Page 35 of Prey Tell
His tongue barely grazes the edge of my ear when the music stops and he lifts his head in confusion. I look over my shoulder to see a masked man enter the veranda. Several people freeze and stop what they’re doing. I push against Ben but he doesn’t let me go. He watches the man stalk across the room, coming directly toward us. I can’t see his face, but I’d know that hair anywhere. The fluidity in the way he moves.
Chase.
His shoes click loudly against the stone floor.Tooloudly. Like every step down is made with fury and intention. I can tell his blue eyes are trained directly on me. The hairs on the back of my neck rise.How is it that I can always feel his gaze on me?
Chase doesn’t pay attention to anyone else as he gets closer. A masked woman reaches out for him, but he ignores her, brushing her off with zero hesitation as he moves through the crowd with brutal efficiency.
I stop breathing.
His black suit is tailored perfectly to his body, like always. Simple black dress shoes. White shirt. Gray tie. Even with the mask, he looks deadly.
When he’s close enough, he reaches out and grabs my wrist, tugging me out of Ben’s hold. All the air and sound in the area is suddenly sucked away. Deadly silent. No one speaks.
“You shouldn’t be here, Parker,” he snarls through his mask, releasing my wrist now that I’m away from Ben. As if he can’t stand to touch me for a second too long. I open my mouth to respond but he looks over at Ben and speaks before I have a chance. “Get out.”
Ben’s face blanches. “Excuse me?”
Chase’s jaw feathers as he narrows his eyes. “I can assume by the way Ms. Parker was trying to get away from you that you didn’t ask for consent, and knowing your history, I’m going to be looking into why you were even allowed inside.”
Ben huffs an arrogant laugh. “I’m on the list because your company struck a deal with mine. I’d be careful about your next words.”
Through the mask, I can see the way Chase’s eyes glitter with anger. “If it wasn’t abundantly clear by now, the deal is off. You’re a liability. As a dominant, you should know that consent is paramount. You are no longer welcome here, and you are no longer a client of ours.”
Ben’s face hardens as he looks between us, and then he walks away. A guard escorts him out of the courtyard.
A few people begin to murmur, and Chase flicks his hand as if to tell them to resume their game. Suddenly, the music starts up again.
Just as I twist around to ask Chase what the hell just happened—did he really dissolve an entire business deal over a single, innocuous touch? —he removes his mask and tugs me into his body, looking down at me with utter fury.
“You shouldn’t have come,” he says, his voice a dark purr.
“And why not?” I ask, my voice resolute. “Whyshouldn’tI be here, Ravage?”
He lets out a low growl. I feel it more than hear it. He takes a step forward and grips my chin between his index finger and thumb. My knees wobble at the sudden contact. His eyes scan mine for a second, and my heart thumps quickly against my ribs. Surely he must be able to feel it—how it’s beating erratically by being so close to him.
I pull out of his grasp, angry at his non-answer. Nothing makes sense.Hedoesn’t make sense. He can throw away an entire business deal over another man touching me, but he can’t admit why he doesn’t want me here?
Twisting, I walk away, but before I get far, his hand comes to mine and he tugs me back, twirling me so that I have to place a hand on his chest to stop my body from colliding with his. He looks down at me, and his heart is pounding underneath my hand. With darkened eyes, he looks down at me like he’s angry too, but it’s more than that.
It looks like he’s possessed, and the devil won out.
“Fuck,” he whispers, grabbing my mask and pulling it off roughly.
And then he crashes his lips against mine.
I’m too stunned at first to do anything. I hear my mask clatter to the ground at his feet. He smells smoky, like always, and also like something sweet—butterscotch? But then my whole body descends into an inferno, and I moan as goosebumps erupt along my skin.So soft… his lips are so soft.He drops his hand and grabs the front of my dress, tugging me into his body as his tongue moves into my mouth. He groans before pulling away quickly.
“You idiot,” he growls, his hands cradling my face.
I open my mouth to protest, but he pushes me against the glass railing and kisses me again. The kiss before may have been exploratory, but this kiss is rough and heated.
A claiming.
He doesn’t take his time. Instead, he pushes my lips apart with his tongue as he grips my hips. He presses himself against me and I claw at the back of his suit jacket.
“Not in my apartment,” he murmurs against my lips.
“What?” I ask, suddenly dizzy and hot.
