…Waking up from the nightmare, Angel sat up in bed, his naked body covered in sweat. Turning on the bedside lamp, he ran his hands through his hair, taking long, deep breaths.
It wasn’t until a minute later, when his eyes went back to his bedside table, that he realized it was devoid of the horseshoe ring he had stolen.
Getting up, he looked around the floor to see if it had fallen before an image of Adalyn pressed up against the nightstand appeared in his mind.
That fucking bitc—
Adalyn twirled the heavy ring around her finger as she looked down at it, smiling from ear to ear.
Checkmate, asshole.
Eleven
You’re Just as Fucked Up as The Men You Like
With her second class finishing up, Adalyn wondered if Angel even realized she had taken the ring—he had given her no indication all day. She had at least expected a side-eye, but she hadn’t even been given that.
She and Lake were the last ones to leave the class. Even their professor had beaten them out for lunch.
“Do you mind if I speak to Adalyn alone?” Angel asked Tom when the girls exited.
Oh God, he knows.
Tom gave him a hard stare before nodding.
“Thanks. We’ll catch up with the rest of you in the cafeteria,” he reassured him.
When Lake seemed worried, hesitating to walk away, Adalyn tried to give her own reassurance. Truthfully, however, on the inside, she was beginning to shit bricks.
Biting her bottom lip for several minutes as they watched Tom and Lake walk away, she wondered why he hadn’t said anything yet. It wasn’t until they fully disappeared that she realized why he had waited.
Angel firmly grabbed her by the waist, dragging her backward into the empty classroom.
“Wh-what are you d—”
He spun them in a one-eighty, throwing her back against the door and knocking the breath out of her. Trapping her against the now closed door, Angel pressed his hard body against hers.
“Where is it?” he snapped.
“I don’t know what you’re—”
He raised a long, tatted finger to her lips. “Lying to me does you no favors.”
This was a very dangerous man before her, one who she had to remember was trapped and capable of snapping at any point. But he is still a dick.
“Now, tell me where the ring is.” He moved his finger to her jaw so she could speak.
She smiled, sweet as pie. “Up your ass.”
He moved his hands down her body, going through her coat pockets, then her jean pockets, and then going around to her ass to check the pockets there.
“I’m not stupid enough to carry it on me!” She tried to shoo him away, but he seized her wrists, then plastered them against the door behind her. “Lucca will kill you when I tell him what you’re doing to me.”
“Probably.” Bringing down her wrists, he pulled them roughly behind her back so he could easily hold her in place with one hand. With his now free hand, he lightly gripped the back of her neck, his hot breath caressing her face as he said, “But you won’t because you’re enjoying our little game too much.”
“That’s not—”
“Now you’re lying to yourself, sweetness.” Angel gently grazed her jawline and neck with his lips. “I knew from the second I saw you look at Lucca’s that you’re just as fucked up as the men you like. You just don’t realize it yet.”
Adalyn hated herself for knowing he was probably right. That he was right. The way he made her body scream out for affection told her that. She was barely grasping her control, wanting to beg him for one kiss.
He now hovered his lips over hers, promising that kiss. “Tell me where the ring is.”
Fuck. She desperately wanted to feel his lips on hers, but she couldn’t. For once, she finally had Angel right where she wanted him.
“Somewhere you’ll never find it.”
Clearly losing his patience, he tried again. “That ring doesn’t belong to you or me. It belongs to someone very important to me. If you don’t give it back, I won’t care what I’ll have to do to get it.”
“I’ll give it back to you,” she promised, “when you’re nicer to me.”
The hand around her neck tightened slightly as he pressed his body harder into hers. “Are you sure you wanna do this, sweetness?”
As she smiled up at the mad man before her, every hair on her body stood straight up. It was a sign anyone else would have had when they were frightened, but to her, it was a sign that she was enticed, a sign she had been waiting for.
“Oh, yes.”
Angel sat quietly a few tables away, watching the girl who was starting to cause him a lot of trouble eat her lunch. She was turning out to be exactly how he had thought she would when he had witnessed her eyes lighting up at the sight of Lucca.