Page 45 of Devious Knight

“Then leave me alone.”

“What if I don’t want to?” His voice is playful with that teasing tone.

“You need to. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m busy, so let me go.”

“You won’t be busy tonight.”

The moment he says that dark dread settles in the pit of my stomach.

Micheal.

Kade’s screwed with my date. “What have you done?”

“Nothing.” An air of menace slips into his voice. “I just know Micheal won’t be able to make your date tonight. Something’s going to come up and he’ll have to cancel.”

“You asshole! Why are you doing this to me?” I’ve lost control and now I can’t keep my voice from shaking. “Because you don’t want me, no one else must have me?”

He holds my gaze and the light of fascination dances in his eyes. “I never said I didn’t want you, Lolita.”

My throat goes dry and I can’t swallow. “You’re screwing with my mind again.”

“Am I?”

“Yes, and I don’t care. Leave me alone and stop sabotaging my dates.”

“No.”

“Why?” I breathe out, trying to sound firm and assertive.

Kade reaches for a lock of my hair and lifts it to his nose to inhale, then he inches even closer until he’s at my ear. “They all wanted to fuck you.”

My cheeks heat at his lewd words and the crassness of his tone.

“I wasn’t going to let that happen. You don’t belong to them, Isabelle.”

My breath hitches and my lungs become so tight and heavy they feel like lead inside my chest. “I belong to myself.”

“No, you don’t.”

I turn to face him so our lips are inches apart again. “Then who do I belong to?”

“Me.”

I stop breathing, my heart racing, beating harder until it starts pounding against my ribcage.

His eyes darken to the shade of the sky before an oncoming storm, and he leans closer. His lips brush against mine, shocking me down to the depths of my core, and I feel like I’ve slipped out of my skin.

He angles his face, like he’s actually going to kiss me—properly. Not just a taste. As he inches closer my mind rids itself of logic and reasoning and suddenly, I’m high school Isabelle again. The girl who was crazy about Kade Gurkovsky.

Time slows and I can almost feel his lips on mine.

“Isabelle.” Mackenzie’s voice snaps into the moment and Kade pulls back.

His eyes cloud and his expression resumes that darkness I’ve witnessed in him for the last few months.

Whatever the hell spell it was that made him almost kiss me is broken, but it’s left me feeling like I’m walking on thin ice with spikes on the soles of my shoes.

I look at Mackenzie, who has gone as pale as I feel. She glances from me to Kade, takes in his shirtless form, and I swear her skin turns even paler.