Page 48 of Sweet Virgin

“It wasn't personal, Sweetheart, it was business.” Dragging a thumb over his chin, he smiled. “Okay, maybe a little personal.” Squinting one eye, he held his fingers millimeters apart.

I was still confused over what picture she was talking about, but this asshole wasn't going to threaten her like that. The sky turned red, leaking in behind Garrett. All I could see was him and his stupid fucking smile.

Lunging forward, I snagged his shirt and yanked him in. “What the fuck did you do?”

Holding his hands up, he still had the fucking balls to keep laughing. “You mean you haven't seen it?” Cocking his head toward Marc, he spoke over my shoulder. “Wasn't that a nice little pic of him and the slut getting it on?”

It's of us!

Motherfucker!

My temper surged, flaring and embracing my muscles. Snapping my forehead, I slammed it into Garrett's nose. The soft flesh crackled as he yelped like a fucking animal stuck in a trap.

Dropping him, he fell to his knees, cupping his face and groaning in agony. I didn't even look back down at him, he could lay there for the rest of his life, I didn't give a shit.

Storming over to Marc, I latched onto his microphone and threw it the ground. “Where is it?” Balling my fists, I held them by my side, forcing them to stay static. I wanted that picture and all of the negatives. I wasn't going to let him off easy if he didn't cough it up, but I couldn't hit him before he gave them to me.

Allie stood a few feet behind me with her arms folded together. Her lips were pursed tight, brows veered deep into the bridge of her nose.

I was aware of her, even if I wasn't looking right at her. Her safety came first, I wasn't going to lose track of where she was. I couldn't imagine how angry and upset she must have been after finding out about the secret image.

And to know she thought I might have been involved stung. I would never have done that to her, it wouldn't have mattered what they offered me to get her back here.

“It's. . . It's in. . . in my office.” Marc stumbled over his words, his arms curling up into his chest like a raptor. “And you can have it, but not until after we finish this show. You two can't be together until at least a month after we finish airing.”

He looked fucking pathetic. His demeanor was poor and lacked any true testosterone. That wasn't a man standing before me, it was a fucking child. He wouldn't look me in the eyes, he wouldn't stand tall and take any action.

He just stood there expecting his weak condition to hold enough weight for me to give in. But he was wrong.

“I want it, I want all of them.Now.” Gritting my teeth, I leaned in closer. “And you can take that demand and shove it up your ass. There's no way we're doing that. Not now, not ever.”Turning to face Allie, I held out my hand for her to take.

She looked resistant, unsure if she should or not. “Kealen, the contract—”

Cutting her off, I gripped her wrist and yanked her in. “I don't care about the contract.” Grabbing her face, I forced our lips together.

I didn't care what she had to say, I didn't care about a stupid piece of fucking paper. All I cared about was making sure she was mine.

Breaking away, I watched her lids open slowly. “Allie, do you know why I'm here?” Shaking her head no, she touched her lips softly with her fingertips. “I wasn't going to come, I was never going to set foot back in that building. But when Marc texted me the show was back on, I knew I had to. I knew you were here and I had to see you again. I couldn't stand the thought of this, of you being placed into the arms of another man.”

I had signed on to do the show looking to take the next step in my life; I wanted a wife, a family. But the whole premise of the show made me rethink it. Did I really want to deflower a young girl in front of the world just to get what I wanted?

No. I was about to walk out, to never look back, then I saw her.

And when she quite, I was glad to know she couldn't go through with it either.

But I never expected to see her again, even though she was all I could think about. So finding her second time, that meant something to me, it made my feelings legit, it made them real. It forced me to think that maybe some things happen for a reason, and not by chance.

“They have a picture of us, they told me that if I did the show they wouldn't use it against us, that it would all go away. But I didn't know you were on the show, I thought the guy's name today was Fredrick.”

“Fredrick Kealen Knight, that's me.”

Marc cleared his throat, trying to interject with his terms again. “We didn't want to do this, but we needed her back. And I'm sorry, it's all true. She signed the contract and so did you, Fredrick. But Garrett is the one who gets her, not you.”

Shaking my head, I bit my lip, releasing Allie and turning to him. “That's where you're wrong, I'm the one who comes out on top. Allie isn't yours to give away, you can't decide who she gives herself to.”

Clicking his tongue, Marc's head teetered side to side. “Actually, I can. She's supposed to give herself to the winner, Garrett's the one who's going to win, so—”

“No.” The words stopped him short, slicing whatever he was about to say in half. “I read the contract, I read every line and detail.” A dark chuckle slipped free as I pointed firmly in his face. “You think you have this all figured out, but you don't. The contract says she's supposed to give it to one of the contestants, not the winner, not Garrett. Iamone of the contestants, so your contract doesn't mean shit. She didn't do anything to break it.”

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