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“Nothing, sweetheart.” He pulls away from me, a flicker of something darker crossing his features. “Club business.”
“I don't know what that means.”
He runs his hand through his hair and smiles, but it's all wrong. It's forced and strained. “Nothing that you need to worry about.”
The words are innocent enough, except they elicit a ripple of unease through me. I know there's more to it than that, but I don't feel like I can press him on it. We haven't been around each other long enough to push those kinds of boundaries.
I fold my arms across my chest to give myself something to do. “Got it.”
He exhales a long breath and glances away, his expression unreadable. “Trust me, sweetheart. It's nothing you need to worry about right now.”
I glance at my feet, distractedly thinking that I need to paint my nails a new color. “Sure.”
He steps closer, his palm coming up to cradle my face. “Hey,” he says, turning my head toward him. “I mean it. You don't need to worry about anything. I've got you, yeah?”
“Alright,” I murmur, nodding in his hold.
He grins, placing a kiss on the corner of my mouth. “We gotta get downstairs and catch everyone up, but first, wait here. I brought something I thought you'd like.”
He brushes his lips against mine in the briefest kiss before he pulls away and jogs out of the room. Still shirtless.
9
BANE
“You gonna lethim take her upstairs like that?” Silas says. It honestly sounded like it was painful getting those words past his clenched jaw.
It's the only thing he's said since I came back into the house. It was either walk Aunt Dixie and Hunter out and grab the to-go tray of coffees on the hood of my truck or storm up the stairs behind them and pull my girl off of him. I'd end up coveting her in my room like some kind of dragon hoarding its treasure.
Make no mistake, that woman is an absolute treasure. She's also the only thing that's ever made me feel alive.
Evangeline Carter isn't just a prize, she's the prize. There was no light at the end of my tunnel, there was only her.
There was always only ever her.
Even now, after all these years. I'd given up the idea of finding her, accepting her role as the catalyst and nothing more.
But now she's back.
And I'm going to do whatever I have to in order to keep her. If that means sitting my ass in my kitchen while my cousin drags her upstairs, then that's what I'm going to do.
For fifteen minutes, at least.
Because at minute sixteen, I make no promises. A man can only weather the jealousies churning inside his gut like imitation butter for so long. And a quarter of an hour is my limit.
I lean my ass against the counter behind me, keeping my gaze on the staircase and doing my best not to actively listen for any kind of noises.
“Well?” Silas snaps.
“Here.” I hand him one of the to-go coffee cups from the tray next to me.
He folds his arms across his chest and looks down his nose at the coffee cup like it's personally offended him. “You know I don't drink that frilly crap.”
I arch a brow. “Drink this and I'll pretend you didn't just insult me.” I pause, bringing my black coffee to my lips and pitch my voice higher. “I don't drink that frilly crap. C'mon, man.”
He takes the drink from my outstretched hand with a scowl. “What? Idon't.”
I huff and roll my eyes toward the ceiling. My ears strain almost involuntarily. But I don't hear anything, not even a light thump.
