Page 42 of His Retribution

Without thinking, I slam the cash register shut, throw my apron on top of it, and march my angry ass around the counter.

"When are you finally going to let me show you one of the best places Ashland has to offer?" Joyce purrs, then drops her voice. "It's right here, Vok." She wiggles her hips. "Yours for the taking. Right now, if you want.”

I think my head is literally going to explode.

I have never been so angry, sojealous, in my entire life and I'm pretty sure I've lost the ability to make rational decisions, which I prove beyond a shadow of doubt and make a giant scene in the process.

Joyce is taller than me, everyone is, so I reach up, grab a fistful of her blonde extensions and pull her back hard. She squeals in pain but I'm not done, not even close.

I kick her in the calf and force her on her knees, my fingers tightening in her hair to the point that I can feel the roots pop.

I lower my face to hers, see her fear, see her pain and I smile. "Nedotykajte sa ho. Nikdy sa ho nedotkni. Je môj. Pocuješ ma? Havok je môj. Ak sa ho dotkneš znova, pomaly ti otriem tvoje telo z tela a použijem kožené prsty ako dary pre môjho psa. On je. To je. Môj."

And because my blind rage and sudden ability to speak another language wasn't enough to make me look totally psycho, I spit in Joyce's face. Yep, I lougee right in her false lashes, drop my hold on her hair after shoving her to the ground, then pull my Wild Bill's t-shirt off before storming out the back of the bar in my bra as I call out. "I fucking quit!"

The second I'm outside though, that's when the migraine hits.

I fall against the brick, then slide down to crouching, my head gripped tightly in my hands as the pain kicks up to about a billion.

“That filthy… dirty… disease infested harlot put her hands on you!” I screech, my body fighting hard against his, still no match for his size and strength. “That bitch touched what is mine! I am not finished with her! She will pay! I will pluck her eyes from their sockets and feed them to the birds!”

Havok's chuckle is a low rumble against my belly. “I think you've done enough damage tonight, my love. She will not be touching anything that belongs to you ever again, I'm sure.”

“It was not enough! I should have scalped her, pulled out every last hair by the roots, then stuffed them down her throat in hopes she would choke on the nest!” My legs kick, fists pound against his back. “Put me down! Let me go, you, you, you overgrown barbarian! I was not finished! Next time I see her I'll break more than her fingers! Put me down!”

“And what, pre tel, will you do if I release you from my grip?”

“I will peel her flesh from her bones and feed it to my dog! I will… I'll… why are you laughing?!”

Havok glances at me over his shoulder as I continue to pound my fists against his back. “Because, my angel, I have never been happier than I am in this moment.”

I growl and pinch his ass. “I'm so glad you can be entertained by my jealousy, that my possessiveness amuses you! My love is merely some joke for you to—”

Suddenly I'm swung around and all but slammed into a tree, my feet off the ground as I meet ice blue eyes.

“Your love is everything. This”—he places a hand over my pounding heart—”is everything. It is not a joke, not for my entertainment or amusement. Your love is everything to me and knowing that you feel even a sliver of it strong enough to almost bludgeon a barmaid on my behalf makes my black heart soar to heights I never thought to even dream of.”

Then his lips are on mine and I melt, melt into his kiss, melt into him...

"Shit!"

The crunching of gravel has my eyes trying to open, has my head bobbing on my neck like it's not even attached. Then cool fingers are on my chin, my cheeks, checking my pulse point. My head is so heavy though, so heavy and cloudy I can barely understand the words coming at me.

"Angel? Angel, can you hear me? Fuck." Cool fingers grip my neck, tilt my head back. "Oh, my sweet angel, please say something."

One eye opens, squints against the street light. "I feel like a bag of dicks."

Havok's brow lifts but the relief on his face is so great I almost feel it. "A bag of dicks, eh? Can't imagine that feels all that fantastic."

"Mmnope." My other eye opens then immediately closes as everything tilts. God, I feel drunk. My whole body is limp and my head is so foggy.

"Did you fall? Are you injured?"

His fingers feel so nice against my skin, the contrast between my heat and his cool, it's almost like my skin tingles at every point of contact.

But then he touches my bare shoulders and realization sets in.

I'm not wearing a shirt.