SOAR (The Indigo Lounge Series Book 4) (15 page)

He
lowered his window and let in fresh air he hoped would cleanse his mind.
Feeling marginally better, he passed a finger beneath the collar of his studded
shirt. As the key speaker at the Silver Spoon Charity Ball, he hadn’t been able
to back
out
as he’d wanted to when Maddie had sent him
the reminder yesterday.

King’s
Ransom had given a lot to the charity, which rehabilitated young offenders and
victims of abuse. He’d agreed to give this speech because Gabe was also on the
board of the charity and had talked him into it.

 
Gritting his teeth, he re-read the text
message he’d received ten minutes ago -
Must pass on
wing-man
duties.
Angie’s back.
She wants to talk. My dick may
not fall off after all. Don’t wait up.

Fucking
Gabe. A spike of jealousy shamed him. He would’ve given his right arm for an
uncomplicated life right now. Leaning back, he rested his head against the seat
then immediately swung his gaze upward. Sure enough, there were the two indents
in the felt roof where Leia had planted her feet before ravaging herself to
orgasm.

His
cock hardened so fast his vision blurred. Holy fuck. Would he ever be able to
sit in this car again without those hot memories torturing him?

“We’re
here, Mr. King,” his driver informed him.

With
a stiff nod, Noah threw open the door and strode past the group of paparazzi
crowded at the stunning entrance to the five star hotel.

He
greeted business acquaintances, drank champagne and schmoozed for fifteen
minutes then breathed a sigh of relief when the announcement was made for
guests to take their seats in the main gala room.

As
he passed the easel that held the seat allocations, he paused. Irritation
snapped through him when he realized who else was on his table. Shannon
Gleeson, his ex-therapist.

This
should be fun
…

About
to turn away, he froze when a name caught his eye.

Snyder.
And seated right next to him…Leia.

SIXTEEN

Leia’s
wrist throbbed like a son of a bitch.

In
a hurry to leave after the hotel doctor had examined her, she’d forgotten to
take the painkillers he’d provided.

Sitting
at her table in the stunning gala ballroom, she gingerly massaged the tensor
bandage.
Despite her injury being ruled a mild sprain rather
than a break
,
it ached badly
. She bit her lip
as a dart of pain shot up her arm.

God,
it hurt…

But
the pain didn’t compare to the absolute emotional devastation she’d experienced
when she’d walked into the room and seen Noah with his arm around a statuesque
redhead.

They’d
been so absorbed in each other that he hadn’t noticed Leia frozen beside his
table for a good half minute.

Only
a blind fool would’ve missed the
familiarity
between him and his buxom
friend. Even then, Leia had been unwilling to accept it.
Until
the redhead had leaned in and whispered in his ear.
Leia had watched her
red lips mouth the word
fuck
and a dagger had speared deep into Leia’s
heart.

Perhaps
sensing her agony, Noah had finally raised his head from the no doubt
scintillating conversation, but only to grace Leia with a dismissive glance,
before doing that half smile thing.

Then
his gaze had dropped to her bandaged wrist. He’d vaulted upright in his seat, his
face transformed into a furious mask.

The
head usher, whispering urgently that Leia really needed to take her seat, had
been the prompt her feet needed to carry her away from Noah.

The
last hour had passed in an excruciating cauldron of hell. Although her seat was
out of his direct eye line, she could feel Noah’s gaze boring mercilessly into
her from his executive table. She’d barely touched her food, nor been able to
force down more than a mouthful of water.

They
were ten minutes away from the
Krug & Regroup
interval. From past
experience, she knew it was the power half-hour when deals were struck over
more booze and expensive cigars. Once that was over, the keynote speaker, Noah
King—oh God—would give his speech.

She
risked a glance over her shoulder. His blue eyes hooked into hers, furious and
demanding. The redhead leaned closer and whispered in his ear again. He gave
another lip twitch but his eyes didn’t release Leia’s.

Beside
her, a masculine throat cleared. “Did my flowers arrive?”

Leia
pried her gaze from Noah’s, past the redhead’s fingers, which now caressed his
neck, and faced forward.

“You
cannot ignore me for the whole evening,” Warren pressed. “My actions were…unfortunate.
You set me straight in no uncertain terms. I’d like to think we
can
draw a line under it and move on?”

She
finally deigned to look at him, her stomach roiling in sickening remembrance.
“I asked to be moved from this seat. Unfortunately, the doctor who was called
to attend my
sprained wrist
was unavoidably delayed. The charity hostess
thought I wasn’t coming, so they didn’t bother to move me.
That
is the
only reason I’m sitting next to you. Do yourself a favor and pretend I’m not
here because I intend to do likewise.” She turned and smiled at the guest to
her right, cradling her wounded wrist in her lap to avoid anyone noticing how
badly she was shaking.

The
moment the MC announced the
interval,
she excused
herself and jumped up. From the corner of her eye, she saw Noah rise too. She
made it to the ladies room and collapsed into an empty stall. Half expecting
him to storm in after her, she sat on the toilet, her heart in her throat. It
took several minutes for her heart rate to drop from runaway-freight-train to
speedhound pace. And for her to wonder whether she’d blown the whole thing out
of proportion. Had Noah really been that interested in her, or had he been
getting up to
attend
to someone else, like the
redhead?

Her
stomach churned with acid jealousy as she shakily rose and flushed the toilet
she hadn’t used. Opening the stall door, she went to the sink as three women
walked in—including the redhead.

Fucking
A
.

Socialite
Number One, the blonde in the group, checked herself out in the mirror, before
leaning forward to tidy up her re-applied lipstick with the corner of a tissue.

“Brandon’s
getting on my last fucking nerve with this threesome bullshit. It’s his
birthday next week. I think I’ll just do it, get it over and done with.”

“Hmm,
make sure you set the rules before anything goes down. Mine got a little
awkward when Stanley tried to make it an ongoing thing. He claims I said he
could have one whenever he pleased,” Socialite Number Two huffed. “As if I’d
want some skank rolling around in my
Sferra
Milos
sheets every other night of the week.”

They
dissolved into giggles fuelled by too many glasses of champagne. Socialite
Number Two turned to the redhead.

“So
what’s going on with you and the yummy Mr. King? We saw you two cozying up
earlier.” She smacked her lips together in rapid succession. “God, if I didn’t
love my Stanley, I’d hit that with everything I’ve got and then some.”

Redhead
swept her fiery curls over one bare shoulder and gave a sultry smile. “My lips
are firmly sealed. But I can guarantee they won’t be later.” She winked and
more giggles ensued.

Leia
stood frozen at the sink, her face drained white enough to give Marilyn Manson
a run for his money, as the trio trailed past her and out the door.

The
adrenaline, which had coursed through her system when she thought of Noah,
suddenly drained out of her. Nausea churned in her belly. Taking several deep
breaths, she forced herself to straighten her spine.

Raise
her chin.

Move
.

Fuck
Noah.

Fuck
Warren.

Fuck
every last man on earth—

Firm,
merciless hands grabbed her waist the moment she stepped out of the washroom.
Before she could blink, she was dragged through a dim archway and into an
empty, smaller ballroom.

Instantly,
the adrenaline shot back into her system.

“What
the hell do you think you’re doing?” she demanded.

Noah
didn’t stop. He slammed his hand against a door that opened onto a wraparound
balcony on the south side of the sprawling hotel. Converted from a pseudo
French Chateau, the clever design of the building allowed them to see into the gala
ballroom but offered privacy unless anyone stepped out onto the balcony.

To
one side, a set of wide stairs led down to the private driveway and beyond it
to extensive gardens complete with intricate mazes and manicured lawns.

He
trapped her against a stone pillar, hands braced on either side of her head.

She’d
forgotten just how utterly devastating he looked in formal attire. Now,
towering over her, with his shoulders blocking out the world and those eyes
fixed squarely on her, her breath caught all over again. Her nipples hardened
into tight, painful nubs and her sex throbbed to life.

She
shouldn’t be feeling this way about him. Not when he planned to fuck someone
else tonight—

“What
the fuck happened to your wrist?”

She’d
seen Noah angry, but the furious intensity in his eyes was unlike anything
she’d experienced before.

“Do
you care?” She couldn’t resist throwing his words from last night in his face.

Some
desperately anguished part of her wanted him to remember last night. To remind
him of how incredibly soul-shaking their mutual self-pleasuring had been. How
primitive and visceral he’d been, leaning against that wall, stroking his cock.
God yes. He had to remember because no amount of bravado could disguise the
knowledge that she couldn’t bear him moving on so quickly.

“Tell
me how you hurt your wrist, Leia.”

“Who
is that woman?” she blurted.

He
frowned. “What woman?”

“The
redhead.”

His
hand slashed through the air in arrogant dismissal. “She’s nobody. Your fucking
wrist, Leia.”

“I
was sparring with Warren this morning…he grabbed me…”

His
mouth worked for several seconds without any sound emerging. Then he crouched
until he was eye level with her. His cobalt blue gaze bored into her. “
Snyder
did this to you
?”

Pulse racing
,
she pressed her lips together
.

He
cupped his left ear and leaned closer. “I didn’t catch that, sweetheart. Did. Snyder.
Do. This. To. You?” His voice dripped lethal ice.

“Yes.”

He
straightened slowly and rocked back on his heels. One corner of his mouth lifted
and Leia’s heart stopped. He took several steps into the ballroom before she
realized his intention. Pushing away from the pillar, she grabbed his arm.

“Noah,
wait.”

He
stared down at her. “Take your hand off me, baby,” he advised softly.

Fear
spiked through her. “No. Where are you going?” The picture of his NYPD mug shot
flashed through her mind. She knew how badly he’d hated himself for losing
control two years ago. “Please, don’t do anything…”

She
caught a glimpse of Warren walking toward them at the same moment Noah did.

Dislodging
her hand, Noah lunged through the French doors, grabbed Warren by his lapels
and dragged him to the balcony.

Noah’s
first punch landed with a sickening crunch on Warren’s jaw. With the element of
surprise on his side, he got another punch in before Warren started to recover.

Years
of
bartitsu
and Wing Chun had rewarded Warren with
quick reflexes.

He
kicked out with his foot, but Noah’s reacted quicker. Sidestepping the other
man, he delivered a powerful jab to Warren’s ribcage.

Warren
coughed once and went down. When Noah started to reach for him, Leia caught his
arm.

“Noah,
stop! Oh God, stop. Please!”

He
planted his foot on Warren’s throat, exerting enough force to keep him down.
Then his eyes sought hers, a puzzled look in them. “Excuse me?”

An
usher, heading their way bearing a tray of drinks, braked to a stop when he
witnessed the spectacle unfolding. Leia shook her head frantically at him, and
he beat a hasty retreat. “Please, Noah. Let him go.”

Warren
gripped Noah’s ankle and started to struggle.

Noah
pressed harder, exerting all of his lean muscle strength into blocking Warren’s
windpipe. “You want me to stop? You sure about that?”

Her
breath shuddered out, her fear for him making her heart stutter. “Yes.”

“Think
about this carefully.” Despite his easy stance, she couldn’t mistake the deadly
threat behind the words. “I let him go, everything changes for us. Are you
ready for that?”

Her
heart hammered. “Noah—”

“Those
are my terms. You want me to spare this piece of shit despite him putting his
hands on you, I will. But there will be consequences.”

He
didn’t have to spell them out. His eyes blazed with an all-encompassing
dominance that told her once she stepped into his orbit there would be no going
back.

A
shiver drenched her from temple to toes. “Let him go. Please.”

His
gaze raked her face slowly, imprinted the force of his will on her until she
feared she’d drown in the sheer magnitude of it. Coolly, he stepped back,
straightened his bow tie and cuffs.

Warren
rolled over to his side, coughing and sucking in desperate breaths. One corner
of his mouth trickled blood, and his jaw and throat were red and swelling.

Reaching
into his pocket, Noah extracted his phone. “I have some trash that needs taking
out. South side entrance.” Icy blue eyes met hers. “Discretion preferred but
not completely necessary.”

Two
men appeared minutes later, one she recognized as the driver from the night
before. They lifted Warren like a sack of potatoes and headed down the stairs
to where a dark grey SUV idled on the driveway. Still caught up in how fast
everything had gone down, she stood dazed as Noah followed them down. Hands on
his lean hips, he watched them push Warren into the back.

The
SUV executed a tight turn and accelerated down the driveway.

Noah
stormed up the stairs toward her. “We’re leaving.”

She
shook her head. “We can’t. You’re the keynote speaker. You’re due to give your
speech in ten minutes.”

“Fuck
the speech. Look at me, Leia.” He held his hands out to her. They were
trembling. His rapid pants soughed in and out as if he couldn’t catch his
breath. “How the hell am I supposed to stand up and talk about giving juvenile
offenders a break, when I’m feeling
fucking homicidal
?”