Chapter 2 Molested And Rescued

Elena's POV

His gaze locked onto me without wavering. Meeting it sent a jolt through my system-something intense, primal, almost confrontational in its ferocity. Suddenly, I felt stripped bare, as if his stare alone could peel away every layer I'd wrapped around myself.

And yet, I couldn't look away. Wouldn't.

Our gazes tangled in a wordless battle, the world beyond the elevator's mirrored walls dissolving into irrelevance. As his eyes traced a slow path over my tear-streaked face, my rumpled dress, heat flooded my veins while my heartbeat hammered against my ribs.

Some traitorous part of me-some deep, animal instinct I didn't know I possessed-screamed to launch myself into his arms, to demand he finish with his mouth what he'd started with those devastating eyes.

The thought jolted me back to reality like ice water down my spine.

What the hell are you doing, Elena?

I mentally slapped myself, hard. This man was Eric Thompson. Billionaire Alpha. The most powerful wolf in the Eastern Seaboard.

And-the cruelest cut of all-the future brother-in-law to Mark!

People at their level never look twice at women like me-not for anything real, anyway. Mark had taught me that lesson in the most brutal way possible. I wouldn't-couldn't-be that foolish again.

I scrambled to my feet, wiping furiously at my cheeks with the back of my hand. I clutched my purse to my chest like a shield.

I made to step around him, toward the open doors and blessed escape.

He didn't move.

A wall of muscle and power in an exquisite suit, he remained planted in the doorway, his broad shoulders filling the frame. One eyebrow lifted a fraction of an inch.

"You cannot walk out like that." His voice was ice as he stared down at me, those penetrating eyes raking over me with an intensity that felt like a physical brand.

"Like what?" I snapped, following his gaze downward.

Oh, God.

My breath caught as I finally saw it-the bodice of my dress was torn, gaping open to expose far too much of my chest. Heat flooded my cheeks. The guards. The struggle. They must have ripped it during that brutal drag to the elevator. I fumbled to gather the torn fabric, pressing it closed with one shaking hand pressed against my sternum.

But why did he sound so possessive about it? As if I belonged to him? I couldn't recall ever being this close to him before, never having exchanged a single word. I masked my mortification, lifting my chin in defiance.

"What I wear is my choice," I said firmly, attempting to step around him.

His arm shot out, wrapping around my waist, and he hauled me back against him with breathtaking ease.

I couldn't tolerate this-this casual assumption of authority over my body. I pushed against his chest, struggling to break free. But the moment my palms made contact with the heat of him through that fine suit, a jolt of raw desire shot through my fingers, arcing straight to my core. I trembled. Our eyes met, and I watched his darken, the storm clouds gathering into something thunderous.

"Don't even think about it," he bit out, the words dripping with arrogant disdain. "I will not allow anyone to appear at my sister's wedding looking so indecent, so disgraceful."

That did it. That smug, sanctimonious tone ignited something feral in me.

I dropped my purse to the floor with a satisfying thud. Before I could think, before I could question my own sanity, I grabbed the ruined, dangling bodice and yanked.

The fabric tore away completely, the sound loud in the charged silence. What remained was a tight, sleeveless micro-dress that barely skimmed my thighs.

"Now are you satisfied?!" I spat, my chest heaving, my eyes blazing into his.

He went utterly still.

Then a low sound-almost a growl-escaped him. In one motion he grabbed me and pressed me against the wall, his body crowding mine dangerously close. His earthy scent surrounded me, overwhelming my senses while my pulse went wild and my legs threatened to give out.

"What the hell are you playing at?" he growled near my neck, his breath hot against my skin, eyes darker than before. "Is this your game? Parading yourself to lure men?"

"What shit are you talking about?" I scolded and pushed hard against his chest. "I'm trapped in an elevator with a torn dress-what exactly was I supposed to do? What would YOU have done?"

His jaw tightened to granite. He said nothing.

Without another word, he yanked off his jacket and threw it around my shoulders. Before I could process what happened, he hit the button. The doors slid open, and he strode out, leaving me standing there shaken, wrapped in fabric that smelled like him.

I stepped out wearing his jacket as the elevator doors shut coldly behind me.

Humiliation burned through me like wildfire, his accusations echoing in my skull-those cruel, cutting words implying I was some kind of wanton creature, flaunting myself for male attention. Rage lodged in my throat, thick and suffocating.

And yet.

I pulled his jacket tighter. That wild, masculine scent wrapped around me, sinking into my skin, making my legs weak, stirring something I desperately tried to suppress, something I refused to acknowledge.

I hated it. Hated that my body responded this way. Hated that it was HIM-of all people.

Eric Thompson-brother to the woman who'd stolen Mark away from me. The absolute last man I should feel anything for--

"Well, well. Look what the cat dragged in."

The mocking voice stopped me cold as I hurried toward the exit, desperate to escape this nightmare. I looked up.

Selene. Mark's sister.

I kept walking. I had no energy for her games.

But she stepped directly into my path, blocking my escape.

"What are you doing here, Elena?" Her tone dripped with contempt. "Hoping to trap my brother again?"

Before I could respond, two of her friends joined her. Their eyes dragged over me with open disgust, their lips curled in mockery.

"Trap your brother again?" I scoffed. "Please. I wouldn't touch that gold-digging, smooth-talking traitor with a ten-foot pole."

"Listen to who's talking!" Selene's voice pitched higher, and her friends erupted in sycophantic laughter. "If you're not interested, then why are you here? To cry and beg him to take you back? Don't you have any shame, showing your face here?"

"What I do here is none of your business-or your snake of a brother's, Selene." I matched her venom with my own.

Her eyes hardened. "Deny it all you want, but we won't have trash like you hanging around to ruin this big day. Get out."

"Oh, please." I stood my ground, not budging an inch. "Whatever sordid little drama you people have going on here has nothing to do with me. I dumped your pathetic brother long before any of this happened."

My defiance only fueled her rage. She snapped her fingers, shrieking, "Security! Over here! Get this piece of garbage out of my sight!"

I didn't move.

The two guards approached-then stopped dead. Their eyes fell on the jacket draped over my shoulders. Their nostrils flared as they caught the scent radiating from it: the unmistakable, overpowering signature of an Alpha.

They hesitated.

Selene followed their gaze. When she registered the jacket-and the wild, dominant pheromones clinging to it-her face contorted with ugly recognition.

"Whore," she spat, the word dripping with poison. "That's all you're good for, isn't it? Spreading your legs for anyone with power."

Something inside me snapped.

My hand moved before my brain could intervene.

Crack.

The slap echoed through the corridor, my palm connecting with her cheek in a satisfying explosion of impact.

She gasped, clutching her face, too stunned to retaliate.

"Miss Elena." One of the guards spoke stiffly, carefully avoiding my eyes. "Please leave the premises."

I was already walking, my spine rigid, my pulse roaring in my ears. I didn't look back. No one dared stop me. The guards kept their distance, their gazes flickering nervously to the jacket still draped across my shoulders.

***

Outside, the weather changed suddenly and rain began to pour down without mercy. Within seconds, I was soaked and shivering. Panic tightened my chest as I thought of the jacket. I couldn't let it be ruined. I hurried into a dark corner beside the building where there was some shelter, pressing my back to the wall and praying the rain would ease.

That was when I sensed it.

Low voices. Rough laughter. And heavy footsteps drawing closer.

I looked up, and my stomach dropped.

Three men emerged from the shadows, their eyes crawling over me with slow, deliberate intent.

"God..." The whisper escaped my lips, barely audible over the drumming rain. "Someone-anyone-get me out of this."