“He could have told me if he didn’t want it. He made no attempt to move me.”
“I told you to get off,” Adrien said lazily, but there was heat in his eyes. He hadn’t liked what was happening at all. Kelsey had been able to tell even on the cameras.
He’d been holding himself back, afraid to hit a woman. Well, Kelsey wasn’t.
Sometimes, someone had to.
“I demand you get away from me,” the woman said, shakily getting to her feet again. “This is my private appointment, and I don’t know what you’re doing in here.”
The woman looked over at Adrien, and to Kelsey’s utter shock, made a move as if to go to him again.
Oh, hell no.
Kelsey stepped between them in an instant, glaring the other woman down. The woman sneered at her, trying to get around her, but Kelsey put both hands on her chest, pushing her backward.
The woman stumbled but then lunged at Kelsey, raising a hand as if to strike her. Kelsey felt Adrien stand behind her, but before he could intervene, she struck out with a fist, hitting the woman across the face and knocking her down on the carpet, where she stayed, unmoving.
For a second, the room was quiet, but then the door opened and Citrine and the others rushed in, all looking down at the woman on the carpet.
“Damn,” Sever said. “That was harsh.”
Kelsey walked to the woman and crouched, looking her over. She was breathing fine.
“You can’t just knock people out,” Citrine said.
“She was being a super creep,” Kelsey said, poking her. “I get so sick of people who think they can use someone they see as beneath them.”
“I’m not beneath her,” Adrien snapped.
“She probably molests waiters and busboys, too,” Kelsey said. “Are you going to call the police on her?”
Citrine shook his head. “I’m going to wake her up and make sure she’s okay, then make her sign a legal waiver in exchange for us not calling anyone.”
Kelsey shrugged. “If you ask me, she deserves worse.” She looked at Adrien. “Are you okay?”
His expression was unreadable, his features all tensed up in confusion. But then his mouth twitched and he burst out laughing, holding an arm around his waist as he guffawed hysterically, standing in the middle of the room by himself, shaking with mirth.
She didn’t know what to say about that, as Sever passed her to go over to him.
“Are you okay, brother? That was a bit over the top.”
Adrien waved his hand, tears streaming down his cheeks, laughing too hard to talk. “That… she… knocked her the fuck out…”
Sever straightened, looking over at Kelsey. “That she did.”
Citrine gave them all an exasperated glare. “Can you all go out? Well, except Dante. If you could stay, please.”
Ella and Robbie were surprisingly fine with that, and she and Sever took Kelsey by the arm and walked out the door into the hallway, waiting for Adrien to follow.
He finally did, straightening and taking big breaths as he wiped at his eyes for the last of the tears. “That was amazing.” He looked at Kelsey. “You’re really something, you know that?”
Kelsey felt suddenly embarrassed. “She tried to hit me.”
“I know,” he said. “But…” He bent forward, leaning on his knees as he took deep breaths. “The way she just hit the ground like that. I won’t forget that anytime soon.”
“Did I do something wrong?” she asked Sever. “Maybe I was a bit hasty. Maybe I should have…”
Adrien came over and threw an arm around her shoulder, shocking her with the sudden contact. She looked up into his handsome face and wondered at his effect on her.
Yes, she wasn’t exactly into romance, but she was only a woman. When a man who looked like Adrien touched her, she’d have to be dead to not have a response.
He looked down at her with twinkling eyes, and for the first time, his silver irises almost looked… warm. “I think you acted perfectly. Thank you.”
She was about to respond when he released her and stepped back with his hands in his pockets, seeming pleased. He let out a long breath as Sever opened the door to the main club room and they all walked in.
Kelsey took a seat on the couch, rubbing her knuckles to make sure there was no pain. Luckily, there wasn’t.
“You okay?” Adrien asked.
She nodded.
“Good,” he said, sitting on another couch and leaning back in it, looking content. “I wouldn’t want you to be hurt trying to extract me from a situation that I was fully capable of handling.”
“Oh yeah? How were you planning to handle it?” Sever asked. “We were taking bets on you going off.”