Page 29 of Redeeming the Villain

“Is here okay?” I ask, and he immediately nods.

“Yeah, of course.” He steps in front of me and turns to face me.

His hands lift to brush up and down my arms. Which actually does wonders to warm me up.

“What’s your name, beautiful?” he asks, inching closer to me until my hands are together and my elbows are bent, resting against his chest.

I think I’ve introduced myself more tonight than I have in the last couple of years. Or at least it feels that way.

“My name is Alor?—”

“Alora.” Malik’s deep and ragged voice slices through the air behind me, and I feel his breath flitter through my hair.

“Ravenwell?” The nice guy holding me looks up behind me with confusion. “What’s up? You two know each othe?—”

“Get your hands off of her.” Malik lashes out, grabbing my shoulders and yanking me back.

I stumble into him, my back flattening against his chest. “Malik, what the hell?!”

Hints of bergamot, ocean waves, and spiced vanilla wrap around me and I try to remind myself that I hate him even if he smells so good.

His hands stay on my shoulders, his fingers firmly planted on my neck, so I have no room to wiggle away.

He ignores me, focusing solely on the cute guy whose name I still haven’t even gotten.

“Is she with you?” He lifts his hands up in surrender. “My bad, bro. I didn’t know.”

Malik scoffs with disgust, and I can’t ignore the sting that pinches my heart. “Fuck no. But you still can’t touch her.”

Cute Guy cocks his head to the side, clearly just as confused as I am. “Then what’s the deal?”

I feel Malik stiffen behind me, and I notice how rigid his muscles are beneath his shirt and how seamlessly we line up together, even with our stark height difference.

“She’s been with almost every guy on our team, so trust me when I say you should stay clear of her.”

My ears begin to burn as my blood starts to boil.

“Excuse me?” I gasp, my head whipping around to glare at him, but he keeps me in place with his hands on my neck. “I have not!”

Lifting my arm up, I drop my elbow sharply into his ribs. He grunts, but doesn’t move a muscle or loosen his grip.

Cute Guy steps forward, standing taller and puffing up his chest. “And if I keep talking to her … then what? Huh?”

Malik chuckles hauntingly, the sound sending shivers down my spine.

I don’t have to see his face to know the daggers that are shooting the cute guy’s way.

Malik steps forward, guiding me right along with him, and he closes the distance between them. “Well, you seem to know my name, yet I don’t know yours. I imagine you’ve heard rumors about me too—violent ones. Want to find out if they’re true?”

Cute Guy holds his stare, but remains silent. I wait in nail-biting anticipation for him to say something snarky back to Malik.

But instead, he does the one thing I was hoping he wouldn’t do—he lets Malik win.

His stare drops to me, softening instantly. “Alora, it was nice meeting you. Maybe I’ll catch you around another time.”

“You won’t,” Malik grunts like a warning.

I stare at the cute guy with my jaw on the floor, absolutely speechless. Because what the hell just happened?

---