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Hunter twisted his attention from the man’s face—contorted in pain—to hers. Whatever he saw in her expression made Hunter release him.
He cradled his gnarled finger in his other palm and scrambled to his feet, probably swaying from pain as much as intoxication.
Ivy didn’t let go of Hunter’s arm. She yanked on it. At first, he didn’t budge, just looked down at her as if she’d lost her mind.
She widened her eyes, glaring harder at him until he finally relented.
With her fingers still wrapped around his arm, she stalked off the dance floor and pushed through the crowd. When people didn’t move fast enough, Hunter took over. He cupped her elbow and steered her past the bar.
“Where are we going?”
He rushed on, his long strides forcing her to jog to keep up with him.
Without so much as a word, he hauled her out of the bar and into the parking lot. She stumbled but righted herself before she fell on her face.
“Stop! I can walk!”
Chest heaving, he released her. For three eternally long heartbeats, they glared into each other’s eyes.
She whirled to go back inside.
He hooked her around the waist and yanked her off her feet. A scream bubbled up her throat, but it was knocked out of her by his hard-as-iron chest.
A whoosh of air blew past her lips. Before she could gather her wits, Hunter carried her off.
She slammed her fist into his side. “Put me down! Where are you taking me?”
“If you stop fighting me, I’ll let you walk. But we both know you’ll run back into that bar and put yourself in danger with a bunch of assholes who only want you for your body!”
Incensed, she struggled against his Neanderthal grip on her. He never even gave her a chance to get rid of that guy on her own—he took control. And he thought she wasn’t capable enough in the first place.
“Put me down!” She fought harder. In a move as swift as a blink, he threw her over his shoulder.
“Stop! Right! Now! Put me down!” Her elbow glanced off his shoulder and smacked him in the ear.
Tension thrummed through his muscles.
“Try that again and I will spank your ass just like your father should have done when you were a kid!”
No way was she going down without a fight. “Go be Ivy” took on a whole new meaning.
She flopped on his shoulder. Knowing he could drop her on the ground, she fought anyway.
“Princess, I swear to god—”
She landed another blow on his shoulder, but it only glanced off what felt like pure iron.
What came next stole the breath right out of her lungs.
He brought his hand down. Hard. Flat on her ass.
The sharp sting spread across her cheek.
Her bare cheek.
In their struggle, her skirt had balled up around her waist. And her thong offered no barrier at all.
Too stunned to utter a noise, she rode on his shoulder another few feet. His heavy boots crunched over the gravel. The mountain breeze sweeping across the small town filled her open mouth with the taste of pine.
