“Is there a problem?” She raises her brows.
“Yeah. There’s ahugefucking problem. You’re not going.”
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me. You’re not going anywhere tonight.”
“Why? Because it’s not safe? Or because you don’t like the idea of me around other guys?”
I’m about to fire back when my eyes catch on something that makes me stop short.
Her left hand is bare.
“Where’s your ring?”
She glances at her hand like she hadn’t even realized it was missing. “In a drawer upstairs.”
My body is practically vibrating as I fight the urge to throw her over my shoulder and take her back to her room.
“Put it back on,” I say through gritted teeth.
“Why? It’s not real anyway.”
“That’s not the point!”
Riley doesn’t even flinch. Her expression just becomes colder as she glares at me.
How can she not see what she’s doing to me? She’s been icing me out for days, and now she goes and does this? Fake or not, that ring says she belongs to me. And the thought of some drunk college asshole putting his hands on her and trying to grind on her in the middle of a packed party has me seeing red.
“No! You’re not going.”
“And who the hell do you think you are, ordering me around like that?”
“I’m the man keeping your ass alive while Sean O’Keefe has people watching this house.”
“And why is that, huh? Oh, yeah, because you decided to antagonize him!”
I don’t flinch. “Actually, sweetheart, you’re the reason O’Keefe is out to get us. He wanted to marryyou, remember? If you prefer, I can arrange for that to still happen. At least that way you can annoy him every day instead of me.”
She laughs bitterly, but the blush creeping up her neck gives her true emotions away. “You would love that, wouldn’t you? To ship me off to Sean. I’m sure you wouldn’t even give it a second thought.”
“Where are you getting this narrative? If you recall, I’m the one who made sure you had someone watching your back while you were on campus today.”
“Why can’t Jace just come with me tonight if you’re so worried?”
“My men aren’t on call so you can play dress-up and go whore around with drunk idiots who can’t even hold a conversation.”
Her mouth drops open. “You are such a bastard.”
“And you’re being reckless.”
“Reckless? You’re the one who lured Sean’s men into a gunfight while I was in the damn car, butI’mreckless?”
“That was strategy.”
“That wasstupid.Just like this whole situation. I’m done trying to understand whatever the hell your problem is.”
“This is my house. So, while you’re living under my roof, you will follow my rules. If you don’t like it, you can pack up your shit and go.”
