Chapter 15 #4
Cole had his glass halfway to his lips, and he choked at Jonah's outburst. The couple at the end of the table ducked their heads and laughed into each other's necks. The color in Lara's cheeks flooded back, like a cape to a bull.
"Also, did you forget when you made a mess of my leather seats, volpe mia?" I reminded her about our steamy car ride.
Didn't know her, my ass. I thought I could put space between us, for both our sake, but seeing her with someone else was too much.
"Would you excuse me for a moment?" Her smile was sugary, and Cole finished his drink with a grunt.
Lara stood, but he pulled her down into his lap. Cole squeezed his hands up her waist and over her chest before he tossed his bet toward the dealer.
"No, this is better. At least now I know you put out." He ignored her wince of pain as he gripped her against him.
Jonah and I caused this, taking the conversation somewhere we shouldn't have.
Jonah growled, and I scrunched the cards in my hand.
I knew it was hypocritical and dangerous, but Lara was mine.
It was my necklace around her neck. I thought that would be enough to leave her alone, but recklessness surged inside me.
The dealer swallowed a sigh and pulled out a fresh pack. "One moment, I'll have pristine cards for everyone."
"Take your time." Beck was gleeful, his gaze maniacally bouncing between Lara, Jonah, and me.
Jonah, my big guy, tugged at his collar and jerked two buttons undone. I waited for Lara to protest, but she ignored us. Cole's hand landed on her ass and squeezed. I barely saw it through the smoke in my vision.
"Why don't we wrap this game up?" Lara's deft fingers toyed with the sharp knot of his tie.
"For the last time." Cole rolled his eyes. "I'm not done. Stop being a needy whore."
The Lara I knew would tear his throat out with a sharp retort or slap his face, but she did neither. She swallowed her discomfort and…I couldn't take it. Nobody was allowed to speak to her that way and get away with it. I was about to cross every line, but that was who I was, a fucking mess.
"Lara," Jonah growled, but she ignored him.
"Whenever you're ready, and—" Lara's proposition was a hushed whisper I strained to catch.
She was going to bed with this idiot? Beck's low bark of laughter didn't stop me as I rounded the table. Cole squealed as I dragged Lara out of his slimy hold and tossed her over my shoulder. Her fists rained down on my back.
"Ray, let me go, or I swear—" Lara cried as Jonah slipped in between Cole.
The stone of his expression was a cliff face again, but this time warmed from the sun.
"Get her out of here. I got this," he muttered to me, but Beck intervened.
The police chief prowled out of his seat and danced his fingers along Lara's back.
"I said you would regret it, Little Liar," he whispered, grinning when Lara cursed at him.
Beck traveled his hard gaze over Cole, and malevolence lurked in his bland smile. "Allow me, gentleman, I insist." Beck pressed into Cole's bubble, ignoring the look of indignation.
The couple at the end of the table abandoned their seats, reading the underlying tension. Lara blew out a strangled breath against my back, sagging with something I couldn't identify. My veins thrummed with too much molten rage to think clearly.
"Beck, what are you doing?"
"Enjoy your night, Lara," Beck tossed over his shoulder.
"Excuse me? Pay for your own date." Cole's pudgy face twisted into something spoiled.
I would have loved to see how Beck dealt with the man, but I had someone else I needed to deal with first. I carried Lara through the crowd, ignoring her protests and the way her lush body wriggled against mine.
"Put me down, Ray. You're showing my ass to everyone."
"Nope, just me. Nice panties," Jonah said, and I splayed my hand over Lara's cheeks. Her skirt had ridden up, and she was wearing a G-string, if the silky feel of her naked ass was anything to go by. I pushed open the staff-only door and stalked down to the manager's office.
"Get out."
The manager pushed his black-rimmed glasses up his bulbous nose and stumbled out, snatching up his phone as he went.
"T-there are cameras," he warned, but Jonah wrapped his solid hand around his throat and squeezed.
He hefted the manager against the wall with a growl. The man's feet dangled above the ground.
"Turn them off, because if anyone sees what happens in this room, I will dig their eyes out with my own fucking fingers."
Jonah uncurled his grip, and the manager fled.
I flipped Lara over my head and onto a tan leather couch, and she landed with a squeak.
She immediately tugged at her tiny red skirt, but it was too late.
I got a peek of a black lace triangle. Jonah flipped the lights off, leaving only the dim spill of a lamp.
One wall of the office was glass, looking out over the gyrating crowd of Revolver below.
The music thumped like a low-level pulse, and lasers hit the burnished copper artwork lining the walls.
It was mesmerizing, but there was a much more gorgeous view glaring at me from the couch.
"If you want to get fucked, you should have just asked," I crossed my arms over my chest.