Page 111 of He Should Be Mine

There is more to it. I know there is.

Dario runs his hand through his hair. “I told him I was getting a lap dance from a girl yesterday. He’s probably taken it as a dig at him being gay.” He sighs. “He thinks this will disgust me and belittle you. And remind us both of his power.”

Dario’s amber eyes are swirling with a thousand different emotions.

I’ve gone numb. The beating of my heart is the only thing I am aware of. My mind has fallen silent.

“Did you?” I ask.

He blinks. “Did I what?”

“Have a lap dance.”

His dark eyebrow rises. My pulse pounds. The beat of war drums. It is the only thing I can hear. I snatch up the knife from the counter. Apple juice runs down my hand.

Strong fingers wrap around my wrist. “Whoa.”

Dario takes the knife from me with ease. I glare up at him with all of my fury.

“You are going to stab me for having a lap dance?”

“Yes!” I seethe. “I’m the one who gives you lap dances. No one else!”

My body is trembling. I can barely see Dario through a haze of red. The war drum of my heart is beating even faster. It is consuming all of me.

“Agreed,” Dario says softly.

I blink. His calm brown eyes swim into focus. The meaning of what he just said starts to settle on my soul. Soothing like a balm. Cooling like ice on a burn. The red is receding.

I suck in a shaky breath. Fuck. What came over me? I’m acting like a crazy person. Well, crazier than usual. And that’s saying something.

I cover my face with my hands. “Sorry. I’m such a hypocrite. I expect you to… When Rick…”

I’m such a mess. A worthless, deranged, high-maintenance mess. Dario cannot truly want me.

Warm hands cover my own. Dario gently pulls my hands away from my face. He smiles at me when I look at him.

“Hey, Molly, it’s okay. I like that you are possessive.”

I stare at him. I look up at the top of the cupboard, where the handle of the knife is poking out. He put the weapon up high, out of my reach.

“You like that I am stabby?” I scoff.

A slow, wide grin spreads across Dario’s face. It lights his eyes with a feral gleam.

“I like that most of all.”

Butterflies swarm around my belly. My knees even go weak. The things this man can do to me with a few soft words and a smile. Oh lord, the things I want him to do to me. For real. To my body.

“You going to stab anyone who looks at me? Do I need to be prepared?”

I narrow my eyes and cross my arms over my chest. “No, because I’m not unreasonable. It’s not their fault you are gorgeous. You are the one who should know better.”

Dario’s eyes light up even more. He looks positively delighted. As if I just declared my undying love for him or recited my wedding vows.

I swallow and I swear the sound is audible. Shit. I really have said far too much. I’ve laid my cards on the table and let him know exactly how I feel. I might as well have given him a knife, hilt first, and held out my heart to him.

He holds my gaze steadily. All I can see is tenderness and affection. A simmering fire.