I imagined the bag was the fucker who knifed Mac.
Then I remembered yesterday.
The embarrassment of it.
Everyone knew I was messed up. They also probably were smart enough to guess it was because of Mac.
Mac.
“Hey, wee birdie.”
“Right here, Bonny Blue.”
“Uncle Mac, how did you get hurt?”
“Well, it was a wee fairy, you see …”
“Dad, tell me a story about the fairies!”
“Another one, wee birdie? All right, let me see … did I tell you the one about the faerie queen and the moment she heard a song by a musical wizard called David Bowie?”
“No, tell me that one, tell that one.”
My own memories mingled with yesterday’s scene with the Adair children and were a burn in my throat. I wanted them gone. I wanted this ridiculous childish hold on the past gone!
THUMP, THUMP, THUMP!
I launched it all into the bag with my fists until my body was damp, my hair sticking wherever it touched skin. Sweat trickled down my bare stomach and my biceps burned; my hands throbbed, and it propelled me. Stepping back, I spun and landed a rear hook kick on the bag, sending it rattling on its chain again.
Breathing heavily, I rested my hands on my hips and stared unseeing at the bag as I tried to catch my breath.
“I could watch you do that all day.”
I jolted at the American-accented voice, having completely forgotten I wasn’t alone.
Glancing over my shoulder, I started.
Sebastian Stone stood a few feet from me, wearing nothing but a pair of track pants. His T-shirt was tucked into the back of the pants so I could see every muscle of his slender but tightly ripped physique.
His words and the obvious come-on in his eyes annoyed the shit out of me. I hoped I was reading him wrong. “Excuse me?”
Stone took a couple more steps toward me so I faced him. He gave me what many women would consider a sexy-ass smirk as he lowered his eyes down my body and back up again. I wished I weren’t wearing only a sports bra with my yoga pants. “You. Pounding the hell out of that boxing bag. You’ve got a lot of fight in you.” He dragged his teeth over his bottom lip as his gaze zeroed in on my breasts. “An excess of energy.”
Yeah, I definitely wasn’t reading him wrong.
Feeling my skin crawl, I crossed my arms over my chest and radiated “back off” vibes. “Can I help you with something?”
He didn’t read me. Instead he stepped into my personal space so I had to tilt my head back to hold his gaze. “You must be the guest of a member.”
I looked over his shoulder to check the room.
We were still alone.
But my eyes snagged on the security cameras in the corner near the ceiling.
That made me relax slightly.
“Guest of the owner, then?” Sebastian reached out to tuck a loose strand behind my ear, and my arm snapped up, batting him away. His expression darkened even as he maintained that stupid smirk. “I’m just being friendly. You do know who I am, right?”
The urge to snort was real.
He was one of those. And he was seriously ruining his movies for me. He was so likable in them. Now he just came across as sleazy and like his fame entitled him to be in a stranger’s personal space without permission. “Sebastian Stone. Could you step back, please?”
He raised an eyebrow. “You don’t have to be intimidated by me. Are you an aspiring actress?”
“I’m not intimidated, and no.” I motioned for him to move back.
To my growing disquiet, he took another step toward me, forcing me to retreat.
Shit.
“Really?” He contemplated me, a hard edge in his eyes. “You have the energy for acting. You’ve got something about you. I’ve seen you around the estate but didn’t know quite who you belonged to.”
“I belong to me.” Asshole.
“Right. All women say that, but the truth is, you want to belong to a man. It turns you on to be owned.”
“You did not just say that.”
He grinned like a shark. “Protest. They all do. But I know the truth.” He studied me with hot eyes. “You’re very sexy in a Lara Croft, Black Widow kinda way. Great mouth. Eyes. Tits are good too. Your nose is a little long but a nose job can fix that.” The urge to smash his face in grew as he leaned in to whisper in my ear, “I have a lot of influence in the world, and I’m very happy to help out my friends.” That’s when I felt his tongue touch my neck.
I pushed him off, but he was solid and barely moved. “Back off,” I warned.
His eyes flashed in disbelief, and suddenly I was pressed to the gym wall and had an angry, petulant, miscreant of an actor flush against me, caging me in. “Who the fuck do you think you are?”
“Someone who is about to do permanent damage to your dick if you don’t get the hell away from me.”
Stone laughed, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “You don’t get it.” He was almost whispering. “In my world, if I see something I like, I take it. And there’s not a lot you can do about it.”
Fury rose in my gut. How many women had this slime cornered? How many had he assaulted?
Just because he could get away with it.
He reached for my breast and squeezed it hard.
I snapped.
Grabbing his wrist with both hands, I kneed him in the balls. Satisfied with his roar of pain, I took advantage as his legs gave way with the agony. Moving away from the wall, I took hold of his arm at the shoulder and wrist, straightened it, and twisted until it was close to dislocating.
Knees on the floor, Sebastian let out another yell of pain and glared up at me with absolute hatred in his eyes.
Something cold moved through me as we stared at each other. This guy cared about power. He got off on having it. To say he was displeased to be beaten by a woman was an understatement.
“Let me go, you fucking bitch!” he yelled, spittle flying.
I put pressure on his shoulder, twisting just enough to make him flinch with fear. “Oh, you don’t want to be friends anymore?”
His eyes flew over my shoulder and his face reddened even further. “Adair, get this bitch off me!”
Glancing behind me, I found Lachlan striding toward us, his face a thundercloud. “What is going on?” he demanded.
Suddenly, I was aware of my racing heart.
I pushed Stone toward the floor, releasing him with force so his face nearly hit the ground. “Just teaching Mr. Stone here a lesson about how being a famous person doesn’t entitle him to sexually assault any woman who strikes his fancy.”
Lachlan was helping Stone to his feet but now gripped him by the jaw, bringing his face to his. Emotion swelled out of Lachlan, so palpable, it caused my stomach to roil.
He was angrier than I’d ever seen him, yet his words came out deceptively soft. “Did you accost a woman in my home, Stone?”
“She’s fucking lying!” Stone flailed in Lachlan’s grip, trying, and failing, to push away. “Get off me. The bitch is a whack job, and I’m suing you for letting her loose on your members!”
Adair pushed him away with such strength, Stone stumbled, tried to right himself, but still landed on his ass. As he struggled to his feet, vibrating with his rage, Lachlan took a menacing step toward him. “I have cameras in this gym, Sebastian. All I have to do is check them to verify Ms. Penhaligon’s claim.”