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“Have a good night,” I say quickly. “Let me know if you need anything else.”
Just as I’m about to turn around, Grady reaches out to grab a lock of my hair. I go still, like a wild animal caught in a trap. My heart thrums crazily in my chest and my breathing thins, panic rising with every second.
Unaware, or uncaring of my discomfort, he rubs the strands between his thumb and forefinger. “It’s softer than I expected.”
“Please let g—”
My plea is caught in my throat as a dark figure appears at Grady’s side, instantly commanding my attention. Bennett resembles a wraith, clothed in black and encased in shadow. Faster than I can process, he snatches Grady’s thumb and wrenches it back. The man cries out in both alarm and pain, but that doesn’t deter Bennett.
If anything, he pulls back all the more.
With my hair free, I step away at the same moment the men at the table begin to rise.
“Stay seated,” Bennett says, his voice danger in auditory form. “This doesn’t involve you. Only this man since he foolishly touched what doesn’t belong to him.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Grady shouts.
Bennett jerks his chin in my direction. His eyes are bright in the dim lighting, the fierce emotions within shining like diamonds. “She’s mine.”
Chapter10
Calista
Everyone’s focusshifts to me.
However, the only gaze I feel on my skin is Bennett’s. It’s brief, but in that moment, something shifts inside me, something bursting alive at his appearance. His eyes are glimmering with violence, and his body is taut with rage. I’ve never seen anything this magnificent, so fierce and primal.
“Apologize,” Bennett says to his captive.
Grady’s face is twisted in a grimace, but it slowly morphs into a sneer. “To her? Some random girl in a bar? Come on, man. It’s not like I grabbed her ass. She should’ve expected a littlefriendlinessin a place like this.”
“Why do people refuse to do what they’re told?”
Bennett adjusts his hold on Grady’s hand, wrenching it back until the man falls to the floor in order to keep his thumb attached. The loud bang jolts me, and I take another step back, my hip bumping into the table’s edge. Out of the corner of my eye, I catch the bartender watching the events with a scowl etched in his features.
A loud snap, followed by a scream of pain, arrests my attention.
I zip my gaze back to Grady, and nausea washes over me. His thumb dangles from his hand, not completely removed… but it’s close. Bennett looms over the man like an executioner, his face a complete mask.
Except for the flash of emotion in his eyes.
It lights up his gaze with intent before he slams the heel of his shoe into Grady’s palm. The man’s wailing crescendos, making me wince, but Bennett doesn’t stop. The attorney swivels his foot, grinding into the man’s hand until the first streak of crimson appears. Even in the dimly lit room, the brightness of the hue is discernible.
A warning to everyone present.
An omen to me.
Bennett crouches, bringing his face close to Grady’s and whispers, “Apologize to Miss Green for putting your filthy hands on her. Then apologize tomefor touching what’s mine.”
Grady’s words are a jumbled mess, but whatever he says appeases Bennett. The lawyer walks over to me with purposeful strides until he’s standing close enough for me to smell his cologne. He removes his coat while I ignore Grady writhing on the floor in favor of watching his friends. They stare at Bennett. Every single of them has wariness in their eyes, as if they’re worried about garnering his attention.
I wouldn’t want to dance with the devil either.
Yet he’s right beside me.
Bennett drapes his coat over my shoulders and tugs at the lapels to cover me. I swing my gaze to him, unable to keep from gaping. Unlike me, his expression is void of any emotion. The warmth from his body still lingers on the material when it brushes against my skin. It’s evidence he’s human, but I’m having a hard time believing that.
He leans down, placing his lips beside my ear. His breath grazes the side of my neck, and I repress a shiver. “Come with me,” he says.
