“You got something to say, brother?” My voice was low. Deadly. The kind of tone that made smart men back the fuck up.
Scythe didn’t back up.
He stood there, his hand still on his cock, a smirk playing at the corner of his mouth. “Just enjoying the show, Nano. Thought maybe she was community property now that you’ve broken her in.”
His words hit me like gasoline on a fire.
Community property.
Like she was just another club whore. Like what I had done to her, what I made her, meant nothing. Like she was something to be passed around and used by whoever wanted a turn.
“She’s not community property,” I seethed, my voice going so cold it could have frozen the air between us. “She’smine.”
“That right?” Scythe’s smirk widened. “Because Morpheus said—”
“I don’t give a fuck what Morpheus said.” I cut him off, my hand tightening on Alex’s neck. She whimpered beneath me, the sound muffled against the table, and something dark and possessive surged through my chest. “She belongs to me. Anyone who touches her answers to me. Anyone who eventhinksabout touching her answers to me. You got that?”
The room had gone silent.
Every conversation, every laugh, every sound of flesh on flesh... it all stopped. The brothers were all watching now. Their attention locked on the confrontation unfolding in front of them. Even the club whores had paused, their eyes wide with a mixture of fear and fascination.
This was a challenge. Not just to Scythe, but to the entire club.
To Morpheus.
To the way things had always been done, and I didn’t give a single fuck.
Scythe’s eyes narrowed. “You claiming her as your old lady, Nano?”
“I’m claiming her asmine,” I snapped, my voice rising. “She’s mine, and if you or anyone else in this room has a fucking problem with that, we can settle it right fucking now.”
For a long moment, nobody moved.
Scythe stared at me, his jaw tight, his hand finally dropping away from his cock. I could see the calculation in his eyes, weighing whether this was worth the fight. Whether I was serious enough to actually throw down with a brother over a piece of ass.
I was.
“Your funeral.” Scythe smirked finally, stepping back. But there was something in his tone. A warning, maybe, or a promise, that told me this wasn’t over.
That I crossed a line I couldn’t uncross.
I turned my attention back to Alex, still pinned beneath my hand. Her breathing was ragged, her body trembling, and when I leaned down close to her ear, I could smell the fear and arousal coming off her in waves.
“You see that?” I murmured, my voice low enough that only she could hear. “You see what I just did for you?”
She nodded—well, she tried to. My hand on her neck made it difficult.
“I just told the entire club that you’re mine,” I continued, my lips brushing against her ear. “I just made it clear that anyone who touches you will die. Do you understand what that means?”
Another nod. Smaller this time. More uncertain.
“It means you belong to me,” I said, my voice hardening. “Completely. Absolutely. No more games. No more defiance. No more pretending you don’t want this. Because I just put my reputation, mylifeon the line for you. And now you’re going to prove to everyone in this room that I made the right choice.”
I felt her tense beneath me, felt the moment she understood what I was saying.
What I was about to do.
“Nano.” Her voice was barely a whisper, choked and desperate.
