I side-eyed the two watching us nearby, not wanting to get stuck babysitting while Theo and King went at it.
Theo seemed to catch my drift, because a hint of a smile lifted his mouth and that damn mischievous look in his eyes made me want to groan.
“You two don’t mind entertaining Shep while King and I chat, do you?” he said, syrupy sweet. “Maybe you can show him your new toy collection?”
There went Zac’s hand, clamping over East’s mouth again. “Actually, I’ve got to run, but I’m sure East will be happy to show off the cravats he picked up when we were in Italy.” Then he frowned. “On second thought, maybe having access to something you can strangle him with isn’t the best idea.”
East rolled his eyes as Zac kissed him on the cheek and let go.
“Try to behave,” he said as he grabbed his keys and headed toward the door. I didn’t know whether he was talking then to East or to me…or maybe it was Theo, who had a brow raised in my direction, waiting for my answer.
I tried not to curse my life and how much I’d rather be in the room with Theo and King throwing down than have to wait here with one of King’s boytoys. But Jesus fucking Christ, really?
“Go,” I said, forcing a smile. “Let me know when you need me.”
Theo’s eyes softened a little and he leaned in, kissing me softly. “Don’t worry.” He winked and strode off toward the kitchen, leaving me to watch him go.
The fact that he thought I was more stressed about his confronting King was cute, but also told me he hadn’t spent enough time in the same room with Twiddleshit. Or Twiddlebrat. Both worked equally well.
Although maybe if I hadn’t had East as a distraction, Iwould’vebeen more worried about what was happening in theother room, because Theo had been riled up to high hell earlier, and I had a feeling that rage would come back with a vengeance the second he saw King again. Maybe I’d casually move closer so I could at least listen in case I needed to intervene.
No. Theo could handle this. I didn’t need to insert myself, even though my instinct to defend and protect him thrummed through my body so strongly it was almost physically impossible not to go to him.
East stalked forward as we were left alone in the vast living room. “Isn’t it a little incestuous to fuck your brother? That kind of thing is usually looked down on.”
Don’t let him get to you. Don’t let him get to you,I played on repeat in my mind. Because if there was one thing I knew about East, it was that he got off on riling his rivals, and I wasn’t about to give this little shit any satisfaction.
Instead, I employed every ounce of control I had, cocked my head, and measured him with a much cooler eye than he could ever hope to possess.
“Interesting point of view coming from someone who is friends with twoactualbrothers—by marriage—who are fucking. Tell me, do you voice your disapproval around them too, or is this merely a pathetic ploy to get under my skin?”
East snorted. “Please, I don’t want to have anything to do with your skin.”
“Yet you’re still currently close enough to make it crawl.” I brushed by him and headed over to the bar I knew King kept fully stocked in the mid-century bureau by the wall. I needed something to drink, and I didn’t give a fuck it wasn’t even noon.
“Sure,” East drawled. “Help yourself.”
After putting the glass stopper back in the decanter, I turned to see him eyeing me from where I’d left him standing on the other side of the room, and for the first time since King hadhooked up with him, I allowed myself a second to reallylookat East.
I guessed he was handsome, if you didn’t know him in any way. He definitely knew how to dress. Loafers that looked reptilian in nature, light-colored slacks that fit him to perfection, and the silk shirt that flowed around him only added to the relaxed way he effortlessly fit into King’s luxurious home.
Bet this little fucker would throw a fit if someone threw noodles at him.The thought made me smile.
“Don’t mind if I do,” I finally said, then took a sip of the whiskey. “Since I bought the decanter set.”
East’s eyes widened, and the fact he didn’t know that made me feel pretty fucking good.
Yeah, swallow that, you pompous little dick.
Like water off a duck’s back, East shrugged the comment away, arrogant enough to recover from the insult with surprising nonchalance. Or maybe he was so used to being handed his ass that it was like any other conversation.
“So let me see if I can piece together what’s going on here,” he said, strolling across the room toward me. “Prince Psycho in there wanted to talk with King about everything that went down recently, but is too much of a pussy to do it on his own, so he asked his big, strong boyfriend to come protect him.”
The balls on this guy…
My fingers clenched around my glass so tight I was shocked it didn’t shatter in my hand.
“No?” East said when I didn’t immediately respond. But it wasn’t that I didn’t have a response in mind—it was more that I knew how mad King would be if I killed one of his boyfriends. “Okay, somaybeit’s that you wanted to come here with Theo to snoop around your old place and see what you were…passed over for. I could see that.”
