Chapter 5

Dolph's hand froze midway through grabbing a smaller towel to dry his hair.

His sharp, predatory eyes dragged down the length of Jaelynn's tight white tennis dress, his dark eyebrows pulling together in a dangerous frown.

Jaelynn didn't look away. She forced her racing heart to steady. She tilted her head, letting a perfectly calculated, seductive smile curve her lips, and took a step forward.

Dolph tossed the towel onto the marble counter.

"How much did you pay my security to get in here?" he demanded, his voice cold and hard, echoing off the tile walls.

Jaelynn let out a soft, breathy laugh. She put her hands behind her back, adopting a playful, careless posture.

"When someone wants to see Mr. Valentine, they always find a way," she said, her tone light and teasing.

She took another step, closing the distance until she was less than two feet away from him. The clean, sharp scent of his body wash wrapped completely around her.

Dolph looked down at her. A cruel, mocking light entered his eyes.

"You are like a piece of gum stuck to the bottom of my shoe," he sneered, his words designed to humiliate.

A sharp pain twisted in Jaelynn's chest, but she didn't let her smile drop. Instead, she raised her hand.

Her fingertips lightly traced the hard muscle of his wet chest.

"Since the wildcat last night was so tasteless and boring," she whispered, lowering her voice into a husky purr, "I thought you might want to try a different flavor today."

Dolph's eyes instantly darkened to pitch black.

His hand shot out like lightning. He grabbed her wrist, his fingers digging into her skin so hard she thought the bone might snap.

He shoved her backward. Her spine slammed against the hard wooden door of the lockers.

His massive body pressed into hers, trapping her completely. His chest heaved, his hot breath mixing with hers.

Jaelynn didn't fight him. She lifted her free arm and wrapped it around the back of his neck, pulling her soft body flush against his hard, wet torso.

Dolph's Adam's apple bobbed.

"Playing with fire comes with a price," he warned, his voice dropping to a rough, gravelly whisper. "I won't go easy on you just because you used to sleep with my nephew."

Jaelynn stared straight into his dark eyes.

"The only thing I'm not afraid of right now is the price," she said, enunciating every word. "As long as you give me the protection I want."

That sentence lit the fuse.

Dolph lowered his head and crushed his mouth against hers.

It was a brutal, punishing kiss. It was rougher than the night before. Jaelynn closed her eyes, opening her mouth and kissing him back with a desperate, fiery intensity.

Dolph's large hand grabbed the tie at the waist of her tennis dress, yanking it loose. His rough fingertips slid over the bare skin of her waist, sending violent shivers down her spine.

Just as the heat in the room reached a boiling point, loud voices erupted in the hallway outside.

Someone started pounding on the locker room door.

"Uncle Dolph!" Gordon's voice boomed through the heavy wood. "Open up! I have an emergency regarding the family business!"

Jaelynn's body went completely rigid.

The heat in her veins turned instantly to ice. Pure, suffocating terror gripped her throat. She stared up at Dolph, her eyes wide with panic.

Dolph stopped moving, but he didn't step back. A flash of intense annoyance crossed his face. He lifted his thumb and slowly wiped the moisture from her swollen bottom lip.

Gordon rattled the doorknob violently. Finding it locked, his voice pitched higher. "Is someone in there with you?" he yelled at the bodyguard.

Jaelynn shoved her hands against Dolph's chest, trying to scramble away to find a place to hide.

Dolph's arm clamped around her waist like an iron band, holding her firmly in place.

"Piss off, Gordon," Dolph yelled back, his voice completely calm and steady.

"I can't! We need to talk right now!" Gordon yelled stubbornly, refusing to leave.

Hearing Gordon threaten to break the door down, Dolph let out a dark chuckle. He finally let go of Jaelynn.

He didn't panic. He walked over to the bench and calmly pulled on a pair of dark, tailored suit trousers.

He didn't bother zipping up the fly. He didn't put on a shirt.

Bare-chested, with his pants unzipped, Dolph took long strides toward the door.

Jaelynn slapped her hands over her mouth. She scrambled across the floor on her hands and knees, diving behind a row of tall wooden lockers, hiding in the L-shaped blind spot. She was shaking like a leaf in a hurricane.

Dolph grabbed the handle and yanked the door open.

Gordon and Benji were standing right outside. They both took a step back, intimidated by the dark fury on Dolph's face.

Gordon opened his mouth to speak, but his eyes immediately dropped to Dolph's unzipped trousers. Then, his gaze flicked up to the faint, red scratch marks on Dolph's bare chest.

The air in the hallway died.

Gordon's face went through a rapid, ugly transformation. Shock, embarrassment, and a sick, twisted jealousy warped his features.

Dolph leaned casually against the doorframe. He looked down at his nephew with absolute, crushing arrogance.

"Do you have a fetish for your uncle's private sex life, Gordon?" Dolph asked, his voice dripping with venom.