“I’m not,” I sneered. “I just don’t appreciate being on display.”
I wasn’t embarrassed or anything. I just didn’t want them looking at me. It made me feel like I was caught between two predators. One of which stared at me like he wanted to choke the life out of me while he devoured my soul. And the other was hungry and almost feral.
Reese’s charm couldn’t dull the spark in his eyes. And there I was, without so much as a shirt to protect me.
“Well, we appreciate you being on display,” Reese purred in my ear as he crawled up on the slab behind me. “Isn’t that right, Devlin?”
“She’s all right.” Devlin’s lip curled.
He could pretend to be disgusted all he wanted, but I saw his eyes slowly raking over me. And because I could, I called him on his shit. “Says the guy staring at my breasts.”
A shiver cooled my skin when he glared into my gaze. “She’d look a lot better if she could keep her fucking mouth shut.”
“I’m right here, asshole,” I hissed back. “Or are you too much of a coward to say it to my face?”
It wasn’t the snicker he scoffed out that made me jerk back. It was the vibrations from the force of his hands slamming down on either side of me. He bent over until his face was a breath away from mine.
“I’m in your face now. What are you going to do about it?”
Reese tried to intervene. “That’s enough…”
But Devlin cut him off. “You’re the one who signed her up for this shit.”
I knew I didn’t like Reese.
“I didn’t sign her up for this.”
Devlin’s glare shifted to the man behind me. “You want to take it back?”
About that time, the figures behind Devlin moved over to the brazier. It wasn’t hard to tell who they were once the light hit their hooded faces. Three faces, to be exact. Wyatt, Magnus, and Angus. They certainly wouldn’t do anything to stop Devlin, and apparently neither would Reese.
The only word that left his mouth was a whispered, “No.”
Even in my dreams, they were all gutless bastards.
“Cowards,” I called out while giving a dirty look to the four men watching the confrontation happen.
Devlin tsked. “You’re not as smart as you think you are, Bréagán.”
“And you’re not as badass as you think you are.” I gave him my best fake frown and sang, “I bet little Devlin was Mommy’s favorite.”
I swear I heard everyone suck in a collective gasp, which in itself was unnerving, but I didn’t start to worry until Reese wrapped his legs around me and pulled me back into him. But even that didn’t break our stare down.
“Don’t you ever talk about my mother.”
A brief pang of guilt flowered in my chest. I knew what it was like to lose a parent. Every day, I wondered what my father was like. Would he be proud of me? Would he love me? The pain of knowing that I would never get the answers to those questions was something I wouldn’t wish on anyone. Including Devlin.
That didn’t mean I’d give in.
I kept my glare glued to his, throwing back just as much hate as he was giving. If looks could kill, I’d be dead right now, but so would he, and that I could live with. If the last thing I saw was Devlin Adair collapsing in agony, then I’d head into the afterlife with a big smile on my face.
“I should snap your neck and be done with it.”
I was so sick of his threats.
“So do it.” I tried to shoot forward, but Reese held me back. So instead, I tipped my chin, baring my neck. “Go on.”
Devlin could take his holier than thou attitude and shove it right up his ass. I refused to give into his intimidation tactics. Everyone else could bow down at his feet if they wanted, but I would not budge.
