Page 24 of Vengeful King

I wait for thebut.I wait for more, for another admission. But instead, she says, “I never thought he’d find me here.”

She swallows and I can see it. I can see the tension in her. But she doesn’t break my gaze. She just looks at me, letting me see the truth in her eyes.

Whatever else she lied about, she’s not lying that she’s been avoiding this man.

I’m barely placated by that fact. If anything, I’m still angry. I’m angry that this happened at my club, where I make a point of running things smoothly. I bust my ass to make sure nothing goes wrong here. To make sure our business stays strong and steady.

I’m angry at Casey for being a fucking cunt, for running his mouth and being a slimy bastard to a woman who doesn’t belong to him and never will.

And I’m angry at the woman in front of me for the way she gets under my skin.

I don’t know why it’s true, but it is. Even now, as I glare down at her, I can feel it. Some pull that draws me in. My control is strained to its breaking point, the beast inside me roaring to be let out.

I’m always careful and logical when it comes to doing business in this club. But the caveman side of me, the part that isn’t in charge of anything and doesn’t have to worry about business or appearances, is drawn to Katrina.

And I don’t know why.

I lean closer to her, watching the way her pupils dilate in response.

“Did you lie about anything else?” I ask, quietly. Slowly.

Katrina looks at me, her gray eyes steady. Steely. “No.”

There’s a small flush in her cheeks, a hint of her previous exertion on the pole and her high emotions. I can’t tell if she’s lying or telling the truth. I’m too distracted by everything else about her.

So I take her chin in my hand, gripping it tightly.

“You’d better be telling me the truth,” I say, my voice gruff and low. “I don’t tolerate shit like this from any of my employees. In fact, I should fire you right now.”

Katrina exhales sharply, her breath a whisper against my face. A new kind of fear lights in her eyes, and she tries to shake her head, although she can’t with my hold on her.

“Don’t,” she says, but the word is so airy it flies away. There’s more strength in her voice when she speaks again. “Please. I need this. Please.”

It’s the firstpleasethat gets me. It shoots through me like electricity and just like that, my cock is hard. That one word triggers everything I’ve been ignoring.

I need this.Her words are in my head, echoing, the way they sounded on her parted lips running on repeat in my mind. I want to hear her say it again. I want to hear her beg. God, the sound of her begging affects me in a way I didn’t anticipate. It hits something low and primal in me, and my thumb slides over the curve of her jaw.

With her chin in my hand, I could kiss her. I can imagine it now; it would just take a moment, just a tilt of the head.

Just a kiss.

But where would it go from there? In this room, no one could hear. No one outside. I could bend her over the table and fuck her, right on the other side of the stage. She could watch herself get fucked in the mirror. I could have her naked, pull off all her lingerie, shred it off her body like tissue paper.

That thought sends a flush of heat through my veins, my gaze dropping to her lips. She’s barely breathing, and when her tongue darts out to wet her plump bottom lip, a low groan burns in my throat.

I start to drop my head, all reason vanishing from my mind in this moment—but as I do, I catch a glimpse of our reflections in the vanity mirror. And just as suddenly as the desire appeared, reality comes rushing back in.

What am I doing?

I release her, nearly shoving her face away when I let go. I step back and leave her confused, probably as disoriented as I feel. I don’t have a clue what the fuck I was thinking, what I was about to do. After all my promises and rules, how could I have come so close to kissing her?

Was I seriously about to throw everything away and act on the tension between us?

“No more lies,” I growl. “If I find out you kept anything else from me, you’ll regret it.”

Then, gritting my teeth, I turn on my heel and stride out of the room.

CHAPTER9

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