Cross My Tigress Face the Wrath (Stella)

Julia rolled up her sleeve, revealing a nasty-looking bruise on her arm.

The timing said it all. Obviously, Skye was the one who'd done it.

Yvonne scowled. "Did she do that to you?"

"Yeah. Even with Aileen helping, neither of us could take her down," Julia admitted, sounding frustrated.

There was no way they could just let Skye get away with this. After all, Skye had already screwed Yvonne over - they couldn't just sit on their hands.

"Skye's been wrestling with wild animals her whole life. We're just not in her league," Aileen chimed in with a sigh.

Yvonne ground her teeth, furious. "If I ever get my hands on that witch..."

Damn Skye. One way or another, as soon as she got back to Ferrowland, she'd hunt her down. And when she did, she'd make Skye cough up every last thing she'd taken.

Aileen nudged her. "I've got some people keeping an eye on her for you."

Yvonne waved her off, grabbing her whiskey and taking a swig. "Don't bother. I'll handle it myself." Last time, three years ago, she'd already dragged her friends into enough mess. This time, it was on her.

The three of them sat together, cursing out Skye between shots of bourbon.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the bar, Xander and his crew were finally getting to the bottom of his and Yvonne's shotgun wedding. Everyone had assumed it was some kind of revenge against the Schultz family.

But Xander snorted. "Dan Murray, that bastard, was missing for six months, and I knew something was up. I'm telling you, he got close to Yvonne with an agenda. That idiot was nearly burned last time."

Lott blinked. "So... what are you saying?"

"What, I was supposed to just watch her walk into the fire again? Hell no. I married her so she wouldn't get herself killed."

Ashley and Lott exchanged a look. This wasn't adding up. When Xander first showed up, he'd been fuming about Yvonne and the Schultzes, talking about revenge and teaching Yvonne a lesson. Now he sounded like he was trying to save her from getting burned by Dan.

Ashley nudged Bonnag, the quiet one of the group. "Hey, Grady, what do you think? Is he telling the truth now, or is this just the booze talking?"

Grady drained his beer and shrugged. "Either way, he'd better keep his distance from Yvonne."

Ashley nodded. "Yeah, she's not exactly the sentimental type. Not an ounce of softness in her."

But looking at Xander now, something just felt off.

Lott leaned in close to him. "You better watch yourself with Yvonne, man. Don't get any ideas."

Marrying Yvonne? Judging by Xander's tone, this whole thing was just business. But if he slipped up...

Yikes. With Yvonne's temper, marrying her was like bringing home a chainsaw and keeping it under your pillow.

...

Both bars were buzzing late into the night.

Out at Hull's mansion, the whole estate was bathed in moonlight, wrapped in a kind of sultry, ambiguous glow.

Inside, the dim bedroom echoed with a woman's muffled pleas and soft, broken sobs.

Susanna felt like she was drifting on an endless tide, carried up and down by the

waves.

When Hull pulled her back into his arms yet again, her exhausted mind snapped awake, alarms blaring.

"No, please, I can't-"

His voice was low and rough. "Tomorrow, I'll take you to meet my mother."

Susanna froze, her hands, which had been pushing him away, falling limp.

Feeling her surrender, a sly smile curved Hull's lips in the darkness.

She whispered, voice trembling, "You... you promise you're not lying?"

Her eyes, luminous in the moonlight, were as soft and uncertain as a frightened fawn.

Hull's warm breath brushed her ear. "I promise, sweetheart. Trust me."

His gentleness caught Susanna off guard — she'd never imagined Mr. Miguel could sound so reassuring, so safe.

Maybe he really could be sweet.

Still, all she managed was a tiny, shaky, "Okay."

Seeing her finally give in, Hull's smile deepened with a kind of indulgence he'd

never shown before. He caught her slender wrist, pulling her back under the dark, dizzying waves of the night.

(Some scenes are better left to the imagination...)

...

Around five in the morning, most of the gang was out cold. As usual, Grady arranged for the Night Owl's staff to take Xander up to the penthouse suite.

Ashley and Lott each grabbed a room and crashed. Only Grady had enough sense left to call a cab and head home.

Back at Yvonne's table, things weren't as neat. She couldn't hold her liquor, and Aileen had already left. Julia was about to take her home when her phone rang.noveldrama

Julia answered, listened for a moment, then gasped. "What? Okay, okay, I'll be right there!"

She glanced at the completely wasted Yvonne slumped against her, torn about what to do. Then she remembered the Night Owl's penthouse was right upstairs.