Page 106 of Shattered King

Hunter didn’t spare the guy another glance. He grabbed my wrist and dragged me across the club. I spun to see Ruby racing after us, a worried look on her face.

He dragged me over to where Neco still stood and grabbed my shoulders. “You wanna tell me what the fuck that was?”

“We were dancing. It was no big deal,” I said lamely.

“What did you just say?” he gritted out.

“We were dancing.”

He let me go and his hands went to his hips. He tipped his head back and stared at the ceiling of the club like he was looking for divine guidance. Then his chin dropped and he aimed his furious stare on me, hands going back to my shoulders. “You didn’t think I’d have a problem with that?”

Okay, now I was getting pissed off. “I would never cheat on you!” I jerked back, trying to break his hold on me, but he wouldn’t let go. “If you think that, you don’t know me at all.”

“Are you shitting me?”

“No, I am not shitting you.” I was starting to lose track of the conversation.

He clenched his jaw. “I fucking know you wouldn’t cheat on me, Lulu. Doesn’t mean I want some other guy putting his filthy hands on you.”

“However you spin it, it sounds like you don’t trust me.”

“I trust you. I don’t trust them.” He jerked his chin to the dance floor. “And you’re sure as hell not thinking straight right now.”

Whoa, whoa. What?

“I don’t like what you’re implying,” I said, not loud, but his eyes were on my mouth and I knew he read my lips.

“I’m not implying any-damn-thing.”

I planted my hands on my hips. This argument had nothing to do with what just happened and we both knew it. “You think I’m being stupid. That I’m some overly emotional female. That I left you without thinking it through, admit it?”

He jerked back. “Left me?”

Shit. “I didn’t mean . . . I . . .”

The muscle in his jaw jumped. “Right now isn’t the time for this discussion.”

“Agreed. Which is why you two should leave,” I said motioning to Neco.

Ruby tried to move closer, but Neco snaked a hand around her waist stopping her. “Stay out of it,” he growled.

The expression on Hunter’s face went from wanting to shake me to wanting to strangle me with his bare hands. “I’m not going anywhere. No fucking way am I leaving you alone here like this. Woman, you’re drunk off your ass.”

I was too stubborn and too angry to back down. The cocktails weren’t helping either. So I shrugged. “Fine. I’ll leave.”

“Like hell,” he gritted out.

God, I hated fighting with Hunter. I hated being separated from him. Seeing him here tonight had just made it worse.

My eyes and nose started stinging. Shit. I was going to start crying, and not just a few tears. I was on the verge of extreme ugly crying and there was no way to stop it. I needed to get away, clear my fuzzy head. With that the only thought in my mind, I spun on my heels, shoved through the crowd, and ran in the opposite direction. People closed around me and I pushed through, hitting the hall to the bathrooms and sprinting to the door at the end with “Exit” above it.

That’s when it happened. One minute I was running, hand lifted to shove through the door, the next . . .

Nothing.

* * *

I woke up in the dark.