“Nice to see that you’ve dressed up for me,” Dahlin sneered; she refused to think of him as Jeffrey. “Never mind, you won’t be wearing that for long.”
Emma whipped her head around to look at him and watched as he settled into the backseat of the car, before he proceeded to ignore her.
Bastard!
What the hell had he meant about not wearing her clothes for long? If he thought he could get her out of them, he could think again. No way in hell.
Huddled as close as she could to the door, she watched the buildings whizz past with the speed they they were traveling. She tried to hold the panic welling in her stomach at bay.
Where the hell was he taking her? She should have asked before they left her apartment so that Janie would have known. Then again that couldn’t have guaranteed that was where he would take her.
“Emma,” he said abruptly. “We need to talk about tonight.”
“I’m not going to sleep with you.”
He threw his head back and laughed. “There will be no sleeping involved.” His eyes slid to her chest, which caused her to fidget because it felt like he was trying to see through her dress to the lace and silk concoction she was wearing beneath.
The urge to punch him in the mouth had never been as strong. Instead of sinking to his level, she smiled, although forced, and added, “I’ll be blunt then. There is no way in hell that this dress will be coming off. There is no way in hell that you are going to have sex with me. Is that clear?”
His jaw tightened with anger, but she held her ground and waited for his comeback because there would be one. There always was.
“Tonight,” his fist clenched on the seat beside him, “we are going to my club, and I expect no damn funny business from you. You act like a lady and as though you want to be there, otherwise, the deal is void.” His dark eyes chilled her to the bone.
He was going to be in for a shock. She might seem confident and she might be headed to heaven knew where, but she could be awkward when she wanted to be. He was going to discover that fact...and soon.
Emma’s attention was focused on Dahlin but she shifted it to outside the vehicle as it started to slow down. More than curious, she realized they where driving through the old part of Karim. The buildings had a look of New Orleans, with the balconies and trellises it resembled the French Quarter, and one hotel had two guys outside playing the blues.
The tune floated into the car as it pulled to a stop outside a beautiful building. It was the same as the others, but had no windows, giving it an air of mystery. The wrought iron lamps outside the building gave a soft glow and matched the wrought iron railing on each balcony. It was weird that the building had no windows but still had balconies. What was with that?
Trevor, Mr. Dahlin’s driver, opened her door within seconds of him pulling up at the sidewalk. He offered Emma his hand, which she ignored. He wasn’t bothered and smirked when she ignored him and climbed out with Dahlin close on her heels.
“What did I tell you?” Dahlin hissed right next to her ear as his fingers dug into the flesh of her arm. “You do as you’re told.”
For the first time, terror turned her blood to ice...she had never been scared of him before. Tonight he wasn’t himself. Oh, he’d been slimy, after all, he’d blackmailed her to be here, but this was different. She started to realize that perhaps she should have told him what to do with his job regardless of needing the money.
With a tight hold on her arm, he seemed satisfied that he’d gotten through to her and pulled Emma with him toward a black door.
There was no handle or even a lock present. It just looked like a large piece of cardboard had been used to block the entrance. That idea disappeared when she watched Dahlin as he pressed his thumb down onto a small panel she hadn’t noticed.
What was this place? She had a really bad feeling and sure as hell didn’t want to go inside with or without him.
As the door started to open, she realized it wasn’t cardboard—a stupid thought—it was steel.
The thick door opened and, just inside, a huge shadow of a man was stood silently in the dim light. Her first thought was secret service. But she shook that thought free. The secret service wouldn’t be at this place. Would they?
“Maverick,” Dahlin sighed, not sounding too happy to be greeted by the man.
“Jeffrey Dahlin, what a surprise,” he growled.
The man, Maverick, stepped out of the shadows and met Emma’s nervous gaze. He was over six feet tall, and had a hard, chiseled jaw that was clenched with what looked to be anger. There was a vivid scar running from beneath his right eye along his whisker-covered jaw to a stop at the corner of his mouth. Her gaze stayed fixated on his lips, and it wasn’t until they started to twitch, that she realized he’d caught her staring.
Emma’s eyes shot up to his and desire pooled in her panties when their gazes locked and held. She held her breath—she’d never experienced such a bolt of lust before, and by the shock that appeared in his eyes, he felt it too.
“She’s mine...Maverick,” Dahlin sneered, making a claim that wasn’t true. “You have your pick of women every night so I suggest you look elsewhere.”
If anything, Maverick’s jaw turned to steel at the words. Even though the words had been spoken, she didn’t believe them. It was obvious Mr. Dahlin and Maverick didn’t like each other so Dahlin was trying to piss Maverick off in front of Emma.
She wanted Maverick to know that she didn’t believe a word out of her boss’s mouth. She had an urge to step closer to Maverick and let his energy and strength seep into her own body because she felt so weak and defenseless.
That’s what Dahlin wanted though, wasn’t it? He wanted her vulnerable and now Dahlin had felt a threat to that with Maverick’s presence.
Maverick ignored Dahlin, his eyes sweeping over her body, but it didn’t make her feel uncomfortable. She wanted him to look. He asked, “And you are?”
Her throat had gone dry but after the third attempt, she finally managed to introduce herself, “Emma Miller.”
“Maverick.” He held his hand out to her, and as their fingers slid together and his closed around hers, she discovered that she didn’t want to let go. He made her feel safe, regardless of his size.
But of course it ended all too soon when Dahlin snatched her hand from Maverick’s grip.
“That is enough, Maverick,” he scoffed. “Don’t you have work to do?”
Maverick’s body language said that he wanted to flatten Dahlin with his fists, and Emma had a feeling that she’d love to watch.
Maverick punched some numbers into a keypad and another door opened. “Go through...I’ll be watching,” he warned and glared at Dahlin. Emma felt her belly gather butterflies when Maverick pointedly looked at her.
His silent promise was to protect her. He wanted her to know that he’d make sure she was okay.