Page 45 of Riptide

She coughed as the stench of alcohol on his breath hit her. Panic struck, and darkness and light spiraled around her as Kaimana fought the urge to flee. She opened her mouth to speak but no words came. Her breath quickened as fear overwhelmed her. Seth’s voice cut through the chaos, his body pressing between her and the stranger.

“Get the fuck away from her,” Seth commanded.

Anger tore through Kaimana, quickly replacing her fear. “This asshole doesn’t understand the word no.”

“Hey, what the hell, bruh?” The devil-masked man yelled. “How am I supposed to know you’re not into it?”

“She said no. End of story. So don’t touch her.” Seth shoved him to the ground.

Garrett jumped in between them, holding his palms up. “No fighting.” He turned to Drew. “What did you do? You’re drunk. Get the fuck up and go home.”

“But I didn’t—” The man scrambled onto his feet.

“I’m sick of you getting fucked up at parties. Go home, Drew. We’ll talk about it in the morning.”

“Come on, man. Things are just getting started. I didn’t do anything,” he protested.

“Another word and you’re out of Altura. For good this time. Not just the club either. I don’t like this kind of shit at events.” Garrett turned to Seth, his eyes wide, as they appeared to share a silent communication. “I’m sorry. Paris. Stone. Please accept my apologies.”

“Evan said this place was cool.” Seth took Kaimana’s hand. “Clearly it isn’t. You’ve got some creepers in your group.”

“Fine. Fuck it, I’m outta here. This is bullshit.” Drew stormed away and down the path, leaving the three alone.

Garrett glanced over his shoulder at the masked devil. “Jesus Christ.”

“That guy’s an asshole,” Kaimana told Garrett.

“Are you okay?” Seth turned to Kaimana and cupped her cheek.

“I’ve got to get out of here.”

“I want to know everything about him.” Seth told Garrett.

“We’ll talk about it tomorrow,” Garrett promised.

“Later, dude.” Seth gave him a nod and took her hand in his.

As they made their way through the maze, Kaimana questioned who she was and what she was doing. In the heat of the moment, she’d lost her trepidation of mazes but had succumbed to panic during the unprovoked attack from a stranger. Summoning courage usually came easily to her, naturally flowed through her veins like the roaring rapids. But the maze had taken her back to times long ago, childhood memories that reeled with fear.

As she looked to Seth, she recalled how she’d allowed him to claim her, to test her in a way that she’d never let any man do. Letting go, trusting Seth, she’d given in to what she could only describe as sexual freedom. No matter how many times Evan had mentioned his friends, the club, she could have never imagined that one day she’d be in their presence, let alone letting a man she’d only met two weeks ago make love to her in front of strangers. Seth Tremaine had become an addictive temptation she couldn’t resist.

Chapter Seven

With the taste of her still on his lips, Seth ushered Kaimana into the limo. He deliberately sat across from her, his mind still reeling from the scene at the party. Seth’s blood pumped with a possessive rage he’d struggled to control. No matter how many times he’d played at the Club, he’d never experienced anger or jealousy over a woman. But Kaimana wasn’t just any woman, and that was the problem.

His attraction to her grew with each second in her presence. Descending into a sweet madness, he’d never intended to push her so far, let alone go down on her in public. Not only did his curiosity tempt him to test her, to see how far she’d go, but moreover, he wanted to take her in front of everyone, to claim her as his own. He’d almost fucked her right there, in front of anyone who wanted to watch.

It took every ounce of his restraint to sit across from her in the limo. It both frightened and aroused him how she’d embraced the wildness of the moment. But guilt crept into his mind. He hadn’t been paying attention when she’d been attacked. Drew could’ve hurt her. He should have never agreed to bring her into a potentially dangerous situation.

“It’s not your fault.” Her words shook his contemplation as if she’d read his mind.

“I said I’d go,” she continued. “I wanted to try to help. I’m just sorry I froze back there.”

“I shouldn’t have brought you tonight. That guy, Drew? He’s been with Emerson Industries and the club for a little over a year now, I think. He’s always been a little bit of an asshole but clearly, he’s gotten worse.” Seth shrugged. “I’m not sure he’s a mole though. Garrett will check him out.”

“If there’s an upside, I think we sufficiently shook the nest.” Her face flushed as a corner of her mouth tugged upward.

“Yeah, I think, um...we probably did.” Seth returned her smile and held up a finger. “But…but, I want you to know that…” He gave a small chuckle, surprised by his own behavior, “That was not planned.”