“Nothing,” she says just as I take her by the arm and turn her around to face me.
Her eyes are red and slightly swollen.
My heart sinks. It is followed by a vicious rage. “What happened? I won’t ask you again.”
She pulls her hand away from me and snaps, “I just said nothing!”
She freezes, as if realizing her tone. Swallowing, she turns around. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to shout. It’s nothing. Hormones, you know. Welcome to the wild world of pregnancy mood swings.”
“Natalie.” I turn her around to face me once again, forcing her to look at me. My voice is low. “Who made you cry? Which one of my brothers was it?”
She gives me a bright smile, a little too wide, too fake. “It wasn’t them.”
Her phone begins to ring, and she takes the opportunity to get away from me. She presses it to her ear and nods after a moment. “Great. You can come up. I’ll buzz you in.”
Setting the phone down, she glances at me. “It’s the movers. They’re going to take everything I don’t need to the storage unit. I’m not going to come back here.”
“I told you that Caleb and?—”
“I don’t need their help.” Her voice drops a few octaves, and there is a fierce glint in her eyes. “I don’t need help from anybody, Ethan. I know how to look after myself. Been doing it since before you reappeared in my life, remember?”
She brushes past me as she walks away, and I look around the empty room. A distant siren wails outside, a typical urban soundtrack. I have a feeling I know who it was. Caleb doesn’t get angry so easily. Jake, on the other hand, good natured and all, gets riled up pretty easily. And he’s been quite touchy over Natalie.
I follow her to the living room. “What did Jake say to you?”
She looks over her shoulder at me. “Nothing.”
Her hand reaches for the buzzer, and I stop her. Whirling her around, I walk her backward till her back hits the door, her eyes wide.
My voice is calm as I search her gaze. “Someone made you cry. Either you tell me whose face I have to break, or I can go knock out both of them. Your choice.”
She tightens her jaw. “Why?”
Her chest is pressed against mine, and I can feel her heart racing.
“Why what?”
“Why does it matter if someone made me cry?” There’s an undercurrent to her words that I can’t identify. “Do you think I need you to protect me all the time, Ethan?”
Her cheeks are getting flushed, and I see the anger burning in her eyes. “Do you think that I’m that weak without you, that Ican’t fight my own battles? I can look after myself. I don’t need you trying to?—”
“No,” I say, cutting her off. “I don’t think you’re weak. You’re more than capable of fighting your own battles. But I don’t see why you should have to when I’m here.”
I see a strange emotion flicker in her eyes, and she turns her head to the side as if not wanting to look at me. “That’s very romantic and all, but I prefer dealing with my own problems. It would be best if you focus on our baby and not me. Believe it or not, I existed for years without your knight-in-shining-armor routine.”
She lets out a shaky breath, as if trying to focus. I can feel her hot breath against my neck.
“Next time, don’t make decisions for me. I’m only taking my clothes to your apartment. Everything else goes in the storage unit. I don’t need your brothers here. I don’t need someone to carry my suitcases or hold my hand, or-or whatever it is you think I need. I’ve survived a long time by myself. I don’t need anyone.”
I study her, wondering what Jake said to have her this riled up. It doesn’t help that she looks so pretty and endearing when she’s getting angry like this. Of course, I’m not fool enough to say that. I lift my hand to touch her cheek, gently nudging her back to face me.
“You want to make all the decisions? Go ahead. If you want to put everything in storage, do so. You want to use a moving company, I have no issues. But if somebody hurts you, that is where your decision-making ability is replaced by mine. I won’t allow it. That contract you signed this afternoon says that for the next year, you’re mine. Your tears, your laughter, they’re all mine.”
Her lips quiver, and I see the heat in her eyes, the uncertain desire.
Gently, my hand rests around the curve of her neck, mythumb rubbing alongside her jaw. I press my lips to her cheek, trailing down her slim neck, leaving wet, open-mouthed kisses along that pale soft skin that bruises far too easily. Her fingers grab my vest, but she doesn’t push me away. A small helpless sound leaves her lips.
“You may disagree, but you have signed yourself over to me, Natalie. If someone bullies you, I have every right to put them in their place.”
