Horrified and repulsed, I clamped my teeth together hard, not giving an inch as he mauled my face. When I remained stiff as a board, he shoved me back with aggression and frustration, making me stumble.
"I seriously suggest you defrost, my sweetness," Chase snarled at me, a streak of my blood marring his lips, "and defrost fast. Or Stephanie will pay the price for your noncompliance."
And there it was, the whole point of the ridiculous dinner date façade. Chase wanted to fuck me, but he wanted to break me by making me a willing participant.
The screen of my phone lit up on the table, and I glanced down to read the message I'd been waiting on all goddamn day, a message that sent a wave of relief so intense I almost collapsed.
GC: Package secure.
Letting a small smile play across my lips, I picked up my phone and slid it into the back pocket of my pants. Then I tucked my Ducati key into my palm, curling my fingers around it as I straightened up.
"Now that I think about it, Chase, I'm not in the mood for dinner after all." I started to brush past him to leave, but his hand snapped out and grabbed me by the hair again, dragging me back to him.
"Where the fuck—"
His inane question never got finished as I lashed out with my fist, slamming my knuckles right into his mouth. The key gripped in my hand only strengthened my punch, too, and he staggered backward into the table.
Movement in the shadows made me glance up, but Chase's guard seemed to have no inclination to intervene. Instead, he just watched as I leaned over and slammed my fist into Chase's temple, knocking him out cold with his cheek in a bowl of soup.
Clearing my throat, I wiped my knuckles off on a napkin, then left the restaurant with my head held high.
Seph was safe.
29
Adrenaline coursed through my veins the whole way home, doubled by the reckless way I drove my Ducati, and when I pulled into Zed's driveway, my heart was pounding hard.
Zed was pacing a line across the garage floor and barely even waited for my engine to shut off before he hauled me off the bike. He yanked my helmet off, then took a sharp breath when he saw my bloody lip.
"I'll fucking kill him," he growled, his whole expression pure venom as his thumb touched my puffy split lower lip.
I gave him a grim smile back. "No, I will. Eventually." Peeling myself out of his strong grip, I headed inside the house. I needed to take my clothes off and burn them, then gargle some hand sanitizer to get the taste of Chase out of my mouth.
Zed followed tight on my heels as I made my way up the stairs, and Lucas popped out of his bedroom as we got to the top.
"Hayden, thank fuck!" he exclaimed, rushing to sweep me up in a tight hug. "He hurt you." It was an accusation mixed with resignation. He'd known I wouldn't walk away totally unscathed, but I for one was calling this a win. A split lip was fucking nothing.
"I need to shower," I told him with a soft smile, shifting out of his grip. "Then we can debrief."
Lucas didn't need any further explanations, stepping out of my way so I could get to the bathroom down the hall. I left the door open as I stripped out of my clothes and kicked them into a ball under the vanity. Then I cranked the shower to scalding and stepped in with a long sigh.
"Cass wants to know what his orders are," Zed announced as I let the scorching water sluice over my skin. Cracking my eyes open, I found him perched with his ass on the side of the vanity, his eyes locked on me through the glass shower screen like he thought I might magically disappear if he looked away.
Lucas leaned his shoulder against the doorframe, his arms folded and his brow set with a faint line of concern.
"Tell him to come home," I replied to Zed, leaning back under the water to wet my hair. "Bring Seph with him. I need her here for a bit, and there's no one else I trust to keep her safe outside of Shadow Grove. Not anymore."
I was severely disappointed in not just Archer, Kody, and Steele, but also in Demi. She knew what Seph was like. She should have been watching her more carefully.
Scrubbing my hands over my face, I muttered some quiet curses because, as angry as I was, I also knew it wasn't actually any of their faults. It was Seph's for being a stupid fucking self-involved bitch. It was mine for sheltering her so damn hard that she had no freaking clue how much danger she was really in.
Zed had looked away as he’d conveyed my orders to Cass on his phone, but he soon looked back up. His gaze almost seemed to burn through my skin as I used body wash and a loofah to scrub the poisonous taint of Chase Lockhart off my body.
Lucas's gaze was equally heavy, and only the steam and condensation clouding the shower screen prevented both of them from getting an eyeful of my naked body. Not that they hadn't seen all of me before... but I'd never been naked in front of both of them at the same time. It had me remembering various things I'd seen at Meow Lounge the other night.
Crap. That thought had my nipples turning to diamonds, despite the burning-hot water I was showering under. I needed to get the hell out and put some clothes on before I turned into a full-blown succubus. As it was, my pussy had barely recovered from my Zed fuck-fest; I needed a bit more down time.
I hurried through the shampoo and conditioner process, feeling the sting in my scalp where Chase had ripped some strands out, while Zed and Lucas just lurked there in the bathroom, making me more and more conscious of my nudity with every passing second.
I turned the water down to ice cold to rinse out my conditioner, and by the time I turned the taps off and squeezed out my hair, I was shivering lightly.
"Pass me that towel," I said to Zed, nodding to the one hanging over the rail right by where he sat.
He picked it up, then held it out directly in front of him and out of my reach. Funny bastard. He really thought I wouldn't call his bluff?
With a shrug, I pushed the shower door open and took the two steps it required to reach Zed and the towel he held. He grabbed onto me as I snatched the towel, though, cupping the back of my neck tenderly as he leaned in to kiss my aching lips. It hurt, but goddamn, I needed it.
I didn't fight him, sighing into his kiss and letting him shift a small measure of tension off my mind with each stroke of his tongue. I stubbornly ignored the sting from my cut and the taste of copper on his kiss. Then, as I pulled away to wrap my towel around my body, I caught Lucas's eyes in the mirror.
"Gumdrop," Zed growled, "fuck off for a minute, would you? Or an hour. Or more." There was no mistaking his intentions as his hands caressed my body through the towel, but I shook my head at Lucas in the mirror.
"Not how it works, Zed," I chastised him, prying myself out of his grip and grabbing another towel for my wet hair. With a sharp warning look, I left him sitting there and padded back to my bedroom to hunt down some clothing. I needed the physical barrier on my flesh if I was to keep my wits about me.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Zed called after me, and I just knew he was going to push me into a corner on this. I'd thought our honeymoon period might last longer, but... oh well.
Simmering with annoyance, I spun around in the middle of my room to glare at Zed, only a few paces behind me. "You know exactly what it means. You don't get to bitch me out all fucking day about doing the only thing that could be done to ensure Seph's safety, then throw a hissy fit when I leave, then dismiss Lucas like a naughty puppy because you want to get your dick wet."