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No matter how much my body and mind think they want her, I need to push those feelings to the side. It’s easier to have her hating me than to let her fall for me. She’ll be the one left with a broken, miserable heart if I allow her to get too close.
“Don’t look at me like that, peasant. That was just a show for all my lovely colleagues who might be trying to pick apart our relationship. It meant nothing. Now fucking get under control.”
As I suspected, her demeanor changes the second the words fall. Her walls shoot up again, putting some much needed distance between us. Good, protect yourself from me. My chest tightens as I watch the hope drain from her eyes, but it’s for the best. Her hands fall to her side, and I already miss the warmth of them.
“Lie to yourself all you want, but you can’t fake what happened out there, Marnix.” Her voice still has a little spark in it.
I have to cut that out completely. “Trust me, I’m a great actor. There’s nothing about you I find attractive. I had to think about my ex to even get hard.” Lie. Big fucking lie. Everything about my erection was from this goddess now looking at me with such hatred. I know she wasn’t talking about my hard-on, but the electricity that sparked when our lips touched. But I need to get as far away from the topic as possible.
Her muscles tense, anger blazing in her eyes. She looks like she could explode from rage at any second now. For a brief moment, I can see the hurt my words cause her before she quickly masks her emotions again.
“God, you’re the worst person I’ve ever met. You deserve to be alone and miserable for the rest of your life. I’ll hate you... forever.” Her voice cracks, the last word coming out barely a whisper. She turns and storms out the door.
I know she’ll never trust me, she’ll never accept me, or even want to be near me after that. Just like you wanted. I watch her retreating body, hating myself for being such a shitty person. She’s right—I’m the worst. The only thing I feel right now is empty.
A maniacal chuckle pulls me from my sulking, and the hairs on my neck immediately stand up. My eyes narrow on Randall, who has a victorious smirk on his face, his gaze calculating my every movement. I want to punch it right off his ugly face.
Fuck him.
Kate suddenly appears at my side, her voice keeping me from snapping and knocking Randall out in front of everyone. “That was some kiss. I could feel the sexual tension from across the room.”
I sigh. “You know me; I can’t keep my hands off her.”
“I know you well enough to know you’re never like that in front of anyone,” she muses.
“I like to keep my shit private, unlike everyone here. Just because you don’t see it, doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen.”
Kate eyes me suspiciously, clearly not believing a word I say. “Weird how you just started bringing her around after you found out about your father’s will.” She takes a sip of her wine, her gaze unwavering. She’s trying to see if my facade cracks, even if only a little. She obviously suspects, and I doubt she’d betray my trust if I told her, but I can’t take the risk. I’ll let her think what she wants, but I won’t come out and say it.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Randall head down the hallway toward the bathroom. Perfect opportunity to get me out of this awkward conversation. “I’ve gotta take care of something. We’ll talk about this later.” Not likely.
Kate starts to say something, but I turn to follow Randall before she can get it out. I set my glass on the nearest server’s tray before rushing through the crowd to get to my target.
Leaning against the wall outside the bathroom, I wait for the prick to reappear. I need to do this quickly; I can’t leave Tara alone outside for long since the Draaks have it out for me. I wouldn’t put anything past them.
Once the door opens, I grab Randall by the collar, spin him around and push him down the hall into his office, closing the door behind us.
“What the hell?!”
I press my palm into his chest, pushing him back into the wall. “I’m only going to say this once, so listen closely, Crowe. If you ever call my wife a whore again, I will end you. If you ever even look at her funny, I will make sure you never see the light of day again. Any insult, racist, or sexist comment you make toward her is a direct attack on me.”
“I know you married her to get the firm.” He’s trying to bait me.
“You don’t know shit. I love Tara, and I won’t let you speak to her like that.” That’s not all true, but I’ve wanted to put my hands on him after the way he treated Tara.
Randall chuckles snidely. “I’ve known you your whole life; you don’t know how to love. I’ll catch you in your lie, and I’ll destroy your dreams. Might even fuck with your wife’s little restaurant if I feel like it.”
His words send me over the edge. My chest heaves, my blood boiling unlike ever before. I might threaten Tara. I might fuck with her. But no one else gets to. Especially not this piece of shit.
“If you go after her, I’ll be the one destroying you. Don’t forget, I have connections to some extremely dangerous men, who have no moral code and could make you disappear without a trace.”
Randall’s proud smirk falls, and his face grows pale. “You’re threatening to kill me? Are you fucking stupid?”
I give him a devilish grin. “Nope, just in love, and you threatened what’s mine. Just remember what I said. The next time you even think about disrespecting Tara, I’ll be there to hunt you down and make you pay.”
I already know this will make things worse, but I can’t help myself. Cocking my arm back, I slam my fist right into Randall’s face. His cry of pain fills me with fucking joy.
“That’s for Tara. Next time, I’ll let her do it herself in front of everyone.” I watch as he cups his cheek and leans against the wall, trying to keep his balance.
