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“Want me to fix this?” I ask Dante.
He nods, running his hand through his hair. “Yeah, this isn’t the place for that. Send her home.”
I leave the balcony, the space allowing me to breathe easier. I’m better when I’m busy and have things to do. I head toward Tanya and pull her down from the surface.
A few people boo, but as soon as they see my serious face, they go quiet. Tanya tries to rip her arm out of my grasp, but I’m stronger. A cab is already waiting in the driveway by the time we make it around the house.
“Go home, sober up, and be ready for work tomorrow,” I demand, walking her out of the party and to the front.
“Come on, baby, I’ll take you home.” A regular walks up to us and tries to pull her into the cab with him.
I don’t need this bullshit tonight. “I don’t think so, buddy. Get the fuck out of here.” I manage to get Tanya into the back by herself and close the door. Leaning toward the open front window, I give the address before taping on the roof.
“You’re a cunt. She’s a whore; I was trying to help her out.”
“Then you should have paid for it at the club, but now you’ve insulted me. Don’t bother showing your face for the next month. If you show up, you’ll get your ass tossed out and another month added to your tally.”
A rough hand is felt on my shoulder. I turn to give him more lip and a fist connects with my face. The impact has me stumbling back. The pain is instant and radiates all over my body. I can feel it at the tip of my toes and all the way back up.
I blow out a breath, my hand covering the sore skin. It’s been a long time since I’ve felt this sharp pain of agony. I stomp my foot, hoping to distract myself from the injury. My hand moves from covering my eyes and I attempt to open them. My eye opens a crack, the swelling already taking over.
The man is no longer in my view and I step away, not wanting anyone to see me in this state.
“Who the fuck did this?” Max’s dark voice rolls over me. His hands gently cup my jaw, his fingers feathering over my face as if he’s scared to touch anywhere near my eye.
“I’m handling it, Max.” My voice is soft and comes out weak.
“Whoever touches what’s mine is a dead man walking.”
My hands round his shoulders, and I can feel his barely-controlled rage in the way his body shakes beneath my palms.
“I want a name.” He’s searching the area, inspecting each person who’s trying to go back into the house and away from his prying eye. His eyes are dark, wide, and have this blazing crazy look to them.
Without thinking, I kiss him. My lips cover his and it takes a few seconds for them to mold against mine. I kiss him with everything I have.
His hands cup my ass and pick me up, walking me across the yard until we’re in the shadows of the house and a wall is at my back. His tongue strokes mine and I moan into his mouth, enjoying the sensation of his tongue and the way his pelvis rocks into mine.
His free hand slides up my hips and rests on my rib cage. I want Max to devour me and my legs wrap tighter around him as I lose myself to whatever this is.
He pulls away, both of us breathing hard, our chests pushing against each other. Our eyes are connected and the night’s noises swirl around us, popping the bubble we created.
Second by second in our silence, my eye begins to throb harder. Max’s fingers brush against my puffed skin, a pained expression shines bright in his blue irises. I’ve never seen so much emotion showing in his features and it has my heart opening more to him.
“Seeing you in pain has my insides going crazy with deep dark thoughts. I don’t know how to deal with them other than being The Butcher,” he drawls, his deep tenor vibrating through his throat.
I brush my lips against his. “This makes it all better.”
He groans into my mouth and steps back, allowing my legs to slip down. Once my two feet are on the ground, he pulls his lips away from mine.
“You need to go home and ice this.” I go to argue but he continues. “If Dante sees this, he’s going to go batshit crazy and take it personally.”
I don’t want to draw more attention to myself over this. “Fine.” His eyes flash with something unrecognizable and his jaw clenches.
It takes me a moment to understand why: I had only agreed once he brought up Dante.
A cab pulls into the driveway and Max leads me toward it. “Expect me tonight,” he hisses, closing the back door of a cab. Disappointment sits heavy in my gut that he didn’t get in the car with me. I could have asked him, and judging by the look on his face, I’m certain he wouldn’t have denied me, but that would have meant he means more to me than he should.
I rest my head and close my eyes, my heart and mind confused. They continue to battle with each other, and I no longer know what’s right.
