I shove his chest. “Stop it!”
Justin smirks and drops me, only firming his hold at the last second. A choked scream slips out of me as I grapple with his dress shirt, clutching him so I don’t fall. He grins and holds me in place with his fist in my hair, his hips pinning mine to keep me balanced.
“I didn’t ask for this,” I say.
He’s going to kill me. I can see it in his bottomless-pit eyes.
Justin snorts. “You didn’t ask for this? You bit me, you bitch! Then you ran off with one of your biker friends. Tell me, sweet wife. Did you let him touch you?”
The alcohol curdles in my stomach, threatening to make a reappearance all over Justin’s face and chest.
I don’t think. I just act. I gather saliva in my mouth and spit it directly onto his face.
Justin’s jaw tightens, and he shoves away from me. I rock forward and scramble away from the banister so he doesn’t put me in that position again. He removes a cloth handkerchief from his pocket and swipes the saliva from his face, all while keeping his fiery gaze on me.
I raise my chin.
“I really don’t want to do this,” he says as he calmly slips the handkerchief back into his pocket, “but you’re forcing my hand here.”
He lunges for me, and I yelp as he snatches me by the hair to keep me in place. He swings his other arm, fingers extended and palm flying toward my cheek.
Skeleton fingers catch Justin’s wrist, stopping him right before his hand collides with my face.
The night stills, like it’s holding its breath as a new danger makes itself known. No wind. No insects chirping. Just the sound of my labored breaths.
“I’d let her go if you wish to keep your hand.” Ryder’s expression is flat, like he’s bored and would rather be anywhereelse but here, but his stare says something else as he burns a hole into the side of Justin’s head.
Justin turns to my stepbrother while still fisting my hair. His eyes widen a fraction, then narrow. “Get your filthy hand off of me.”
Ryder cocks his head, his fingers tightening around Justin’s wrists. His lips slowly curve into a smile, stealing my breath. His smiles are always terrifying, but my god, they’re so beautiful.
“Interesting you say that. My sister told you to get off of her not even five seconds ago, and you didn’t listen to her.” He steps closer to Justin. His grin slips, and shadows creep over his features. “Let go of her.”
“Go back inside,” Justin snarls as he tries to jerk his hand out of Ryder’s grip. He puffs his chest out to look tougher than he really is, but fear trickles over his face the longer Ryder stares at him. “This is between me and your sister.”
“You didn’t make sure you were alone. It wasn’t between you and her. It’s between you and me. Now let go of her, or I’ll take your tongue as a souvenir as well.”
Justin’s fingers tighten in my hair. I hiss through my teeth as strands pull from my scalp. Ryder shifts his attention to me, a muscle thrumming in the corner of his jaw as Justin scowls at him. Justin’s lips part, like he’s about to argue some more, but he thinks better of it and clamps them shut before releasing my hair and stepping back.
“Good boy,” Ryder murmurs. He lets go of Justin and slips his tall, lean frame between us. “Run along, now.”
Justin rubs the spot where Ryder had a death grip on him. With one final glare at Ryder, he storms back inside. He’s probably running to my dad right now to tell him a loose version of what happened. After lying to my father about the other day, it won’t surprise me if he twists it to make himself look like the victim.
Ryder faces me, his gaze sweeping over my trembling body for any injuries. He steps closer and pauses when I stumble backward.
“You’re afraid of me.” He cocks his head.
I swallow hard. “No, I’m not.”
It’s the opposite, actually. I’m more afraid of what I’ll do if he touches me. We can’t be caught together, and he knows this.
Ryder doesn’t move a muscle as he towers over me. He’s ripping me open and pulling back all my layers to discover my secrets.
I shiver despite the warmth from the booze.
Ducking my head, I stumble past him and fall into his side as my feet have a hard time deciding which direction to take. Ryder catches me, his touch gentle but demanding as he guides me down the stairs and into his bedroom in the pool house.
I don’t know why I’m not fighting him. Nothing good will come from being alone with him in his bedroom. Arousal soaks my panties at the thought of grinding on Ryder again.
