Page 47

Gasp.
When the officer just stood there with his mouth hanging open, Rhett let me go and turned around, facing the room. Every eye was on him. “Who’s responsible for this?” He gestured to my face.
“Rhett, it’s?—”
“Quiet.”
Oh.
“I said, Who. Is. Responsible. For. This?”
Without a word, the people standing near the man that hit me shuffled silently away from him. Rhett zeroed in on him like a hunter sighting his quarry. His eyes narrowed dangerously as he glared at the guy, his entire demeanor radiating barely contained fury. “Get over here.”
The guy shuffled nervously towards Rhett, his eyes wide with fear. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. This guy was twice Rhett’s size and had at least fifty pounds on him, but he definitely had his tail between his legs.
He opened his mouth, but before he could get a word out, Rhett’s fist lashed out with startling speed, connecting with the guy’s face with a sickening crack. His head snapped violently, and he stumbled backward from the force of the hit.
“Rhett! What the fuck are you doing?”
He didn’t even glance at me. His eyes were locked on his target. The man cowered, hands raised in a feeble attempt to protect himself as Rhett moved on him again.
“You think it’s okay to hit my woman?” He snarled, grabbing a fistful of the man’s shirt and yanking him forward. “You need to be taught some fucking manners.”
“Rhett, stop!” I pleaded, my heart pounding with panic. This was spiraling out of control, fast.
The cop behind the counter shouted something, but Rhett wasn’t listening. With his free hand, he landed another brutal punch. There was a sickening crunch and a spray of blood.
Oh god. Did he break his nose? The man crumpled to the floor, whimpering and cradling his face as blood gushed between his fingers.
Chest heaving, Rhett stood over him, hands clenching and unclenching like he was warring with the urge to kick the man while he was down. I had to stop this before it went any further.
“Rhett!” I grabbed his arm, pulling him back with all my strength. “That’s enough! You’re going to get yourself arrested.”
For a terrifying moment, the fury in his eyes didn’t waver as he glared at me. Then, finally, some of the tension drained from his face and his shoulders relaxed. Turning to the cop behind the counter, he said, “You gonna arrest me?”
“Um, uh, not tonight. But I’ll need your details.”
“Fine.” Fishing in his pocket, he pulled out a business card and slapped it on the counter. “That fuckhead had better still be here tomorrow. He’s not getting away with this.” Then he threw a terse, “Let’s get out of here,” to me.
Without waiting for me to respond, he grabbed my hand and started pulling me towards the exit. I had no choice but to hurry along behind him.
As we burst through the front doors into the fading evening light, I couldn’t stop the shaky laugh of disbelief that bubbled up. Only Rhett would come storming into a police station and start throwing punches to defend my honor. And then walk out like he was leaving a business meeting.
Part of me knew I should be furious at his caveman antics. But another part... another part found it recklessly thrilling to have this infuriatingly arrogant man fight for me so ferociously. That part was feeling all sorts of hot and bothered, and like she couldn’t wait to be alone with him.
Without asking my opinion on the matter, Rhett drove me to Raleigh. Normally, I would have been fucking annoyed, but right now, with Raleigh being less than half an hour away, it was by far the better option.
After he’d asked me if I was hungry and I’d answered yes, he hadn’t said another word. Just gripped the steering wheel and stared at the road ahead. I may as well not have been there. On any other day, that also would have annoyed me. But tonight, it gave me a lot of time to go over everything in my mind.
He pulled up in the valet parking of his condo building, climbed out, and threw his keys to the waiting valet. “I’ll do it,” he almost growled when the guy stepped forward to open my door.
I couldn’t believe what I was feeling. The neanderthal act had always been a total turn off for me, but not tonight. Maybe it was the hormones. Yeah, that made sense. I could do what I was about to do and blame it all on the hormones. Fucking excellent.
I let Rhett guide me through the lobby with his hand firmly planted on my lower back. The heat from his palm radiated through the thin fabric of my shirt, raising goosebumps along my skin. I couldn’t deny the thrill that zinged through me at his possessive gesture.
The moment we stepped into the empty elevator car, Rhett crowded me against the wall, caging me in with his arms. His woodsy cologne enveloped me, the scent achingly familiar and intoxicating. I tilted my head back to meet his intense gaze, my breath catching at the burning desire blazing in them.
“I’m so fucking hot for you right now,” he rumbled, his voice a deep rasp that did sinful things to my insides. He leaned in until his lips brushed the sensitive curve of my ear. “You would not believe what I’m going to do to you.”