doesn’t budge.
Adam, pale-faced, stands up. “That’s enough, Mark.”
Ignoring him, Mark raises his voice even further. “What stunt are you trying to pull? You know you don’t belong here. Go back to your multimillion-dollar penthouse before I make you.” Stretching out his arm, he points to the exit behind me.
Ryder’s eyes follow his finger and instead of the exit, find me. He freezes momentarily, and in his eyes I read a mixture of surprise and something else—a flash of heat. My pulse speeds up and entranced by his gaze, I can no longer hear what Mark is shouting.
Why did he come? If Rose is right and he is the private person she claims he is, this is the worst place to avoid drawing attention to himself. Surely, he must have known that the moment he opened his mouth, he set himself up for trouble. If he’d wanted to talk to me, he could have called or texted me. Even if I failed to reply—which I probably would—he could have turned up at my apartment or at work like he did before.
A movement in the corner of my eye brings me out of my trance. Mark has followed Ryder’s gaze and found its object. His face full of rage, Mark makes a fist behind his back. He can’t be serious. He’s not planning to…?
He is.
“No!” I scream.
Pushing aside chairs and ignoring people’s curses, I rush towards Mark. In slow motion, I see his clenched hand approaching Ryder, who attempts to dodge it, but it is too late. Mark’s fist connects with the left side of his face, right next to his eye. Surprise flickers on his face, but Ryder remains anchored on the spot, motionless apart from his hand slowly moving up to his hurt eye. Why doesn’t he fight back? Judging from his muscular build, he could easily overpower him with one push.
I finally reach the inner circle and put my body between Mark and Ryder, whose eye is reddening and will probably develop into a black eye. I am beyond furious. Goddamn Mark. If I had a knife, I would stab him right now. Instead, I push him backwards on his bony chest multiple times until he is as far removed from Ryder as possible.
“You. Asshole. Stay away from him,” I hiss.
Grinning, Mark holds his hands up in a mock defeat.
After the hushed silence when Mark was confronting Ryder, it is now mayhem all around us. Chairs are toppling; people are talking, shouting, shoving each other. Adam is doing his best trying to pacify the crowd, but is not having much success.
I glance over my shoulder at Ryder, who is still gazing at me, head slightly tilted, one eyebrow cocked. His eye is starting to swell, and I can imagine how painful it must feel. My heart squeezes at the sight of him; whatever he may represent, he doesn’t deserve this. He has the same right as anyone else to be here in this supposedly public meeting. Besides, he didn’t do or say anything to provoke Mark. For the very first time, I feel embarrassed that I’m part of this group.
I have to make this right.
Ryder
Goddamn, my eye hurts. I’m sure I’m going to have a shiner tomorrow.
Normally I would have easily evaded the scumbag’s punch, but I didn’t expect him to hit me, and the sight of Elle at the back of the room was a major distraction. I’d been looking for her since I walked into the meeting and was disappointed she wasn’t there. So when I spotted her dark smoky eyes gazing at me, I lost all thought and reason. I didn’t even feel the punch in my face.
Exactly like now. Elle is pushing herself between me and the douchebag, and I completely forget about the pain. Her mile-long legs clad in tight gray-and-white leopard print leggings, she shoves him a few times and growls at him to stay away from me. I don’t see her face, but her voice and posture are unmistakable, radiating a fury that is almost primal. My heart lurches. No one has ever stood up for me like that. It gives me a shred of hope—will she forgive me? Will she give me another chance?
Elle pushes
Adam, pale-faced, stands up. “That’s enough, Mark.”
Ignoring him, Mark raises his voice even further. “What stunt are you trying to pull? You know you don’t belong here. Go back to your multimillion-dollar penthouse before I make you.” Stretching out his arm, he points to the exit behind me.
Ryder’s eyes follow his finger and instead of the exit, find me. He freezes momentarily, and in his eyes I read a mixture of surprise and something else—a flash of heat. My pulse speeds up and entranced by his gaze, I can no longer hear what Mark is shouting.
Why did he come? If Rose is right and he is the private person she claims he is, this is the worst place to avoid drawing attention to himself. Surely, he must have known that the moment he opened his mouth, he set himself up for trouble. If he’d wanted to talk to me, he could have called or texted me. Even if I failed to reply—which I probably would—he could have turned up at my apartment or at work like he did before.
A movement in the corner of my eye brings me out of my trance. Mark has followed Ryder’s gaze and found its object. His face full of rage, Mark makes a fist behind his back. He can’t be serious. He’s not planning to…?
He is.
“No!” I scream.
Pushing aside chairs and ignoring people’s curses, I rush towards Mark. In slow motion, I see his clenched hand approaching Ryder, who attempts to dodge it, but it is too late. Mark’s fist connects with the left side of his face, right next to his eye. Surprise flickers on his face, but Ryder remains anchored on the spot, motionless apart from his hand slowly moving up to his hurt eye. Why doesn’t he fight back? Judging from his muscular build, he could easily overpower him with one push.
I finally reach the inner circle and put my body between Mark and Ryder, whose eye is reddening and will probably develop into a black eye. I am beyond furious. Goddamn Mark. If I had a knife, I would stab him right now. Instead, I push him backwards on his bony chest multiple times until he is as far removed from Ryder as possible.
“You. Asshole. Stay away from him,” I hiss.
Grinning, Mark holds his hands up in a mock defeat.
After the hushed silence when Mark was confronting Ryder, it is now mayhem all around us. Chairs are toppling; people are talking, shouting, shoving each other. Adam is doing his best trying to pacify the crowd, but is not having much success.
I glance over my shoulder at Ryder, who is still gazing at me, head slightly tilted, one eyebrow cocked. His eye is starting to swell, and I can imagine how painful it must feel. My heart squeezes at the sight of him; whatever he may represent, he doesn’t deserve this. He has the same right as anyone else to be here in this supposedly public meeting. Besides, he didn’t do or say anything to provoke Mark. For the very first time, I feel embarrassed that I’m part of this group.
I have to make this right.
Ryder
Goddamn, my eye hurts. I’m sure I’m going to have a shiner tomorrow.
Normally I would have easily evaded the scumbag’s punch, but I didn’t expect him to hit me, and the sight of Elle at the back of the room was a major distraction. I’d been looking for her since I walked into the meeting and was disappointed she wasn’t there. So when I spotted her dark smoky eyes gazing at me, I lost all thought and reason. I didn’t even feel the punch in my face.
Exactly like now. Elle is pushing herself between me and the douchebag, and I completely forget about the pain. Her mile-long legs clad in tight gray-and-white leopard print leggings, she shoves him a few times and growls at him to stay away from me. I don’t see her face, but her voice and posture are unmistakable, radiating a fury that is almost primal. My heart lurches. No one has ever stood up for me like that. It gives me a shred of hope—will she forgive me? Will she give me another chance?
Elle pushes
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