Well, welcome to the party, fucker. Neither am I!
Then his lips drop and he attempts to kiss her while she tries to wrestle him off and I see red.
“Oh, hell no, fucker! You’re a dead man,” I growl under my breath, stalking across the dance floor like a crazy man.
“Hey! Hey, fucker! The lady doesn’t like being manhandled. Get your filthy paws off of her and go find another woman who might be more interested in your lack of charms.”
Brandy’s startled eyes shoot to mine and she opens those plump red lips to tell me that she can handle her own problems. I’ve seen it a million times.
But this time my blood boils.
She’s mine. She’s been mine since the first time I saw her. She was standing at a convenience store waiting to pay for her gas and fidgeting with an earbud in her ear.
My heart raced and I tapped her shoulder, waiting until her hazel eyes shot up to mine and she tugged the earbud out.
“Yes?”
Lord, how I wanted to hear her say that word in another context entirely. I wanted her to whisper it when I kissed her throat and dragged my tongue across her generous breasts. I wanted to hear her scream it while I plowed into her wet heat, driving her just as crazy as she drives me.
But before I could say one damn word, she relegated me to friend zone. Because she had a boyfriend. Or a guy who was a friend. Nothing serious. Just a guy she went out with sometimes when she was bored.
She called him a friend too.
As far as I know, she’s never had a serious boyfriend. She’s always just had a couple of guy friends that she went out with. Including me.
It’s one second while those thoughts crowd my mind. One second when my brain should have taken hold and I should have let her handle it.
A lifetime of seconds doesn’t change what happens next.
I growl and shove the guy in the shoulder, rage boiling over.
“What are you doing, Judas? Stop that!” she huffs.
But nothing will stop me now. I’m overflowing with so many damn emotions that I can’t get a handle on.
But the overwhelming, driving need to take control of her is the winner and I bend down and throw her over my shoulder, slamming a hand into the other guy’s shoulder so that he falls back and away from me.
Then I stalk off across the dance floor, my vision scarlet with fury. I don’t see anyone else…just the door.
Someone tries to grab my arm but I shrug them off, not slowing. Not stopping.
I can feel Brandy slamming her fists into my back, her legs caught in my big hands or she’d probably kick me in the gut.
I hit the door almost running and slam it open, my gut twisting when the noise of the party fades behind me and I hear Brandy’s annoyed shrieks all of a sudden.
“Put me down, dammit! Judas! What the hell is going on? Have you lost your mind? I can handle that guy! Just put me down. Come on, Judas,” she whines.
It twists me up in knots. I want to give her what she wants. But at the same time, I just can’t. Because it’s the exact opposite of what I want.
I don’t want to let her go. Now that I have her? I’m not letting her go.
Blood pounding in my ears, drowning out her screams of rage, I jog to my car and throw her in the back seat. Then I put the child locks on and make my way to the driver’s seat.
Before I can even get inside, she’s climbing over the front seat, her ass almost landing on my head. I reach a hand up and shove her back.
Then I turn around and point my finger in her outraged, scarlet face. “Sit your ass down, Brandy. We need to talk. I’m done playing your games.”
She sits back gingerly, eyeing me like I’ve lost my mind. I know I haven’t. I’ve just finally let my true feelings out. I know she’s confused. But she might as well get used to it.