his side.
I need to find Nina and go home. I try to straighten, to pull away, but it’s like my body won’t listen to my brain. My feet tingle in my borrowed boots. My whole body tingles.
“What’s happening to me?” I ask. I’m not sure anyone hears me because no one answers.
I squeeze my eyes shut, and I think Nina got the wrong pill. If this is Ecstasy, I should be feeling ecstatic, right? I just feel out of control.
“Get these idiots out of here,” the one with the accent says, and I look up to see two other big guys move in behind the one I just kneed.
But then Nina’s there. “Hey, you okay?” she asks, peering into my face. “Crap.”
“I think I need to go home,” I tell her.
She looks up at the one who has me, and a worried expression wrinkles her forehead. “Come on, let’s get out of here,” she says, but when I try to slip out of his hold, he doesn’t let go.
“What did she take?” he asks Nina.
“Nothing. Just vodka,” she lies.
I know he doesn’t believe her from the silence that follows. “How old are you two anyway?”
My gaze shoots to Nina’s. We’re not twenty-one.
“We’re just going to go,” Nina tries to pry me from the man, but he won’t let me go. His grip doesn’t hurt, not like the other guy, but I know I’m not going anywhere until he allows it.
“Did you buy something off someone in the club?” he asks her as if she hasn’t spoken at all.
Nina exhales, looks around, and finally nods.
“Who?”
“I don’t want to get anyone in trouble.”
“Who?”
She points.
“All right. Take her home,” he says, and one of his men steps forward.
“I’m not leaving Kat,” Nina says.
“Kat?” he asks.
At the mention of my name, I look up into his beautiful, dark eyes. The way he studies me, eyes so intense, I feel my face burning up.
“Kat’s not going anywhere,” he says. He’s still looking at me, but he’s talking to Nina.
I’m not? “But—”
“That man you bought from doesn’t have permission to sell here. I don’t know what you got, but I need to keep an eye on her in case things go wrong.”
“Nothing’s going to go wrong. I’ll just take—”
“You know who I am, don’t you, Nina?”
I wonder how he knows her name, but Nina just bites her lip and nods. I don’t think she’s surprised that he knows her.
“Who is he?” I ask her.