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"No need to get territorial. We're leaving." He moves to his bike, swinging a leg over, his guys following suit. "Nice meeting your girl, though."

They rev their engines and speed off, but even after they’re gone, that smile haunts me. They didn't come here by accident. And now they know about Olivia.

THIRTY-FOUR

Olivia

"Itold you to stay inside." Sam's voice is as dark as his eyes when he spins around to hover over me. The aggression startles me, and I take a step back, putting space between us. But as always, Sam doesn't allow the distance, stepping forward until we're in a sick dance. I step, he steps and, suddenly, my back is against the bar.

Sam's hand darts out, swiping the bar stool next to me away, creating more room for him to cage me against the freshly polished wood with his large frame. Suddenly, I'm thankful he cleared out all my customers. I'm not sure what's going on with him and the men outside, but we don't need any more witnesses.

I gasp, sucking in oxygen as something akin to fear rattles inside me. Other than when I was first taken by his men, I've never been truly afraid of Sam. But then again, he's never looked angry with me before.

"Iwasinside," I say weakly. Technically, that's true. I was standing in the doorway, still inside the bar. But I don't think Sam cares about technicalities.

A hand tangles in my hair, pulling it back so my face is forced to look up, meeting his eyes. He leans closer until we're breathing each other’s air, his lips a mere inch from mine. I'm still amped up from having his tongue against my clit not that long ago, and something desperate inside me wants him to close that distance and kiss me. The fear and lust heat my core in equal measures, tingles spreading throughout my body.

"I'm trying to protect you, Olivia." My name on his lips sends a bolt of lightning down my spine.

Stop, I shouldn't like this.

"I can't do that if you don't listen to me." He continues, taking a deep breath. "What am I supposed to do with you, hmm?"

Let me go.That's what I should say. But the words don't leave my mouth, they stay lodged in my throat, unwilling to part my lips. What I do say is much, much worse.

"Punish me."

Heat flares in Sam's eyes.

"Careful," he warns, his voice like gravel. "You don't know what you're asking for. If you keep pushing me, I'm going to pull down those jeans and spank you right here." His stare burns into me, dark eyes wide as his fingers clench harder against my jaw.

I could stop this. Apologize and try to calm him down. Maybe he'll take me back to his house, and I can hide out in the plush bedroom he's given to me.

But something inside me snaps. Maybe it's the fear of whatever just happened outside my bar. Maybe it's the way he stood up to those men to protect me. Or maybe it’s the way he thinks he owns me, something that shouldn't make me this hot and bothered.

For once, I don't want to overthink it. I just want tofeel.

"Do it," I goad him, and Sam rises to the challenge, spinning me around and pressing my chest onto the bar top.

"Leave," he demands, startling me. But he's not talking to me. Roman's still in the bar. Wordlessly, he exits, the bell ringing on his way out.

"Are they going to stand out there?" I nod toward the street, where I can see the silhouette of Roman and two other men standing outside my bar.

"They can't see you." Sam turns my head so I'm not looking at his men. "Your windows are tinted, remember? Don't look at them while I'm touching you, though. That's bound to make me angrier than I already am."

I suck in a breath as Sam grips my wrists together, holding them at the center of my back. He moves on from talking about his men quickly, instead using his free hand to snake around my waist and pop the button on my jeans before sliding down the zipper.

It seems like the loudest zipper in the world as it lowers. And then another barrier between us disappears as he tugs on the denim of my jeans. The material pools at my ankles and heat gathers in my core at the anticipation of his touch.

Sam inhales sharply at the sight of me bent over and bare. Heat flushes my cheeks, embarrassment flooding me when I remember that he shredded my panties earlier and the only layer between us was the denim he just discarded.

Before Sam, the last time I was touched in an intimate way, it was with Rhett, but he didn't elicit any of the feelings that Sam does. Sex with him felt like a chore, something I needed to do in order to avoid a fight that ended with me feeling guilty for not meeting his needs. If I made sure to offer my body enough, then he wouldn't get angry with me. But it never actually worked. No amount of offering myself on a pedestal would ever suffice. Make him love me. Make him loyal to me.

"Where's your head, baby girl?" Sam asks, his voice jolting me back into the present as his hands run over the bare skin of my thighs.

I don't answer. I can't admit to him that my mind was drifting to my shitty ex.

"Don't worry, I'll make you focus. By the time I'm finished with you, I'll be the only one you're thinking about."