Page 17 of Pride: Kneel Before None

I tensed. The accusation made the searing heat in my veins drop a few degrees. Cheaters had no honor, no integrity, no goddamn intelligence. The insinuation that I hadn’t won on my own accord left me seething. All the rules laid out regarding wagers in this room had been followed. No matter that they were skewed in my favor. She was just pissed that she didn’t come out on top of anything other than my dick.

My hands found her hips, fisting the black fabric of her dress tight enough to threaten the seams. No longer holding back, I ducked my head down to force her to meet my eyes, letting her see the flames of my anger flaring up in the darkness of them.

My voice dropped a notch deeper. “I don’t have to cheat to get what I want.” I let her see the heat of my anger flare in my darkening eyes.

God help me, it had only been several hours since the woman had been at Sevenfold, and I already knew she was going to be the death of me. Everything she did, from the flutter of her eyelashes to the way she breathed, had every part of me ablaze. And her fucking attitude? It not only irked the shit out of me but made me want to fuck her non-stop for days on end.

The sweet blues of her irises were glued to me, looking lost on what to make of my intentions. Her power’s light caress brushed against my mind’s eye, but just as quickly retreated when no cracks in my defenses were found.

That’s right, Little Spade, still not letting you see what I have planned for us.

“What do y—eep!”

I didn’t give her the chance to finish her question. I unfurled my hands from her dress and, in one swift motion, bent down, scooped her up and tossed her over my shoulder. The position placed her round ass high in the air next to my head and her slender body draped over me like a rather bratty trophy.

Keeping a tight hold on the back of her thighs, I easily supported her weight while carrying her out the door I had come through earlier.

Eve shrieked as her little fists pounded against my mid back. I appreciated the unintentional massage.

“You motherfucker!” Eve snarled while her nails dug into me as she tried to pry herself free unsuccessfully. A skilled fighter, my Little Spade was not. Lucky for her, that was my specialty.

Continuing to wiggle like a hellcat avoiding a magma bath, she shouted, “You don’t own me!” Her feet wildly kicked hard enough that one of her heels popped right off her foot.

Honed reflexes had my free hand catching the shoe with ease. Couldn’t have my Little Spade misplacing any of my gifts, could we?

Ignoring her ongoing protests, I carried her down the hall to a private set of elevators designated for my use only. That feisty spirit of hers refused to give up. An admirable trait, really. It continued the entire ascent to my penthouse while I listened to her pointlessly claim that she wasn’t going anywhere with me. At least it was a reprieve from the dreadfully dull elevator music. I wondered if she knew how I found it entertaining as hell to see how she so stubbornly clung to the idea that there were any other options in her future.

After I crossed the threshold of my penthouse, I forcibly kicked the door shut behind me. Plucking the remaining heel off her foot, I tossed both off to the side. I wouldn’t want to tempt fate in the event she considered stabbing via stiletto foreplay.

Eve remained slung over my shoulder, a prize worthy of sharing the luxury of the place I called home. A prize that I rightfully won, I might add.

“You can’t treat me like this!” she furiously shouted before she managed a lucky and vicious punch directly to my kidney.

Cursing under my breath, I nearly fumbled her after that well-placed jab. Instead, I smoothly slid her off my shoulder onto her feet. If I had been a lesser demon, I would have tossed her on the ground and taken her ass then and there. Not to say the temptation hadn’t weighed heavily on my mind.

The moment I put her down, foresight wasn’t needed to predict her attempt to shove past me. My arm jutted out and wrapped around her waist, yanking her front to my chest. My fingers buried themselves in the silken strands that bore a resemblance to the morning sun just peeking over the horizon of the eastern mountains at the edge of the desert.

With a fistful of her hair at the back of her skull, I tugged her head back so she was staring up at me.

“I can’t treat you like what, Little Spade?” I murmured as I dragged my lips over her jawline, enjoying the feel of her skin just barely making contact with my mouth. Her heavy breaths from all that struggling were a beautiful breeze against my ear.

“Treat you like my fucking goddess that I’ve been waiting to meet for the last seven hundred and seventy-seven days?” I asked, wondering why she was so tense in my hold. All the girls melted at my touch, swooned even. I didn’t even have to snap my fingers to make it happen.

Eve dug her fingertips into my biceps, straining to create space between us. “Well, this goddess is fucking displeased!”

I chuckled. “Don’t worry, I’ll remedy that.”

Walking her back against the wall, my hand released its hold on her hair and cupped the side of her face.

Fuck, she’s gorgeous. Even pissed, she’s the most gorgeous thing I will ever fuck.

There would be no more holding back. I needed to hear her scream out my name. In an act of possession and lost restraint, my lips collided with hers. The kiss itself was a fierce claim, and it made my dick feel like it was going to explode before I ever got it out of my pants.

Such a sweet sound it was to hear her gasp against my mouth, especially as it created the opportunity for my tongue to breach her parted lips. The first taste of my Little Spade’s body was all sin and spit. Perfect. It proved she was going to be both my greatest addiction and most damning vice.

Desire could be a bitch when it wanted to be, and the way Eve hesitated in pressing her lips back against mine painted a struggle between carnal need and one’s mind. Her hands pushed at my chest one minute and pulled the next, betraying her conflict and a losing war.

My hand fell away from her face to one of the silver threads that laced up the front of her dress. One firm tug and the bow tied at the hem came undone. Deft fingers loosened the crossed strands, exposing another inch of flesh with each pull as I worked on unwrapping the dress from the bottom up. Before I could loosen the material enough to slide my hand underneath, she seized up. All of her went rigid. A reaction so unexpected that it prompted me to pull my mouth away from hers.