Reveal (Wicked Ways #2)(29)

Joey takes a step onto the porch and holds a hand over his brow as if it’ll allow him to see better in the darkness to where we’re standing. I know he can’t see much, and for that I’m grateful. “Okay, if you’re sure.”

“Yes.” I’m more curt this time, not wanting him to walk any closer. But as much as I want him to shut the door, being alone with Carter unnerves me. Sure, his security detail is here, but I’m more than certain that my best interests aren’t his concern.

Joey stands there a few more seconds in indecision and then goes back inside. Once the door shuts, Carter steps into me. I try to step back, but in the process of trying to get Joey out of here, I unknowingly positioned myself so that the wall is at my back, and I have nowhere to retreat in order to put space between us.

“You are a little whore, aren’t you? First Ryker. Now Joey. Who else is there, Vee?” I yelp when he steps again so that our chests brush against each other’s and the stucco of the wall bites against my back. Despite the chill in the air, there is sweat beading on his temple and a wild excitement in his eyes that alarms me almost as much as his hands sliding up my arms.

“Get your hands off me.”

“Why? You want the feel of them on your skin to be left a surprise?” His chuckle is ominous at best and predatory at worst. “Don’t worry. I’ll ruin you for every single man you fuck after me.”

Something has changed in the last few moments from before Joey came outside to after. There has been some kind of shift in Carter. Almost as if he was knocked off stride and has now found his footing.

To say I’m alarmed by it is the understatement of the year.

“Get your hands off me,” I grit out again, “or else I’ll scream bloody murder.”

“Go right ahead,” he whispers harshly, almost as if the notion excites him. “Give me a reason to involve Joey and every other goddamn person in this neighborhood. Mr. Nelson across the street owns three handguns. I’m sure he’ll come running to your defense. Don’t expect Harvey who lives two houses down to help, though. He left about an hour ago. His wife’s out of town. You know what they say about when the cat’s away and all.”

His words shake me to the core. His facts might be made up—or they very well could be the truth, for all I know—but knowing he’s researched my neighbors enough to know their names is more than unsettling.

His attempt to show me he’s all-knowing has worked.

“Come on. Give them a reason to call the cops, and then we can each sign statements about the incident. Tell them what you do for a living and you’re damned. Lie about it in a sworn statement and same goes. So please”—he rolls his shoulders so that our chests brush together again, and his guttural groan is enough to make my stomach churn—“cause a scene so the police come.”

“What do you want?” I ask when I already know the answer.

“Is that a trick question, Vaughny?” He reaches up and tucks a piece of hair behind my ear in an action that’s normally intimate but that has the polar opposite effect when done by his hand. “I was coming for the pictures.” He laughs and lifts his eyebrows. “But now? Now after you’ve threatened me? After you’ve told me no? I think you need to make up for insulting me.”

“Go to hell.”

“How cute. You actually think you have a say in this.” He leans in so that the heat of his breath hits my ear when he murmurs, “Ryker told me you were all mine, and I’ve never been known not to take what’s mine.”

I freeze when he runs a finger down my cheek and then squeezes my jaw when he comes to my chin, clearly trying to let me know he is in control. He leans back to meet my eyes as I try to jerk my head from his grip to no avail.

“Leave me al—”

“You owe me an apology.” His eyes harden and his grip tightens. “You forget who has the power in this relationship. Who has a nation at his back. Who is more believable. It won’t be right now, Vee, as it seems you’ve already had your fill of men tonight. No. I’ll give you a little more time to get used to the idea. I’ll let you have a little longer to fantasize about all the things I plan on doing to that tight little body of yours.” He emits a groan in the back of his throat that has my stomach churning. “I hear your pussy is worth every goddamn penny.”

My free hand is out, and the sound of it slapping against his cheek cracks in the silence of the night. He lets go of my jaw, and in the split second before I yank my hand back, the one clear thought that echoes through my mind is how much I hate Ryker right now.

He did this to me.

He set Carter up to think I’m his.

He jeopardized everything I’ve ever worked for.

But I don’t have more than a few seconds to compute those thoughts, because Carter Preston is glaring at me with murder in his eyes and a hard-on pressing against the zipper of his slacks. His startled look only lasts for seconds before his mask of superiority and arrogant smile slide back over his features.

He scrubs a hand over his jaw and chuckles. “We both know that’s not how I like it. I’m the one who causes the pain.” The dark undertone to his playful voice is unmistakable. “I suggest you don’t do that again, or you’ll be very sorry.”

“Then I suggest you move your hands off me, or else my knee is going to find its way ramming into your balls,” I threaten, the space between us allowing me to think clearly and without the haze of fear.