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Hurt resounded through her. She felt berated, humiliated, like a child that had stepped out of line. And he had done it in front of her lover.
“Janey, that isn’t what I’m doing. ” Natches stiffened as Alex frowned back at her.
“That’s what both of you are doing,” she rasped. “Treating me like a child who doesn’t have the good sense to run her own life. I don’t need you to tell me where to stay or how to make a decision, Natches.
And I sure as hell don’t need you telling me how to do it. ” She turned to Alex, angrier at him perhaps than she was at Natches.
Natches was her brother. He just didn’t know how to act any other way. But she had expected more from Alex. Expected him to let her be a woman, his woman, if only for a little while. But one who had his respect if nothing else.
“Janey . . . ” Natches was rising from his chair, that determined look in his eyes again.
“Go to hell,” she muttered. “Burn the damned place to the ground. See if I care what you do with it. But right now I have a job to do. And that doesn’t include fighting with you. ”
He jerked to his feet.
“The next moron that grips my arm and drags me somewhere is getting clawed,” she warned him furiously. “Touch me, either one of you, and I swear to God, I’m going to get violent. ”
She had to fight the tears, the sob that trapped in her throat, because her brother was doing the one thing guaranteed to come between them. He was trying t
o control her.
She strode quickly to the door, aware of Alex straightening, his body tense. Jerking it open, she turned to him, staring up at him, hurting inside so bad she wanted to find a corner to hide in rather than face everyone who had watched Natches drag her around like a little kid.
“Sleeping with you doesn’t make me your puppet,” she told him roughly. “Never imagine it does, Alex.
And the next time you sic my brother on me, then you won’t be anywhere near me. I don’t care if the entire Army National Guard is stalking me. ”
She stepped back into the hall, slammed the door furiously behind her, and walked quickly back to the restaurant.
As the door slammed, Alex turned slowly to Natches. He was standing in front of the chair, his expression heavy, lined now with something akin to grief.
He’d had no idea what the other man was doing. Natches had called as he arrived at the restaurant with a brief “We have a problem. Meet me at the restaurant. ”
Hell, he should have demanded explanations first.
“I should kick your ass, Natches,” he growled. “What the fuck was in your mind? Did you really think this was going to get me thrown out of her life without hurting her?”
Natches ran his hands wearily over his hair and scowled back at Alex. “Maybe I wanted to see if you
were willing to fight for her. You’re just going to let her walk away, aren’t you? Fucking tough-assed Alex Jansen. Doesn’t need any one woman. You’re going to break her heart. ”
Alex shook his head. “If I break her heart, she’ll survive it. If you break it, it will scar her forever. Is that what you want?”
Alex didn’t know whether to hit the other man or feel sorry for him. Natches looked as though someone had just dropped a boulder on him. Alex understood the feeling. Janey had managed to do the same damned thing to him that morning.
Natches sneered back at him. “She wasn’t like this until you came around. She used to listen to me. ”
“And now she doesn’t obey you so well, is that it, Natches?” Alex asked, his tone acerbic. “Pull this shit on her again, and I’ll send you home to Chaya with a few less perfect fucking teeth. Now I’m going to go try dinner. ”
“Alex. ”
He paused before turning back to Janey’s brother.
Natches was a man tormented, and Alex understood it, to a degree. Alex’s sister had married into the Mackays eventually. But he’d had to watch a part of her die for years when she was younger, because of the very same man she had ultimately married. He hadn’t forgotten what it felt like.
He shook his head. “I’m serious about this, Natches. Just as I’m serious about her. I didn’t walk into this intending on walking away later. ”
“You love her?” Natches frowned, an edge of disbelief in his voice.
