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My shouldersimmediately tense up at the sight of Maddoc, but even though Dante steps away from me, his posture is still relaxed and confident.
“Logan had her by the throat,” he tells his leader with a nonchalant shrug. “I had to do something.”
“You had to do what, exactly?” Maddoc asks, his eyes gaze flicking between the two of us.
“I had to step in.”
Dante’s voice remains casual, but when I glance over at him again, I realize I was wrong about him being unaffected. Although he’s doing a good job of hiding it, there’s an expression on his face almost like he just got busted and knows it.
Busted for what?
For protecting me?
Or for touching me the way he was?
But that doesn’t make sense. Even though he and I were standing intimately close when Maddoc walked in, Dante already told his two friends that we fucked. Between that confession and the way Maddoc made me strip for all of them earlier, I can’t imagine the leader of the Reapers would give a shit about walking in on whatever may or may not have just been going on between the two of us.
But that’s not the vibe I’m getting from Maddoc at all right now. He definitely looks pissed as he stalks into the room, bearing down on us until he’s almost toe to toe with Dante.
“Logan had her by the throat,” Maddoc says, repeating Dante’s words. “And do you know the reason Logan was angry enough to go after her like that? It’s because Riley was snooping around where she doesn’t belong. Did you miss that little detail when you ‘stepped in’?”
Dante grimaces, and I wince.
Yeah, he’s definitely busted for letting that slide.
The two men have a silent face-off, and although I’m sure they’re communicating something in the silence, I have no idea what it is. Then Dante dips his head in a nod. He shoots a quick look in my direction, giving me a one-shouldered shrug as if to say there’s nothing he can do. Before I can respond to that, he turns and strides from the room.
“What exactly were you looking for when you decided to go snooping around our house?” Maddoc demands, stepping closer to me the second we’re alone.
I lift my chin, glaring back at him. “I was just—”
“Don’ttry to lie about what you were doing,” he barks before I can finish. “I’ve already talked to Logan.”
I swallow, fear shooting through me at the mention of Logan’s name. But I forge ahead anyway. If I was going to let fear stop me, I would have given up long before I ever met the Reapers.Dante was right about me in that regard.
“What do you think I could possibly do?” I ask. “I’m your prisoner here, remember?”
Maddoc still looks pissed, but he huffs a breath that’s almost a laugh. “I think you’re the one who needs the reminder, butterfly. You came to us. You’re not a prisoner. You’re our guest.”
“And let me guess, Logan is your hospitality director?” I mutter bitterly.
I don’t realize I’m touching my throat, instinctively trying to banish the lingering heat from Logan’s hold, until I notice Maddoc’s gaze following my hand. I drop it immediately. Nothing good can possibly come of showing weakness in front of him.
“Actions have consequences,” he says flatly, staring hard at my throat for another beat before he lifts his gray eyes to mine again. “You’d be smart to remember that.”
“All I was doing was looking for the bathroom,” I say, shifting tactics as I try to put an innocent expression on my face.
Maddoc smirks. “There’s one right down the hall. You passed by it on your way to this room.”
I know.
“Oh.” I nod as if that’s new information. “Okay, then I’ll just go use that one. I didn’t realize it was—”
I step toward the door as I speak, trying to use this opportunity to slip away, but I don’t make it. Before I’ve even taken two steps, Maddoc grabs my wrist and yanks me backward. Slamming into his body feels like hitting a brick wall, and I gasp as he wraps his arms around me, clutching at one of his thick forearms.
“Don’t ever run from me, butterfly,” he murmurs, dipping his head to speak low in my ear. “Nod if you understand, because I don’t want to hear another lie come from that pretty mouth of yours.”
His breath gusts over my skin with each word, his hands splayed wide on my body to hold me in place, and I’m sure he can feel the way my ribcage vibrates with every thudding beat of my heart.
