Page 116 of Deviant Knight (Knight's Ridge Empire 4)

“Fuck you, Gun. I value my cock too much to put it anywhere near our princess.”

“Oh, you did not just say that,” I seethe, my hands on my hips as I glare at him.

Xander holds his hands up in defeat.

“It’s true. Cruz and Prez would cut it off with the bluntest knife they could find if I step out of line.”

I look over my shoulder and Cruz nods at Xander, proving that his previous words are more than true.

“Men,” I sigh. “Come on. I want to dance. Just don’t let your cock touch me,” I joke.

I drag him into an open space and after a few minutes, a few other couples join us. We all happily dance together while the rest of the club watches our antics.

The alcohol hits me harder with every second that passes and my legs become less and less stable with every song that comes on.

“Whoa, you need to sit down,” Xander says, his large hands clamping down on my hips to stop me face planting the dirty concrete floor.

“I’m fine, I’m—” My words are cut off when my eyes connect with his.

They might be blue, but that doesn’t stop my mind from morphing them into a different green pair as he stares down at me.

“Emmie?” he whispers, clearly feeling whatever is crackling between us.

My arms land on his shoulders as I attempt to drag him closer to me. My surroundings vanished long ago. I don’t hear the music or the guys who are probably warning Xander not to do anything for fear of Cruz putting a bullet through his brain.

All I can think about is that connection. What it was like when Theo kissed me the other night. How my entire body relaxed, yet tensed up incredibly tight at the same time. How I wanted to drag him closer but push him away. How he made me burn with lust and unfiltered hate at the same time.

I hate him. I do. I hate him. I just—

Everything happens so fast, I don’t get to process the movement around me, the fact Xander’s hands are no longer holding me up until my arse hits the unforgiving floor and the buzzing in my earsbegins to fade.

Chaos ensues around me, but it takes my brain a little longer than necessary to actually see what’s happening.

“Theo, no,” I scream—or at least I think I do as I force my limbs into action and scramble to my feet. “Theo!”

Racing toward where he’s got Xander pinned against the wall by his cut, I wrap my hand around his forearm in the hope of stopping him.

But I quickly discover that I’m too late.

Xander’s already got a split lip, blood dripping from his chin and onto his white shirt.

“Fucking hell, Theo. Get the fuck off him.”

I tug on Theo’s arm, but he doesn’t lessen his grip on Xander at all. Instead, he steps closer, their noses almost colliding.

“If you touch her again, I’ll fucking kill you. You got that, X?”

Xander doesn’t cower at all despite the enraged fucking psychopath who’s right in his face.

He’s a fighter, and there’s a good chance he could probably take Theo to the floor right now, but somehow, he manages to keep a cool head and just stare back at the blazing green eyes that are glaring pure fucking death at him.

“I stopped her falling on her arse, you dick. Something which you clearly didn’t care too much about seeing as she hit the deck the second you touched me.” Xander’s eyes narrow at Theo, his voice unnervingly cool as he defends himself.

The clubhouse is in silence as every single person in the large space watches to see what Theo is going to do next.

I have no idea how much they know about him, but the anticipation that ripples through the room tells me that they’re more than aware of just how dangerous he is.

Finally, Theo looks away from Xander and turns his burning eyes on me.