Page 17 of You Were Always Mine
Scarlett doesn’t see me yet. She’s too busy trying to pretend she’s not cornered, not caught, her hands hovering like she can’t decide whether to push him off or let it happen — but I see it. I see the way her smile falters when his hand tightens, when his mouth drags lower, when she stiffens under his grip.
That’s all it takes.
The switch flips.
I see red and nothing else.
I don’t think. I don’t wait.
I’m on him in an instant, my hand fisting in the back of his shirt, yanking him off her so hard he stumbles, choking on his own breath. Scarlett gasps, her body jerking back as the man’s grip tears away from her, his head snapping towards me in confusion that lasts less than a heartbeat — because then my fist crashes into his face.
Bone cracks under my knuckles, fresh blood spraying across my skin. He reels back, swearing, clutching at his nose, but I don’t let him fall. I grab him by the throat, slamming him into the wall hard enough to rattle the frames hanging there.
‘You think you can put your hands on her?’ I snarl, spit flying, my voice low and lethal. ‘You think you can touch what isn’t yours?’
He chokes, sputtering, eyes wide. ‘I—I didn’t?—’
My fist drives into his gut, folding him in half, his breath exploding from his lungs in a strangled wheeze. The crowd parts around us, the music still pounding, but the focus is all here — all on me. On Scarlett. On him.
I slam him again, harder, his skull cracking against thewall. My vision is fire, my body trembling with rage, and all I can hear is Scarlett’s laugh in my head, her red lips parted, his hands on her arse.
‘Touch her again,’ I growl, my knuckles digging into his jaw, ‘and I’ll break every fucking bone in your body.’
The man gags, nodding frantically, his hands clawing at mine.
I let him drop — crumpled and gasping on the sticky floor, blood pouring down his face. My chest heaves, fists shaking, knuckles split open and raw. Then I turn.
Scarlett is standing frozen a few feet away, eyes wide, lips parted, her chest rising fast under that black dress. Fear. Shock. Something else.
The crowd stares, silent, waiting — but all I see is her.
Scarlett’s frozen, her lips parted, her eyes locked on me like she doesn’t know whether to run or scream. The bass still pounds; the stink of blood and beer hangs heavy.
I don’t give her a choice.
I stride forward, boots heavy on the sticky floor, grab her wrist in one hand, and haul her against me. She gasps, tries to twist away, but I’m done pretending she gets a say.
Before she can spit her venom, before she can claw at me like she did in the alley, I bend, hook an arm behind her thighs, and lift.
Scarlett yelps as I sling her over my shoulder, her dress riding dangerously high, her fists pounding against my back. ‘Put me down, Kai!’
Her voice cuts through the music — sharp, furious — but the crowd only watches in silence. Some smirk, some whisper, but no one moves to stop me.
My arm locks around her legs, holding her tight, her body pressed to mine as I stalk through the bar. Her hairspills down my back, her nails dig into my shirt, her heels kick uselessly against my chest.
‘You’re out of your fucking mind!’ she spits, voice muffled against my shoulder.
I don’t slow. Don’t speak. The exit’s ahead, the door swinging open as the night air spills in — cool and sharp against my burning skin.
Every step is a warning, every heartbeat a vow.
Let them all see.
Let them all remember.
Scarlett belongs to me.
The door bangs open as I shoulder through, Scarlett writhing against me like a wildcat. Her fists hammer at my back, her voice a snarl of curses that make a few smokers outside choke on their laughter. They see me, see her, see the fight — and no one dares step in. They just watch.
