Corrupt

19. And I Thought Charity Galas Were Supposed to Be Fun

19. And I Thought Charity Galas Were Supposed to Be Fun
        "There are rules for tonight," Jace spoke up, not dropping his intense gaze from mine. He placed a single calloused hand on the top of my thigh and the warmth of it caused chills to snake down my spine. My face, which was still warm from his previous words, brightened further.

        With my teeth sinking into my bottom lip, I forced myself to level my gaze on him. He seemed to understand why I was narrowing my eyes at him so forcefully and he spoke up before I could.

        "I know you don't like rules." He sighed, shaking his head with a small grin beginning to form on his lips. His smile was doing funny things to my stomach and I quickly looked away from it, my heart pounding. "Especially my rules, but these are important."        

        "They always are." I sighed, slumping slightly in my seat. "You can tell me them, but it doesn't necessarily mean I'll follow them." I mumbled out, flicking my eyes briefly to meet his. I arched a defiant brow at the man and he sighed at the challenging stare.

        "I'm not surprised." Jace's lips shifted into a smirk, before he rolled his eyes.

        I shuffled in my seat, gripping the leather beneath my palms tightly. Shooting a dark glance in his direction, I pursed my lips. "Well, get on with it. The faster I hear your ridiculous set of rules, then the faster I can deny any of them."

        A flash of amusement lit his eyes before he carefully masked it, barely able to contain the upward curl of his lips. "Savannah, this is a serious."

        "Yes, sir." I quickly saluted the man seated by me, rolling my shoulders back.

        "Kitten," He sighed, pressing the pads of his fingers to his temples. He cleared his throat, pressing his lips together in a thin line. "You need to listen."

        I didn't speak, staring at him silently as I waited for him to continue. The playful expression that had been present on his face seemed to diminish with the sigh that he released. His large hand squeezed my knee tightly, as his eyes watched me carefully. "I don't want to scare you, but there are going to be a lot of bad men here."

        I barely contained the shiver that wanted to run through my body. My wide eyes were glued to his as my mouth fell open. I hadn't been prepared for that. "Huh?"

        "It's okay." Any amusement that had previously lingered was had been replaced with worry as he studied me. He ran a hand roughly through his hair. "I won't let anything happen to you. But, that's why the first rule is you have to stay by my side the whole night. I'll have specific men watching just you, but you'll be the safest where I can easily reach you."

        I gulped, my teeth sinking into my lip briefly. "That doesn't make me feel any better."

        "I know," He grimly replied, one of his hands reaching up to drag a loose strand of hair behind my ear. "At times I feel sorry for dragging you into this mess. But, then there are times where I don't."

        I don't think I could have spoken in that moment, so I kept my lips slammed shut, my gaze straying to the floor of the vehicle.

        Jace chuckled lowly into my ear, the sound sexy and terrifying all at once. "And I think you feel the same way."

        He leaned back slightly and I continued to sit rigidly, his words ringing through my ears.

        "If we do manage to get separated, don't trust anybody." Jace's stormy eyes narrowed slightly. "Anyone can be a threat. Don't listen, follow, or allow anyone to deceive you."