“Surly wench. That’s my name.”

The bleeding edges of her mask showed. Darkness leaking out and licking against me.

“I’m going to call you that from now on,” I teased.

“Bite me, Thorne.”

One more comment and she was leaving with my teeth marks all over her neck.

“You are so fucking asking for it,” I whispered against her ear as I slid my hand up her leg and under her skirt. I’d fucking make her come in front of the asshole, in front of them all.

“Alrighty!” She jumped, drawing everyone’s attention. “I need…home. Who’s taking me?”

“I can, babe,” Andrew said, smiling at her.

This fucker.

Rip his head off.

I narrowed my eyes at Andrew. “I live in the same building. Why waste the gas when we’re going to the same place?”

“Asshole has a good point,” Lila said.

I jerked my head to the side, teeth mashed together as I resisted showing her just how much she was going to regret the last hour in front of everyone.

“Would you stop calling me that?”

“Nope. You threatened to call me ‘surly wench’ at work. If that’s the case, I have every right to call you ‘asshole.’”

“Are you sure you’re okay to go home with him?” Andrew asked her.

I straightened, my lip curling up into a snarl. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“I just thought you’d want to stick around and pick up someone for dessert,” Andrew answered with a smile on his face.

Apparently my reputation preceded me.

My snarl turned to a sneer. “No, thanks. I’m full.”

“And on that note,” Caroline said in an attempt to deflate the subject.

“On that note, I’m calling it a night and taking ‘drunkie’ here with me.” I stood and stepped back so Lila could get out.

“Well, it’s been fun, all!” Lila said with a smile, then looked down to Andrew. “Drew…good to see you.”

Before I could drag her away, the fucker climbed out of the booth and wrapped his arms around her. She floundered for a moment before hugging him back.

“You call me if you need anything, okay? I’ll always be here for you. You know that, right?”

“I know, Drew,” she said, then kissed his cheek. “See you.”

One last wave and I grabbed her wrist. I’d barely had anything to drink, but was completely pumped up. A violent energy hummed through me, and I desperately needed some sort of outlet.

Jerome was still manning the door as we exited, Lila’s unsteady steps making her weave and bump into people.

Jerome grabbed my arm, but I kept my eyes on Lila. “Yo, Nate, that chick has some serious issues. She’s the clingy type, I can tell. Best leave her.”

I smirked at him. “That shit runs both ways.”

His jaw dropped, and he nodded slowly as he looked at Lila again. “All right, I see.”

I said goodnight, then made up the distance to Lila, directing her to my car. It was nearly a block’s walk to my car, and once we got there I held the door open. She reached out to steady herself, her hand on my waist, lips parted.

I reached down, under her skirt, and cupped her pussy, pressing my fingers against her clit. She drew in a breath, her eyes darkening.

The beast growled, ready to punish her.

“Sit, or I swear to God I will take everything out on you right here.”

With a swipe of her hand across my cock, she slid down into the seat. The car was nothing but a hotbox of swirling, dangerous energy. A heady combination of my jealousy, lust, and need. An explosive combination that would set fire to the air, and I was ready to feel the burn.

CHAPTER 14

Despite her grumbling, I had Lila up, out of the car, and over my shoulder. After the protests began, I ignored her. Though they seemed to stop when she noticed my ass.

A growl rumbled through my chest in warning. The drive did not cool me down. In fact, I was unhinged, volatile. I felt a vibration down to my core.

Off the elevator, into my condo, and pinned to the fucking wall as my lips crashed to hers.

Fuck her.

For making me feel things I shouldn’t.

For the emotions that heaved inside of me.

For the possession my body demanded.

“Who is he, this Andrew?” I asked, panting as I dug my fingers into her hips.

“Andrew is my ex-boyfriend.”

From my calves to my neck, every muscle tensed.

The fucker hadn’t just longed for her, he’d had her. She’d been his. It’d been his cock inside her before me. She looked at him with those lust-filled eyes, begged him for more, gave him everything.

Fuck that.

I barely heard her call my name in the background before I kissed her again. The agitation swirled, morphing into a tornado that demanded destruction before it would release. Letting her go, I turned and drove my fist straight into the wall.

“Nathan!” Lila wrapped her hands around my wrist and pulled my hand out. Her gasp let me know she saw the other holes I’d created. “Why?”

“You. You do this to me. Every time… You make me so angry,” I admitted, and reached out to caress her cheek. “I slept with my dress shirt on the other night because it smelled like you, and that pisses me off! I’m mad at myself and pissed at you for wrapping me around your little fucking finger.”

“But I didn’t…”

“I know!” I yelled, unable to hold back. “And that ticks me off more. I hate that you turn me on. I hate the way I need you all the fucking time. I don’t want that. I can’t want that. I can’t want you…but I do. So fucking much I do.”

“I want you, too.”

No, don’t say that.

“I hated every male that even looked at you tonight and wanted to hurt the one that dared touch you. I wanted to scream out ‘mine’ to keep them all at bay. But I can’t. I can’t claim you like that. I will consume you.”

“Why me?” she asked as she sunk down to the floor.

I stared at her, trying to understand where the hell the bottom of her self-hate was. Me asking the question was one thing, but it was the same one I’d been asking from the moment I first saw her. An answer that never came.