Page 16 of His Dark Vices

"Are you a foodie?" I lean in close, hoping the answer is yes, but he laughs me off.

"I'll have to disappoint you." Sam chuckles, a deep sound that sends a ripple across my skin.

"After a night like this? Keep trying."

Sam grins as we slip into a comfortable silence, and my stomach fills again with butterflies. He has this way of making me feel like I'm the only girl around.

I wonder how attentive he is in other settings.

I clear my throat and look away, feeling my cheeks heat up.

"I'll be right back. I'll just go touch up my makeup," I say with a little smile.

He nods, and I excuse myself, trying to empty my head of thoughts of his lips on me. I really can't help myself, can I? It feels like I'm being romanced, and Companion knows something like this has… like, never happened.

"How pathetic," I murmur to myself, stepping into the women's bathroom.

The spacious room gives off a princess vibe, light pink and white marble. The lights make me look stunning. I stop to check my reflection in the floor-length mirror near the entrance, and that's when a dark shape suddenly rushes in.

I recognize the staff uniform, but it's a man, charging right for me. Before I can scream, his hand is covering my mouth, and he's pushing me deeper into the bathroom. My heels scrape across the floor as I struggle to gain purchase, but he doesn't stop shoving until he has me flat against the wall.

"What a treat," the man whispers into my face, his eyes raking down my body.

I twist and writhe in his grip, but he quickly shows me what he's carrying in his left hand—a knife.

"Play nice, and I won't have to use this. Okay?"

My eyes bulge out of my head, my chest rising and falling as my heart rate skyrockets. I can barely get a breath through his dirty fingers, and thankfully, he starts to pull his hand away.

"Don't say a word, don't scream, or I'll plunge this into you and stain this pretty dress of yours."

I nod furiously, my hands up in the air to show I won't do a thing. I'm waiting for someone to come in, that's what I'm doing. My eyes keep darting behind him, but he doesn't notice. His eyes are on my body, and soon, his hand is groping at me. I groan, my stomach twisting at his touch.

"Oh, you're lovely," he mumbles, his hand dipping lower to my thighs and gripping the hem of the dress. "I bet you're lovelier under here."

I whimper and shut my eyes, turning my head away. My legs are trembling, and I want nothing more than to kick this guy in the dick, but the knife is pointed directly at my ribs.

"Please," I start softly, but he shakes the knife.

"Not a fucking word." His fingers dig into my thighs. "Don't make me tell you again?—"

"Hey!!"

A voice filled with fury and shock rings through the bathroom, and as the guy turns toward the sound, Sam is already upon him, his eyes blazing with violence. He doesn't look twice at the knife before his fist sinks into the man's face. I finally let out the scream I've been holding in and leap away. Tears immediately spring to my eyes and fall down my cheeks, and the sound of fists hitting flesh surrounds me.

Sam doesn't hold back. His fists connect again and again with the man's face, even after they come back bloodied. A chill runsdown my spine. I can't move. He's unleashing such a fury that it's hard to breathe.

But I can't let him keep going.

"Sam!" I scream. "Don't kill him, Sam!"

I start tugging on his shoulders, trying to get him off the guy. A part of me wants to see him keep going, but I can't let Sam go to jail over this creep. I feel the power rippling through his body as he strikes the man. I know he won't stop, so I wrap my arms around one of his and cling.

"Please, Sam, please!"

Finally, I feel his body still. I quickly jump up and look down at my attacker. He's groaning and moving on the floor—not dead. Then, much too late, actual staff pour into the bathroom.

Sam snaps into control, explaining the situation and directing the staff to act. They comply at once, a couple of men restraining the guy and a few others going off to call the authorities. Then he steps to my side and pulls me close.

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