Trent slammed his mouth against hers, wrapping his hand around the back of her head, locking her to him.She kissed him back, reciprocating his desperate fervor.It was messy, and frantic, the residue of her tears salty on his tongue.
At the sound of the front door closing, he wrenched himself away from her, his breathing labored.“Are you alright?”he asked her.She managed a nod, but no words.
Her brother didn’t punch him when he approached, so hopefully the semi-darkness had prevented him from seeing them.
He placed a hand on his sister’s shoulder.“You did your brother proud in there.”He wrapped her in a hug.
“Thank you, Simon.”She looked up at him.“Thank you for being my brother.”
He chuckled.“I didn’t get a lot of choice in the matter, but I wouldn’t have wanted anyone else but you for my sister.Now, stay here with Brennan.I need Trent to help me with one small thing before we go.”
Trent’s stomach dropped.He had seen.
ChapterTwelve
Please don’t kill me.Please don’t kill me.He followed Allister around the corner of the building.
Allister pointed ahead of them.“There’s something down there I want to ask you about.”He didn’t sound angry.Perhaps this wasn’t going to be a beating?But before Trent took another step, he was spun around, his back slammed against the side of the house, knocking the air out of his lungs.His right arm was wrenched behind his body, the back of his head pressed against the stone wall, and his feet splayed out in front of him.He was so stunned and off balance, nearly his entire weight was held up by the forearm crushed against his throat, cutting off his ability to draw breath.
He tried to stay calm, but he couldn’t breathe.Allister’s fingers were like a vice around his wrist, and as he struggled, pain flared in his shoulder.Allister didn’t even look flustered.
“If you break her heart,” he said in a low growl, “I will rip yours out of your chest with my bare hands and tear it in two while it’s still beating.”
Finally, the pressure against his throat eased and Trent gasped in a breath.He couldn’t look anywhere but into the other man’s eyes.Slowly, he nodded.“Understood,” he croaked, still desperately sucking air into his lungs.But he didn’t understand.He understood the threat.But… he didn’t hold Samantha’s heart.Did he?
“Dear God.You naive fool.”Allister helped him to get back on his own feet.“You don’t even know, do you?”
He tried to look at Samantha but couldn’t see her around the building.“I know I shouldn’t have kissed her.I crossed a line, and I’m sorry.”
“Have you taken advantage of her?”
“No!”Trent coughed, his throat still struggling to work properly.“Not that I’d even know how to.”
Allister’s eyes widened in disbelief and he groaned.“Another bloody saint.”
Trent rolled his eyes.“A virgin, yes.A saint, certainly not.”
“You’re all bloody saints.Everyone on Ash’s whole team.”
“I’m not a saint, Allister.Nor am I on Ash’s team.I’m just a bastard whose wealthy brother took pity on him.”
“Is that what you think?You think he gave you the keys to his entire estate, out of pity?You think he put people in your care, out of pity?And you think I would have sent my sister up here because Ash took pity on you?”
“You don’t even know me.You don’t know the things I’ve done.”
“After Auburn Ridge?I wouldn’t make that mistake again.”His voice turned menacing.“I know more about you than you know about yourself.”
Trent pressed himself back against the wall a little more firmly.Suddenly, he could feel the danger that Ash had warned him about.
“Do you love her?”
Trent looked for her again, but she was still hidden from him.“You didn’t send her up here so I could fall in love with her.”
“That isn’t an answer to my question.”
“It is,” Trent argued, pushing himself up a bit straighter.“Because it doesn’t matter.”
“You blind fool.She loves you.It’s as plain as day.”
