Page 21 of By Invitation Only

CHAPTER FIVE

My body became tight as I felt Booker’s warm breath against my neck. I didn’t know how to respond to him. He was clearly pissed, but did he mean what I thought he meant?

“What the fuck, Book—” Jason dared.

“Piss off, mate,” Booker spat back.

I slowly turned my head toward Ava and mouthed, “What the fuck?” Her eyes were wide. Michael stood to stand next to Jason.

What is going on?

Jason moved his gaze back to me. “Did I hear him correctly? You went to fuck Trent Inglewood?”

I opened my mouth to respond, but instead, Booker did. “Choose your words wisely,love.”

I knew what Booker meant. Ava filing for divorce wasn’t public knowledge per se. It was, in fact, public record if anyone were to look at the court records since we had already started her divorce proceedings. But here, now, there were only four people who knew what was going on, and I knew Ava wanted to keep things under wrap.

“No.” I shook my head, still not turning around to face Booker. “I just needed to speak with him for a few minutes.” I mean, really, I wasn’t gone more than five minutes.

“Then why are you all up on her, Booker? We were clearly getting somewhere, and from what Peyton has told me, she isn’t anadventurist.”

Adventurist?What did he mean by that?

“I should go,” I said to Ava who was still sitting on the couch she and Michael were making out on only moments ago. I took a step to do just that, but Booker grabbed my arm and started to steer me away from the group. “What are you doing?” I hissed, trying to free my arm from his grasp.

He didn’t speak.

“Booker!” I heard Jason yell.

Booker still didn’t say a word as he led me through the house, destination unknown.

“Seriously, let me go!” I tried to wiggle my arm free, but his grip was firm and there was no use.

He stopped just as we turned a corner. Before I realized it, he’d pushed me against a wall and once again his warm body was pressed into me. This time it was his hard front on mine.

“Aren’t you supposed to ask before you touch?”

He looked down at where he held my wrist. “If I would have asked, you would have said no. I’m not into being told no.”

“So you think the solution is to manhandle me?”

“Fight it all you want,love, but people will just think we’re role playing.”

I looked into his blue eyes that were burning with the hottest of fire. “What do you want from me?”

He licked his lips, and my traitor stomach dipped. “You don’t want me to answer that.”

I rolled my eyes and sighed. “Stop playing games. I know you’re pissed that I served Trent here, and I know he’s retaining you.”

The irritation rolled off of him as he growled. “You know nothing.”

I blinked. “What does that mean?”

He stepped even closer, and I immediatelyfeltwhat he meant. “Ever since you first rolled your stunning, brown eyes at me in court four years ago, I’ve wanted to bend you over my knee.”

I laughed. There was no other response that I could come up with.

“Your laugh only makes me harder.”