“Nah, I don’t have to do that. I think Blondie here knows not to fuck with what’s mine, right?”
“You don’t let your boyfriend have other friends? Are you afraid he’ll leave you?”
“Oh no,” Ollie says.
“Well, this is gonna be fun,” Rory adds.
I’m paying attention to the two of them, so I don’t realize what’s happening when Cillian’s arm shoots out. His hand wraps around my throat, and he yanks me over the counter.
“Cillian! What the hell!” Ollie reaches for his arm, but Rory wraps his arms around him, pulling Ollie away from me.
“Let him do what he needs to do, Bunny.”
He’s squeezing me, and it’s becoming more difficult to get a breath in, but not enough that I’m afraid.
“Um…Shai?” Chuck says.
“It’s fine,” I grit out. A couple of people in the restaurant are watching, but no one says anything, knowing better.
“This isn’t a game,” Cillian tells me. “He isn’t a game to me.”
“I’m not playing…not with him, at least.”
“Get out of here, Chucky,” Rory says, and Chuck listens.
Cillian’s voice is vicious when he says, “There’s nothing I won’t do for Ollie. If he wants to be your friend, fine. Just know that if you hurt him, you die. If someone else hurts him because of you, the same thing. You can make this out to be whatever you want, but he’s mine and I’m his, and I’ll burn the motherfucking world to ash for him if I have to.” He drops his hand, then straightens his clothes as I suck in a sharp, gasping breath. “You and Rory can play your games, but the same thing goes for him. You do anything that gets him hurt in any way, and you won’t like the consequences.”
Rory’s hold on Ollie has slackened, and he says, “He loves us,” as if this is all a joke and just another day in the life for them.
“What would you like to eat, Kitten?” Cillian asks, softand loving, in total contrast with how he spoke to me. “You haven’t eaten since breakfast and need food in your stomach before your shift starts.”
“Just pepperoni is fine,” Ollie tells me.
I place the order, along with three drinks. Cillian pays, then he and Ollie head toward a table, Ollie clearly giving him a piece of his mind as they go.
“He’s protective,” Rory tells me.
“No shit.”
And maybe it’s wrong of me, maybe it means there’s something fucked up inside me, but I respect Cillian for caring so much about those he loves.
“He’s good to Ollie,” Rory adds. “Don’t get ideas in your head.”
“I’m not, and strangely, I believe you. I’m just even more confused about what’s going on with the three of you.”
“Jealous?”
“Turned on.”
“That’s my pet.” Rory grins, then joins them at the table.
My gaze flicks toward them every now and again, Ollie looking like he hasn’t let up on Cillian yet.
“Dude, are you okay?” Chuck asks when he rejoins me.
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
“You know who they are, right? You don’t want to fuck with them.”
