I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror and wonder why Ryder looked at me like I was his favorite dessert. My face is pale. Dark circles that all the concealer in Sephora can’t hide shadow my eyes. I look haggard and worn. Far too worn for my age.
I turn to return to Tyler’s bedroom, catching the door when the room starts to spin.
Definitely too much stress.
“Are you okay?” Dee asks from the doorway.
“I’m fine,” I smile like I wasn’t just clutching the wall for stability.
“You don’t look fine.”
“Turned too fast.” I wave like that’s a perfectly reasonable explanation.
“You’ve been off lately.” She crosses her arms over her chest as she studies me with narrowed eyes.
“I’ve had a lot going,” I snap. “I’monly tired. Why are you up here?”
“Just came to see if you needed help.”
Then it occurs to me that she left Brett and Ryder alone. It will take Ryder less than a second to get under Brett’s skin. “Let’s get downstairs before there is bloodshed.”
“They’ll be fine, Ven. They’re big boys.”
We start walking down the stairs when we hear them talking. We stand at the top of the stairs, out of sight, listening to the conversation. “Why are you here?” Brett’s voice carries up the stairs. Only silence follows his question. “So, you’re just going to stand there looking at me like a douche. Heaven is my best friend and I love Tyler. I won’t let you hurt them.”
More silence stretches. I close my eyes wondering how much Ryder has changed since we were kids. If he’s stopped saying whatever he thinks. If he realizes, as an adult, you need to measure your words and be more considerate.
Brett is out of line again, but he’s doing it from a good place. He and Delilah were there picking up the pieces when I came home. They were going off the information I gave them. The one where the man I loved didn’t want me or our child. He may have new information but it’s hard to change your thinking after years of believing something else.
They didn’t see what I saw though. The other night, the truth wasn’t just in Ryder’s eyes. It poured from his soul. It was utter devastation. Years of pain and hurt spilled from him like hot lava from an erupting volcano. Volatile and destructive.
But I also knew the truth because of Maddox and Dane. One look at both of them, and I knew, unequivocally that what he was saying was the truth. That the tormented man I saw was not an act but one that was far more broken and beaten than the one I’d left all those years ago. He was as shattered as I was.
“How long have you been fucking her?” The silence breaks and I cover my mouth toholdmy gasp.
Delilah looks at me with a glimmer of humor in her eyes. “Oh shit,” she whispers with a giggle.
I give her a swat. “It’s not funny,” I scold. “We need to get in there.”
“How can he tell that you’ve been doing the horizontal mambo?”
“I don’t know. He’s got a weird sixth sense about that stuff.”
“Excuse me?” Brett says as we start making our way down the stairs. “I don’t think whether or not I’m doinganythingwith her is your business.”
“You see, I don’t think I will excuse you, mate. You keep trying to stick your nose in my business, so I’m just returning a favor. But I can rephrase the question. How long have you been in love with her?”
“Oh shit,” Delilah falters as we get to the bottom step.
“Longer than you,” Brett answers without hesitation. And now I’m faltering.
“How does it feel knowing that she won’t ever love you back?” Ryder remarks. “That you could never satisfy her? Do you know how wet she gets when her ass is bright red and stinging from being spanked? Or how hard she comes when she’s tied up, legs spread, and at your mercy?”
My face heats with a mixture of embarrassment and arousal and absolute outrage. “What the hell?” I yell as I enter the room.
Brett looks at me with sadness and mortification. Ryder just smirks before he turns back to Brett. “Just so we’re clear, you can fuck her all you want, but she belongs to me.”
“She hasn’t been yours in a long time.” They go back and forth like I’m not standing right there.
