A shiver trickles down my spine. Let’s be honest for a second. There’s no telling what Kane would do. His family is above the law. And if he wants something, he can just take it. So who’s to stop him? No one, especially not my family from the poor side of town.
All thoughts flee my mind as I’m yanked by my hoodie and slammed against the nearest wall. A heavy weight presses downon me, and Kane’s voice carries a dark tone when he says, “Where do you think you’re going, little rabbit?”
Fear paralyzes me. Fear and something hotter, which trickles between my legs and dampens my panties. “Nowhere,” I reply, struggling to draw a full breath because of his weight pressing against my back.
“Doesn’t look like nowhere. Are you lost?” Kane spins me around. He’s so handsome, all ruffled dark hair and a deep frown.
“Kane—”
The words die on my lips when he drops his hand to my hip and presses his forearm against the wall behind me.
My brows knit because something feels off, but before I can analyze that thought, he lets go of my hip and strokes his fingers along my jaw. The gentle touch stirs my arousal, and I squirm as he tilts my chin and leans in to kiss me.
“No.” I push against his chest. This feels wrong.
Kane grips my jaw and digs his rough fingers into my skin, holding my face in place. I push against his solid chest, but he’s like a brick that won’t budge.
My eyes linger on his mouth before daring to look higher. If I weren’t so stunned, I’d knee him in the balls, but I’m frozen in place.
His lips are close enough for his heated breath to fan my plush flesh.
“Ask me to kiss you,” he whispers as our eyes meet.
I try to shake my head. My gut screams at me to stop this.
He studies me, his grip tightening as if he can drag the truth out of me. “Why not?”
“Because,” I start, wetting my lips, heart kicking hard in my chest, “you’re not him.”
The truth hits me like a freight train. It’s not Kane.
His lips twitch slightly to the side. The smile is brief, there and gone in a heartbeat.
A different voice booms through the hallway. “Get the fuck off her!”
In the next second, Kane rips Cash away, and that’s when I realize they’re wearing identical shirts. They weren’t before, so Cash must have taken the chance to test me. But why?
Kane’s fist flies. The hard smack of knuckles against cheekbone sends nausea swirling in my gut. Cash crashes into the wall, letting out a belly laugh before ducking out of the way at the last second when Kane comes for him again. A tussle ensues while I stand off to the side, out of harm’s way.
Footsteps thunder down the hall. Maverick and Noah skid to a stop beside me, both wearing equally shocked expressions. I’ve never had guys fight over me before. Well, Kane’s the only one fighting. His twin laughs, dodging punches and dishing out some quick jabs of his own for fun.
“What the hell’s going on?” Noah rushes forward and tears Kane away from Cash. “Whoa, calm down.”
It takes both Maverick and him to hold Kane back. I’ve seen him angry before, like that one time at Dark Lanes when he broke that guy’s wrist, but this is different. He’s trembling with something beyond just rage. I don’t know what it is, but it’s radiating off him in waves.
Soon, Kane calms down, shrugging off his friends before wiping the excess blood from his bottom lip with the back of his hand. He sneers at Cash, who grins even wider as laughter rumbles through his body.
What’s so funny?
“I’m gonna castrate you,” Kane snarls, charging again, determined to rip his brother to shreds. Maverick stops him with a hand on his shoulder.
“She turned me down,” Cash says.
Silence stretches between them, broken only by Kane’s shallow breaths and the twitching muscle in his jaw.
“She turned me down,” Cash repeats, slower this time. I don’t understand what’s happening, but something unspoken passes between them.
“We good?” Maverick asks cautiously. His hand stays on Kane’s shoulder, as if he’s prepared to step in again if another fight erupts.
