Page 26 of Thunder with a Chance of Lovestruck
Drest stood toe-to-toe with him. Snarling more, Drest narrowed his gaze on him.
“Get your hands off me!” shouted Henry.
Drest kept his voice low and even, knowing if he dared shout, he’d lose what little control he had left and use magik to incinerate the bastard. “If I ever hear you say anything negative about your sister again, I’ll rip your tongue out.”
Amice touched Drest’s shoulder lightly. He assumed she was going to ask him to stop manhandling her husband. When she nodded to Henry, a smug look upon her face, Drest gained a whole new level of respect for her. “And I’ll do nothing to stop him.”
The fight leaked out of Henry. He released Drest’s arms. “Amice.”
“No. I wanted tonight to be nice,” said Amice. “Special. I asked you to behave. You did the opposite, Henry. You opened your mouth and your uncle fell out.”
Henry flinched. “I didn’t mean… I just…”
“I think someone here owes their sister an apology,” said Drest, his voice still low and threatening.
A tic started in Henry’s jaw, but he nodded all the same. He stepped away from Drest and Amice before going right for Rachael. “I’m not sure what you might have overheard.”
ChapterTen
Rachael
I narrowedmy gaze on my brother as he stood before me in the dining room. “I caught the highlights, Henry. You know, the ones that featured my dressing habits, my lack of culture as you so deem it to be, and so on. I’m sure I left out a few things. There were so many that my simple mind couldn’t keep track of them all.”
Amice went into the kitchen and returned seconds later with a bowl full of fresh rolls. She looked downright giddy.
Drest stood behind Henry with his arms crossed over his broad chest, his gaze hard. I thought for sure he’d make good on his promise to knock my brother’s teeth out of his head.
Henry closed his eyes a moment. When he opened them again, they were moist. “Rachael, I’m so incredibly sorry.”
I let out a slow breath. “I know I’m not what you wanted for a sister. That I don’t like the same things as you. That I don’t see eye-to-eye with Uncle Nile—whom you idolize. And that I’ve been a huge burden on you since Dad passed away. I’m sorry for all of that, Henry. But remember that I’m a person with feelings, and your words hurt. They leave a lasting mark.”
My brother grabbed me, and bear-hugged me in a way that left him seeming unguarded and raw. Two things Henry hated being. Having him display both in front of Drest—a Hunter—was huge. Henry kissed the top of my head. “You have not been, nor will you ever be, a burden, Rachael.”
Try as I might, I couldn’t help but cry.
He kissed my head again before easing back slightly. He withdrew a handkerchief from his vest and set about dabbing under my eyes, caring for me as if I were a child. He winked.
I smiled back at him through my tears.
“Forgive me,” he said.
I nodded. “Yes, but you should know I’m plotting my revenge.”
Henry cringed. “I’m going to end up in roller skates trying to sing a song I’ve never heard of, aren’t I?”
“Oh yes, for sure,” I said, my lips twitching. “And that’s all I’ll make you do,ifyou’re lucky, brother.”
“Uh, I love your dress,” he said, earning a snort from his wife as she finished putting food on the table.
Henry met my gaze. “I’m sorry. I mean it. The idea of any Nightshade member romancing my baby sister sent me into a dither. I love you, Rachael. I may not understand your fashion choices or the music you prefer when the classics are far better, but I love you. So much that the idea of you ever being harmed or used and tossed aside by any man—Nightshade or not—sets my teeth on edge. I wish you’d stayed five. Dealing with the little boys who went to school with you and were enamored with you was far easier than dealing with the idea of grown men around you.”
I nodded. “I accept your apology if and only if you behave yourself the rest of this evening, and don’t dare bring up sanctions again tonight.”
“At all?” he asked, as if the task was simply too big of an ask.
“Yes, at all.” I leveled my unwavering gaze on him.
He worried his jaw a moment before tipping his head some. “Do you have any interest in our jailor?”
