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“Mr. Helmick is expecting your arrival within the next hour,” Karson responded, his voice low and even. “Considering traffic, I would say that you need to be in the car within the next two minutes.”
I raised a brow at this. The entitlement of men did not surprise me, but what did was the nerve this man had to say this with a straight face as if it was a foregone conclusion that Stella would drop everything to go running to a man she barely knew. Yes, a man who excited her and had saved her from a terrible fate, but a fucking stranger nonetheless. His saving of her did not entitle him ownership over her.
I made a mental note to learn everything there was to know about this asshole. I hadn’t been against him at first, but now he was really starting to piss me off.
Stella seemed to be mirroring my thoughts.
“Let me get this straight,” she said, narrowing her eyes at Karson. “Mr. Helmick knows my schedule well enough to position you on the sidewalk precisely when we walk out, and he actually expects me to drop all plans in order to get in the car to have an audience with him?”
Oh, yes. My girl had her fucking claws out.
Stella turned her thumb toward me. “She’s the one dating the prince, not me,” she added. “And prince or not, a man does not have the right to summon a woman.” She deepened her glare. “Under any circumstances.”
I would’ve applauded if it wouldn’t have undermined the absolute awesome speech she delivered to this man without an ounce of fear.
Karson, for his part, looked affected. His granite expression had wavered throughout Stella’s speech, and if I didn’t know any better, I would’ve thought this man was amused at Stella’s response.
Not amused in a patronizing way, like he was impressed.
That crack in his façade didn’t linger for long, though. “I’m afraid I must insist.”
It was his tone that got me. Like he wasn’t going to leave this sidewalk without Stella. With or without her permission.
Fire ignited within me, and I stepped in front of my friend without a second thought.
I squared off with this man, narrowing my eyes at him to communicate that I wasn’t scared of him. Not even a fucking little.
Attracted to him? Yes.
But that was neither here nor there.
And at this juncture, my concern for my friend trumped any and all attraction I may feel.
“If my girl wants to go somewhere, with anyone, especially some mysterious man in search of some arrangement, she’ll be going on her own terms, in her own ride and with her hair and makeup done to her satisfaction,” I hissed at him. “Do you know how rude it is to accost someone coming out of a kickboxing class? One she actually worked her butt off at?”
I didn’t give Karson a chance to answer because I didn’t give a fuck what his answer might be. I wasn’t done.
“Very fucking rude,” I informed him, narrowing my brows. “So unless you want to take her bodily, in which case you’ll have to go through me first, you can turn around, trot your Tom Ford clad feet back to that Range Rover and drive back to your master.”’
I waved my hand at him, essentially dismissing him.
Karson’s brow quirked ever so slightly in the silence that proceeded my little speech. Then he moved his icy stare slowly up and down my body, which was on show. My shorts showed off every inch of my legs, my cropped sports bra left very little to the imagination, my tits angry to be contained. My nipples pebbled under the weight of that gaze. It was thorough. It was fucking electric. And somehow, it wasn’t at all insulting.
I struggled to maintain my composure as his eyes finally made their way back to mine.
“Honey, if I want to take her bodily, it would take less than a second to go through you.” His voice was smooth and sure. “We’d be in the car before you even knew what happened.” His ice blue eyes did not leave mine, and my lungs were having trouble finding enough air. “But I’m not in the habit of making women go anywhere they don’t want to go.”
Finally, thankfully, his eyes released me, and I could breathe again. “Does she speak for you?” he asked Stella.
“I speak for myself,” Stella replied, voice firm. “But Wren happens to know what I’m planning on saying. Tell Mr. Helmick that if he wishes to contact me, he can do it himself, on the telephone, like a normal man.”
Now that I had regained function over my major organs, I could manage a smirk. “Well, let’s not say normal man,” I added. “Since normal men—meaning assholes, because let’s face it, most men’s factory default is asshole—don’t like to use the telephone to call women in the day of text messaging.” My eyes stayed on Karson, challenging him. “Plus, from what I know of Mr. Helmick, he is the furthest you can get from normal.”
At this point, I grinned at Karson, winking at him before I linked my arm with Stella’s. I really had to leave before I got any more worked up and either tried to fight this man or fuck him.
“We’ll be going now,” I informed him with saccharine sweetness. “Just so you know, I’m not adverse to being whisked away in SUVs…” I trailed off with my stare full of sex. “With the proper warning given, of course. I can have on the right clothing … on the outside, at least. Underneath, I’m always prepared.”
I made sure to walk both Stella and myself away at this juncture, because the stare that Karson was giving me was impossible to withstand. And I needed to make my exit.
