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“I put my phone away,” he protested.
“And stared across the room the entire time. Did another woman catch your eye?”
He scowled. “No. Never. You are the only woman I want.”
“Well, you sure didn’t act that way inside,” I huffed. “You clearly have a lot on your mind, and I’m not going to continue to be ignored for the rest of the day. So go deal with whatever has your attention.”
He reached for me, and I fought against my instinct to pull away, letting him wrap his arms around my waist. “I’m sorry.”
“You’ve said that a dozen times already, but that doesn’t erase your behavior.”
He kissed my forehead. “Please, amor. Forgive me. I didn’t mean to put work before you. I’m trying.”
Apologizing without even explaining why he was so distracted? That was an odd choice, and if this was real, I would have demanded answers. But it wasn’t, and I was ready to go home—my real home, for now at least—and nap.
“Just go, Alessio.”
He tensed at me using his full name.
“Take care of whatever is going on, and call me later.”
I stepped out of his arms and went to where Derek already had the rear door open for me and slid into the seat without looking back.
Throwing this on top of seeing Martin meeting with strangers would provoke him, maybe push him over the edge. Panic, fear, and anger was a lethal combination. We’d have to sit back and watch what he did next and deal with the fallout as it came.
CHAPTER 10
Emilia
I ducked the fist aimed at my face and kicked out my left leg, taking Derek by surprise and knocking his feet out from under him. He landed on his back with a grunt, but my celebration was cut short when his hand shot out and slapped the back of my knees, forcing me to the ground next to him.
He didn’t give me a second to recover before he landed on top of me, his hands pinning my wrists out to the sides. His smirk pissed me off. He thought he’d won, but this was far from over.
I moaned as I thrust my hips up, rubbing against his. A cheap shot, sure, but it worked. His dark chocolate eyes fell to my mouth, and I used the distraction.
Bucking my hips with my full strength, flipping him over my head and onto his back, and using the momentum to follow, landing on his stomach, and knocking the air from his lungs. With one hand on his throat, I extended my nails into claws while using my other hand to capture his wrists and hold them above his head.
His eyes filled with heat, so I pierced his skin, drawing a thin line of blood.
“Hey!”
“Focus!” I yelled back. I was taking this match seriously and didn’t want him getting distracted by lust.
He growled, a bit of his wolf coming through. His legs shot up, throwing me off balance, and wrapped around my torso before pulling me back to the ground. It was an awkward position for both of us, but he rolled our bodies and spun until he was sitting on my back, using his strength to pin all my limbs.
“Say it.” His breath was warm on my neck as he leaned down.
“No.” I fought to break free, but he had me in a perfect position. For him.
His weight alone gave him an advantage, but he was also using his shifter strength to hold me down. If I were fighting a human man, I’d already be back on my feet.
I relaxed my body, giving up. There was no use in straining and tiring myself out.
He leaned in again, kissing the back of my neck before nipping the tip of my ear. “Get out of this.”
“I can’t.” I hated admitting that.
This was a scenario I’d worked through for years with Coach and the rest of my team back home. They all knew this was the one way to win against me. It filled me with a rage that should have been enough to fuel me to punch through a brick wall, but instead, it was my blind spot.
