Page 73 of Alluring Darkness
But I’m supposed to be putting distance between us, not falling deeper into her all-consuming presence, so I remain firmly where I am and bring my cruelty to the surface.
“You behaved like a slut in that bar yesterday,” I say, even though I don’t mean it, just for the sole purpose of hurting her. “So now, you pay for that.” I jerk my chin towards my bedroom door. “Time for a walk of shame.”
“A slut?” She snorts and rolls her eyes. “The eighteenth century called and wanted its views on women’s sexuality back. Now, get the hell out of my way so that I can grab my clothes.”
“Your clothes are staying right here.”
She raises her eyebrows in a pointed expression.
I flash her a cold smile. “Spoils of war.”
She scoffs.
“You have two options. You either walk back to your dorm in that.” I nod down at my shirt that she’s wearing. “Or you walk back naked. Choose.”
A knowing glint creeps into her green eyes, and a vicious smile curls her lips. “Easy.”
Grabbing the hem of the shirt, she yanks it over her head and then shoves the crumpled-up fabric at my chest.
Shock clangs through me at the unexpected move, so I don’t even have time to grab it before she releases it. The white fabric flutters down to the dark floorboards as she turns on her heel and marches towards my bedroom door completely naked.
Fury roars through me.
She’s going to walk through the entire residential neighborhood naked? For everyone to see? Like hell.
Her fingers have barely brushed the handle when I catch up to her and slam my palm against the door. She turns around to face me. And that scheming, victorious glint in her eyes almost sends me to my fucking knees.
She knew that I would never let her walk through the neighborhood naked, so she called my bluff and obliterated my power move.
“You have two options,” she begins, echoing my words, while her eyes glitter with smugness. “Either I walk back to my dorm wearing my own clothes.” She nods towards the bathroom. “Or I walk back naked. Choose.”
Clenching my jaw, I flex my fingers while I try to suppress the overwhelming urge to strangle the fuck out of this infuriating woman.
But she knows that she has already won, so she only looks back at me with eyebrows raised expectantly.
A low snarl rips from my throat as I stalk back to the bathroom and gather up her clothes and shoes. But I don’t give them to her when I return. Instead, I shift them to one arm and use my other hand to shove the door open. Then I grab Raina by the arm and throw her out into the corridor.
She stumbles from the force of the shove, and has to brace herself against the opposite wall. Still completely naked, she straightens and levels a scathing glare at me.
“Here.” I throw the bundle of garments at her. “You can get dressed out in the corridor just like all the other desperate girls I’ve fucked in this room over the years.”
Anger pulses across her face, and she jerks back like I’ve slapped her.
Good. I want her to hurt. To doubt. To crumble and break. I need to destroy whatever this thing between us is before she gains too much power over me.
I haven’t touched, let alone fucked, anyone else ever since I met Raina.
But I can’t let her know that, so I add in a mocking voice, “Aww. Did you think that you were special? I hate to break it to you, princess…” I flick a dismissive look up and down her naked body. “But there is absolutely nothing special about you.”
Emotions flash across her features. Too fast for me to decipher.
But before she can reply, I slam the door shut in her face.
29
RAINA
The sounds of fists hitting flesh echoes between the concrete walls. Sitting on a short wooden bench, I glower at Eli and his brothers as they continue sparring.