Page 44 of Brutal Vows

He walks Lili past without glancing at me once.

Thank God. I prefer his silences and scowls over the other side of his personality. The swaggering, smiling, flirtatious one.

The one that constantly makes me flush with anger.

Except now that my sad and lonely vagina started howling like a wolf when he touched me on the carousel, I have a terrible suspicion that it wasn’t anger that made me flush before.

I think maybe my anger has been covering up something else.

Something unimaginable. Inexcusable.

Insane.

“Zia!”

I whirl around at the sound of Lili’s call. She’s being dragged along by the hand by Quinn, looking back over her shoulder and waving frantically at me.

Shoving my heels back onto my feet, I lurch away from the gate and follow them. Quinn is moving so fast, it’s impossible to catch up, but I keep them within sight as they walk straight through the crowd, forcing people to skitter out of their path or risk crashing into them.

We’re headed back to the parking lot. Gianni’s guards follow me, two behind and two ahead, spread out at a short distance. In their dark suits and mirrored sunglasses, they stand out from the casual summer crowd, but not as much as Quinn does. With his height and his golden-god good looks, he’s winning lustful stares from left and right.

And not only from the women.

By the time we reach the Escalade, I’m sweating and out of breath.

Quinn opens the front passenger door for Lili and helps her in. He closes her door and reaches for the back passenger door handle just as I do.

Our hands touch.

A crackle of electricity snaps white-hot over my fingertips.

Gasping, I snatch my hand away from his.

He’s staring at me with hard eyes, a hard jaw, and an expression of pure fury.

Instead of angering or scaring me, that look sets every nerve ending in my body on fire.

My insides go liquid. My nipples harden as if he pinched them. My heart starts to pound, and I break out in a cold sweat. I’m so turned on, I’m breathless.

Clearly, I can never go near a carousel again.

He opens the door. Through gritted teeth, he commands, “Get in.”

It takes a great deal of effort to keep my voice steady when I speak. “I don’t know why you’re acting so strange today, but I’ve already told you I don’t take orders.”

Leaning close to me, his jaw still clenched, he stares into my eyes.

“Get your arse in this car. No questions. No sass. You don’t speak again unless I give you permission to. Which I won’t. Understood?”

His voice is low and gruff. His body heat burns me. I can smell him, the warm, masculine scent of his skin, and count every fleck of gold in his gorgeous hazel eyes.

My mouth goes dry. I can’t manage an answer, so I simply climb up into the car and sit.

He gazes at me for a beat, then his gaze drops to my mouth. He exhales, nostrils flaring.

Then he withdraws and slams the door so hard, the whole car is rocked by it.

“Zia?”whispers Lili from the front seat, terrified.