Page 63 of A Forbidden Arrangement

I haven’t recovered from being in his arms. A man who sends others scattering out of fear and respect held me like I was something breakable. That’s not right. From the second I met him in that bar, he told me to take what I want. His touch wasn’t precious; it was reverent.

His touch was adoring. Devoted.

Heat pulls low in my stomach, and I press my thighs together, instantly regretting delaying us from leaving. The hesitance I’d felt before is gone. He wants to give me what I want, and I want to take it.

Impatience coils in me as I shift my weight, kicking myself for asking for that drink. Xander’s halfway across the room now. Too far to call back without looking ridiculous. A man stops him, and I bite back a groan, debating whether to go myself.

On one hand, I’ll have to face his smug grin again. On the other, we’ll finally get out of here.

Just as the scale tips toward chasing him, a younger man steps into view. My stomach drops.Elliot.

He holds out his hand, and Xander takes it. The shift in Xander’s body is instant. His shoulders set, jaw tight, polite smile nowhere to be found.

Elliot winces, and his eyes dart everywhere but at the man gripping his hand.

He looks nervous. Small.

Nothing like the monster who’s been haunting my dreams.

Then Elliot looks up.

My knees falter, and I take a step back when he finds me across the crowd. There’s a spark of recognition, and then his face hardens, a sneer pulling across his lips.

Fear lances through me, and I’m already turning to escape before my mind can catch up. Out of the corner of my eye, I catch a flash of Misty’s violet hair as she slips through the exit on the far side of the ballroom.

I want to run to her, but the crowd is too dense, a wall of glittering bodies between us. I don’t have time to think. I bolt for the nearest door, praying it connects to the same hallway.

The second I clear the threshold, I call her name.

Nothing.

The hall is empty.

My pulse stutters, breath coming too fast.Relax.He’s not going to grab you. He still has to get through the ballroom. Just find Damon and Misty, then wait for Xander.

Then explain… He’s going to be furious. Would explaining that I was planning on telling him everything tonight help? How was I supposed to know we’d run into Elliot?

My pace starts steady, but it quickens until I’m almost running. Every few seconds, I glance back. There’s still no sign of him.

The tightness in my chest doesn’t ease, not even a little. I push harder. The dress tangles around my legs, forcing shorter steps. I want to tear the hem, rip it clean through. Embarrassment doesn’t matter. Getting to Misty and Damon does.

A sound breaks the quiet behind me, and my heart catches in my throat. I twist to look back, then slam into something solid.

The impact knocks the air from my lungs, and I stagger, gasping for breath.

My apology dies as I look up.

“Gotcha.” A man towers over me, frame twice the size of mine, and his lips are pulled into a sneer.

I twist to run, but he catches my arm in a bruising grip and yanks me back. My shoulder blades slam into his chest as his hand clamps over my mouth. The sound that rips from me is muffled, swallowed by his palm.

I thrash, nails digging into his arm, kicking hard enough to send pain up my shins, but he doesn’t budge. His breath rasps against my ear when he laughs. “Where do you think you’re going?”

I shake my head, trying to bite, trying to scream, but it’s useless. He drags me backward, my heels scraping across the floor, and the harder I fight, the tighter his hold becomes. He lifts me like I weigh nothing and shoves me through a side door.

The lock clicks. Quiet. Final.

The dim overhead light reveals three men in front of me. Helplessness sinks into my bones until it’s all I can do to stay upright. My legs shake, my weight sagging against the arm locked around my stomach. His hand stays clamped over my mouth, cutting off air and sound until my lungs ache.