Chapter 7

ADAM'S POV

I could still see it. Layla, pressed against that idiot, her body moving against his, her hands on him like he was something worth her time. Saying it bothered me would be a massive understatement. She was mine! I was the only one allowed to touch her....the only one. Which explained why the sight of her, all wild and uninhibited, letting someone else touch her like that, burned under my damn skin.

When I got to where she was standing, I didn’t stop to think. I wrapped my hand gently around her neck, not squeezing, just enough for her to feel me there, my thumb brushing against her pulse. Her eyes widened, her surprise momentarily silencing her.

“Is this what it is with you? What turns you on?” I murmured, my voice low and cutting, just loud enough for her to hear over the pounding music coming from inside that stupid club. “A little too much alcohol, clothes that are barely holding together, and any guy with hands gets to have a taste of you?”

Her brows shot up, and the fire I both loved and craved from her flared in her expression. “ Who do you think you are, talking to me like that? And are you stalking me now?” I was deliberately trying to piss her off, and I was succeeding. I didn’t answer her questions, my grip on her neck tightening just slightly, my eyes fixed on hers. She lifted her hands to my wrist, her fingers curling around me, but it wasn’t enough to break my hold.

“What are you doing?” she asked, her voice quieter now, uncertain. I hated that she thought I'd actually hurt her, but I had to make her understand how this was going to work. That she didn't belong to anyone else. My lips twisted into a humorless smile. “Did you like it?”

She blinked, confused. “What?”

I leaned in, the heat between us almost suffocating, and clarified, my voice razor-sharp. “Did you like it? When he touched you? When he put his hands on you? When he thought he’d get to take you home?”

Her breath hitched, her confusion giving way to anger as she tried to shove me back. “Let go of me! You’re insane.”

“ Oh you have no idea how crazy I can get. Now answer me,” I demanded, my voice rougher now. My gaze swept over her face, down to her very tempting lips, before locking onto her eyes again. “What exactly were you planning on doing with him once you left?”

Her jaw tightened, and she pried harder at my wrist. “ What do you want from me, huh?! You don't even know me.”

How wrong she was. I knew everything there was to know about her. I knew things no one else did, every last secret she thought she was hiding from the world, I was well aware of.

I'd spent the last eight years of my life learning everything there was to know about Layla Stevens. And it was time to make it clear just who she belonged to. I leaned in further, my forehead nearly touching hers, my breath brushing against her skin. She could probably see it now, the storm behind my eyes, the raw emotion I was barely keeping in check.

I wanted her so damn much it physically hurt.

“Tell me,” I growled, my tone a warning, a challenge. " Were you gonna let him fuck you? Were you dying for it?....Go ahead, enlighten me Layla, how much were you planning to beg for it? "

“ You asshole! ” she spat before literally slapping me across the face. And it actually stung. I could see the rage in her eyes, the hatred that was starting to take root in there. With time, I was gonna replace all that with completely different emotions. But for the time being, I'd have to deal with her anger and resentment.

She tried to turn and storm away, but I moved. Holding the back of her head as my lips crashed against hers with a force that stole her breath, demanding, relentless. For a moment, she froze, her body caught between protest and something much darker, much more dangerous.

But then she gave in....just like I'd known she would. Her hands slid from my wrist to my shoulders, her fingers curling into the fabric of my shirt as she kissed me back with just as much fire, just as much fury.

It wasn’t gentle. It wasn’t sweet, but I didn't intend it to be. It was our very first kiss and I intended to make it memorable. It was a battle, a collision of wills, and neither of us was willing to back down. She tasted better than I'd ever imagined, the second my tongue flicked against hers, I was hooked.

My free hand roamed over her sexy form, wanting to erase any memory of that jerk back there from her mind. To replace it with memories of me. When I dipped my hand under her dress and found the delicate lace she wore damp, a sound I couldn't make out escaped my throat. Control was a foreign concept.

" Are you wet for me, or for that suicidal maniac?"

" The only maniac here is you!"

I pushed the flimsy lace aside, brushing my index finger lightly over her clit, and she shuddered in my hold. Her eyes momentarily closing. We were outside the club, that little corner wasn't exactly hidden, so if anyone were to walk by, they'd see us. But I didn't give a damn.

" Let's make something clear here flower, no one else touches you. The next time anyone dares to even look at you with interest, I'll snap their arms into two. And this –" I clamped my hand over her pussy and she tried to stiffle a moan. Tried and failed. The sound shot straight to my cock, I could swear I felt it twitch. " This belongs to me. Understand?"

Knowing I couldn't control myself any longer, I let go of her and pulled back, my breathing ragged. I looked at her like she was the only thing that existed. Because in that moment, she was.

And she stared at me, her lips swollen, her eyes blazing. The fire was back tenfold. She was seething.

“ I fucking hate you!” she snapped.

" Your body seems to feel different, flo–"

" Layla! Okay? My name is Layla. And I don't know what kind of twisted mind games you're playing with me, but they end here. This is the last time I'm letting you anywhere near me. "

I chuckled, stepping back and letting her storm past me. But as I turned and watched her walk away, I knew one thing for certain, this chemistry between us was real. And we were only just beginning to explore it.