Kenton drags me out of the room and down the hall. He stops at the first door we pass, and his hand that’s not holding me goes to the handle. Finding it unlocked, he leans into the room before tugging me in with him.

“What are you doing?” I ask when I get over the shock of seeing him here.

“You said you worked at a f**king strip club,” he says, letting me go.

“I never said that.” I shake my head, crossing my arms over my chest, watching him pace back and forth in front of me like a caged beast.

“You’re a nurse?” He stops across the room, watching me. His eyes travel from the top of my head to my sneaker-covered feet.

“I am, but it changes nothing,” I hiss, leaning forward.

He storms towards me and I retreat until my back hits the wall. Before I can register the move, his mouth is on mine, his hand twists in the hair at the back of my head, and I gasp. He takes the opportunity to lick into my mouth. I try to fight him; I try to pull my mouth away, but his grip on my hair tightens. When he bites my tongue, I lose it.

I kiss him back, and all the anger I feel towards him goes into that kiss. I bite his lips, bottom then top, and claw my nails through his hair. He growls down my throat, his big body pressing me harder into the wall. We each fight for dominance, but he wins, pinning me in place, his body overtaking mine.

When he pulls his mouth from mine we’re breathing heavily, both still holding each other close. I can feel every hard inch of him pressed to every soft inch of me. He places his forehead to mine and it takes a few seconds to come back to myself. My eyes open, meeting his.

“This changes nothing,” I tell him quietly, my lips still tingling from his kiss.

“You’re right.” He takes a breath, his lips moving closer to mine. “You f**king changed everything.”

“Back up.” I push against his chest only to have him press harder into me.

“You don’t get to push me away. You don’t get to lie to me, even if it’s by omission.”

“I never lied to you,” I mumble, looking away from him.

“‘Vander’s Belt’—that’s not a f**king lie?” His hand comes up to my cheek, forcing my eyes back to him.

Okay, so I might have fibbed, but it wasn’t a lie. “You’re an ass**le,” I tell him, still pushing against his chest.

“Call me what you want, but I know you feel this thing between us too. Don’t f**king lie to yourself.”

“The only thing I feel towards you is anger,” I growl.

Then his mouth comes back down on mine, stealing my breath. This kiss is more punishing than the previous one; and I whimper when he pulls away. My hands, which were trying to push him away, are now wrapped into his T-shirt.

His mouth goes to my ear. “If I stuck my hand between your legs, your pu**y would be wet and wanting.”

I squeeze my eyes closed, trying to get rid of that image. My eyes fly open when his hand cups me over the thin material of my scrubs.

“So hot.” His fingers press harder, and I stand on my tiptoes, trying to get away from what he’s making me feel.

Part of me wants to jump up, wrap my legs around his hips, and grind myself into him. The other part of me wants to kick him in the nuts and scream in his face for having the power he has.

*

Kenton

I look down into her big, blue eyes and groan. Fuck me. She is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever looked at. She’s perfect, and I don’t just mean on the outside; I mean on the inside too. She’s sweet in a way that is hard to believe, especially coming from her lifestyle.

I tried to keep my distance after I picked her up at the airport and got reminded of what she did for a living, but when she was around, I couldn’t help but want to soak up a little bit of her time. She’s not what I expected. She’s not what I wanted, but f**k me if she’s not what I need.

From the moment I saw her, I wanted her. I walked into the airport knowing that she wasn’t expecting me. I’d messaged Link earlier in the day telling him to let her know I wouldn’t be picking her up. I’d had a lead on a case and thought I wouldn’t make it in time, and I didn’t want her waiting for me.

When I spotted her long, red hair in the crowd, I watched her run for one of her bags. I couldn’t help but laugh when she fell forward and landed on the belt before being dragged with it. She didn’t give up though. She pulled it off the conveyor belt over her head, falling backwards with the weight of it. She was cute.

When we got into the car and I sat down next to her, the doors closed and her smell suffocated me. Her long-ass legs in her shorts made it hard to concentrate on the road, and then I asked her about how she knew Link. I may get around, but I didn’t like the idea of her being with someone who was a friend for some reason, and then she reminded me that she worked at a strip club, throwing all ideas of getting to know her out the window.

I look over her face again and shake my head. I have f**ked up with her in ways that even thinking about them makes me sick. I don’t have an issue with strippers in general, but I know what happens at strip clubs. I do understand that not all women are the same and there are dancers who work in clubs to make money and nothing more, but I also know that there are some who go home with men at the end of the night or are willing to go a little further in order to make a little extra cash.

“Step back,” she says, and I shake my head, pressing deeper into her.

She smells like flowers or something sweet. I have wanted to be this close to her for a long time. Now that I’ve got her where I want her, I’m not backing off.

“Why are you doing this?” she asks softly, squeezing her eyes closed.

“I want you. I want to get to know you.”

“No,” she breathes, shaking her head.

“Yes.” I press her harder into the wall.

“The things I know about you, I don’t like.”

I know she’s just being honest, but it doesn’t mean that it makes my chest ache any less. I don’t know her well, but the parts of her she has let me see have been sweet, feisty, and so f**king cute that I have had to stop myself from kissing her when she laughs or does something that makes me smile.

The look in her eyes when she walked into my office when I was talking to Nico on the phone still haunts me. I know that my cousin was trying to make me see that I was interested in her, but I didn’t need his help with that. I knew I wanted her; I just didn’t know how I could deal with my jealousy. The thought of men looking at her or touching her makes me feel homicidal.