The command in his voice took her by surprise. Aggression and anger poured from his expression, giving her pause. She had no idea what his problem was. More importantly, she didn’t know if she should be worried or not.
Garrett took her hand and all but dragged her behind him. She tried to dig her heels in. “Garrett, wait. Where are we going? My room isn’t on this floor.”
He rounded on her. “No, my room is on this floor. Now, you can either walk or I’ll throw you over my shoulder. Either way, you’re coming with me.”
“Garrett, I —”
He growled, bent and pushed his shoulder into her stomach, scooping her up.
“Garrett!” Jessa raised her head enough to see if anyone had followed them into the hallway, relieved to find it empty.
“I warned you.”
Jessa braced her hands against his lower back, shifting her hips to lessen the bite of his shoulder.
“Hold still.” His palm came down on her backside.
“Hey! Who do you think you are? You know, you’re being really fucking annoying tonight. Put me down.” She slapped his ass hard while struggling to keep her breasts from falling out of her dress. As much as his Neanderthal tactics pissed her off, she was shaken from his touch in the elevator. Turned on.
He stopped. His hand skimmed the back of her thigh, up over her hip. She bit back a moan as he knelt to put her back on her feet. She straightened her dress and tried to get a hold of herself.
With a look of warning, he made quick work of the keycard and all but shoved her inside.
She hadn’t even gotten all the way into the room before he went off. “What the hell did you think you were doing?”
“Could you be more specific?” Arrogant jerk, thinking he could toss her around like a sack of potatoes. Who did he think he was?
He paced the floor in front of her. “Tonight. Dancing. Flirting with Tyler. That … that dress.” He waved a hand over her. “And I use the term loosely, of course. I’m not sure that scrap of material you’re wearing qualifies as an actual dress.”
“Where do you get off judging anything I do? I happen to like this dress.” She smoothed her hands down her body, his eyes tracking every move.
He snorted. “You and every man in the vicinity of you.”
“Need I remind you that going to dinner was your idea? And as for the dancing …” She shrugged a shoulder. “When in Rome.”
“And Tyler?” He ground out.
“He’s cute, and a good dancer. Why wouldn’t I have fun with him? I’m single. Free to dance with whoever the hell I want. Jesus! You were the one who said I didn’t know how to have fun, then the minute I do … what is your issue, Garrett?”
“You let him touch you.” His voice was harsh, fierce.
“Is that what this is about? Because you think —” She threw her hands up, glaring at him. “We were dancing Garrett. Kind of hard to do without touching.”
He took a step toward her. “I don’t think anything. His hands were all over you tonight, touching the skin that I … damn it. Tell me, Jess. Do you prefer Tyler’s touch to mine?”
Jessa stared at him, his eyes filled with a mixture of anger and lust. A look that told her if she wanted, she could be in his bed tonight. And oh, she wanted.
For once in her life, she would take what she wanted. No holding back, no allowing fear of judgment to get in her way. She was going for it.