Page 56

Harper freezes beside me, her body tensing as Sienna rushes to stand by Tillie’s side, dragging that skid-stain Ryan behind her. Sienna glares at Harper, wrinkling her nose in disgust as she spits, “Aww, looks like you’ve finally learnt your true place. Now you’ll never be an Order Wife.”

Sliding my hand around Harper’s back, I rest it against her hip as I pull her closer to my side, hoping to give her some of my strength, as she’s practically vibrating with rage.

“Didn’t you become Ryan’s Prize?” I point out to Sienna, gently reminding her of her place too.

Sienna’s gaze shifts towards me, her eyes narrowing into a glare. “Yes,” she says through gritted teeth.

“Doesn’t that make you nothing more than his whore then?”

Sienna’s face turns purple as she scowls at me, her hands balling into fists as she no doubt thinks of something vaguely unintelligent in response. But before she has the chance to speak, I hear the voice of my best friend, Bram, as he walks over to stand on Harper’s other side.

“From what I’ve heard, you’ve been a whore for a few years now. Then again, your family would never be considered for a marriage contract, would they? To say it would be scraping the bottom of the barrel would be a fucking understatement,” Bram drawls lazily, his eyes glistening with mischief as he taunts Sienna.

The people who have gathered to watch our exchange giggle under their breath, which only makes Sienna madder, her cheeks turning an unhealthy purple colour. She actually stamps her foot as she turns to glare at Ryan. “Are you going to let them talk to me like that?”

The wanker just rolls his eyes as he waves her off, which only seems to infuriate her more. She turns to glare at Harper, who presses herself against my side even more, and I decide to stop this before it goes any further.

I fix Ryan with a hard glare as I say, “You better put a muzzle on your bitch before someone has to put her down.”

Okay, so I’ll admit, I probably didn’t say the right thing if my intention was to calm the situation down, but seeing the look on Sienna’s face was more than worth it. Until she charges toward me with her ridiculously long fake pink nails held out like claws, squawking in outrage.

Ryan reaches out and grabs hold of her bleach-blonde hair, pulling her back before she’s able to make contact with me. What I didn’t expect was for Harper to rush forward, pushing me back until she’s standing in front of me. With her head held high, my quiet, shy girl uses her body to shield me from the crazy bitch who is charging at me.

Tillie, Sienna, and Ryan all look shocked, but their expressions have nothing on mine, as I wonder why the hell Harper would throw herself between me and danger.

As Harper holds her head high, straightening her spine to make it clear she’s not afraid, her voice comes out more confident than I’ve ever heard before. “I’d rather be Lawson’s whore than Ryan’s wife.”

Fuck, my cock will never go down after hearing those words on her lips. It’s the sexiest thing I’ve ever heard, and I’m at a total loss as to where this gorgeous, feisty woman came from.

I’m in so much of a daze that when Harper takes hold of my hand, she practically has to pull me from the room, making it clear she’s not waiting for a response from them.

I can’t resist looking over my shoulder, and it’s more than worth it when I see the furious glare on Ryan’s face as he watches Harper stride from the room like she owns the place. Bram’s cheers follow us as we head straight for the door, and he waits behind, no doubt to soak up the carnage we leave in our wake.

When we reach my car, her confidence crumbles, and she trips over her own feet. I catch her and spin her around until her back’s against my car, and she lets out a gasp as I press my body against hers, letting her feel how hard I am for her right now.

“You have no idea how bloody sexy that was. I think it might be one of the hottest things I’ve ever seen,” I say, my voice deep and raspy.

She tilts her head to the side, as if she’s confused, but she doesn’t say anything, so I elaborate for her.

“You wanted to protect me in there?”

She nods. “Yes.”

“You stood up for me.”

“You would have done the same for me,” she says, shrugging her shoulders as if it’s no big deal.

“I would. I will always protect you,” I tell her, hoping she can hear the sincerity in my voice.

With a small smile on her face, Harper reaches up and presses her palm against my cheek as she says, “I will always protect you, too.”

Bloody hell, my heart is beating so intensely, it’s a miracle it hasn’t burst free from my chest. With the exception of maybe Bram, nobody has ever stood up for me the way Harper just did. After everything I’ve done to her, the way I’ve treated her and used her, there’s no reason for her to want to protect me. But there’s a small part of me that’s really fucking happy she does.

Without even thinking about it, I drop to my knees in front of her and slide my hands up her creamy thighs. Her eyes grow wide as I push my hoodie upwards, revealing her bare pussy to me. With the plaster now gone, I delight in the sight of my name tattooed there before I press a kiss to the tender skin.

“What are you doing?” she whispers, her eyes darting around the car park to make sure nobody can see, but I don’t give a shit.

“I’m going to eat your pussy until you scream my name,” I tell her as I lift her leg and hook it over my shoulder, looking up at her through hooded lashes.