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“Yes. I metabolize things faster than most people, so the whiskey has already worked its way in and out of my bloodstream.”
All he did was nod.
“When did they leave? I can’t feel their heartbeats.”
“Ten minutes ago. They’re fine.”
“Why didyouoffer to stay with me? Why didn’t you go out there and do a sweep?”
He brought the bottle of whiskey to his lips. There was hardly any left at the bottom. “Because I’ll be taking first watch tonight, listening to the three of you fuck like bunnies, so it was the least they could do.”
My face shouldn’t have grown warm at that comment, but it did, and he knew it, too, based on the triumphant smirk that slid across his face. He could probably also sense my kicked-up heart rate.
“Why do you hate me?” I whispered, unable to decide if I found it easier to interact with him in the dark, where it felt like we were in our own bubble, or if it was harder because it felt like we were in our own bubble.
I knew I’d already asked him this and he’d denied it being true, but I didn’t believe him. Everything he said, everything he did pointed to Zane disliking me.
And even though I kept telling myself that I didn’t care whether or not he liked me, that it held no bearing on our journey or the end result of things, it did matter.
I was developing feelings for his friends—his brothers—so if Zane and I could at least get along, wouldn’t it make things easier for everyone? I hated the idea of Rix and Jorik one day choosing me over Zane and Zane suddenly having no one.
But I could see it going that way. I knew they all had a bond, but the bonds between Jorik and me and Rix and me were growing, too.
We sat there in agonizing silence, the tension strung as tight as the string on a bow, when he took another sip from the bottle, cleared his throat, and finally said, “I don’t trust you.”
“Yeah, I gathered that.”
“So?”
“Sowhydon’t you trust me?”
“Why should I?”
Ugh! I felt like a dog chasing its tail with this infuriating man. I must have growled out loud, because the next sound he made was a menacing chuckle that made my pussy clench and my nipples tighten. Everything he did aroused me, and I hated how betrayed I felt by my body right now. I was furious with this man, and yet if he kissed me right now or propositioned me for sex, I wouldn’t even consider saying no.
What was wrong with me?
“Talking to you is like talking to a rock,” I finally said. “No point.”
“You’ve given me no reason to trust you, Kitten,” he said after another long, frustrating span of quiet.
“I’ve also given you no reasonnotto trust me,” I countered. “Wouldn’t it be better for everyone if we got along? I don’t like what this is doing to Rix and Jorik. Putting them between us like this.”
That made him laugh, which as seductive a sound as it was, grated on my nerves something fierce. Because it was a mocking, humorless laugh. One that said he couldn’t get over how stupid and naive I was to say what I’d just said. “You think their loyalty is shifting toyou,Kitten? You think that given a choice on who to follow, they’d go with you over me? Someone they’ve known since birth. A brother in arms who they’ve fought—andkilled—beside since before their balls even fucking dropped.”
Do balls drop? How? When? Why?
Those were questions for another day and another time … and for another person.
“You’re nothing more than a distraction,” he went on. “Holes to fill, to fill the time. Sure, Rix and Jorik are great guys, gentle and kind, and they’re giving you exactly what it is you need and want, but they were trained to be like that. We all were. Trained in seduction, in reading what a person desires most in and out of bed, and giving them that. So what makes you think that you’re not being played?”
Unease from his logic burned an insidious hole in my stomach, and before I could stop myself, I drew my knees up to my chest and hugged them with my arms.
What he said made sense. Painful sense, but sense nonetheless.
They’d been up front about their time spent at the compound in Sector Eight, learning the art of seduction. So it stood to reason that what was happening with Rix, Jorik, and me was all part of their teachings. I was a pawn in their game and nothing more.
Was any of it real?
