Oh, we should not be here.
I don’t know what Jax was thinking. He shouldn’t have allowed this. Jesus. I’m just about to turn and leave when a door across the table opens.
All the air leaves my lungs when I take in the man who enters.
He looks exactly like Jax, if Jax were older, meaner, and completely devoid of any soul. Silver hair perfectly combed back, suit so sharp it could cut glass, and eyes… those eyes. Dark and cutting and locked on me.
I instantly regret every bad decision that’s led me here.
Chapter Forty
Jax
Kira Noland sits ramrod straight in her chair across from me, hands piously clasped in her lap as if she’s auditioning for sainthood, and if I weren’t burning in ire, I would find it extremely amusing. But the pinch on James’ face, aimed directly at her, has me one exhale away from pulling out my gun. I don’t know who I would shoot first; myself for agreeing to this, or Arnold, who is posted against the wall, arms folded but eyes drinking inmygirl.
Or James.
God, I would love nothing more than to blow the look of disdain right off his face. I don’t know what he could possibly be seeing that would have him anything but enamored with her natural beauty. She’s stunning in the soft lighting of the modern contraption that hangs above the table, absolutely more delectable than anything that could be served tonight. It takes everything in me to keep my eyes off her for fear of being read so easily. It would be a rookie mistake to let my eyes rest on her for more than a second, since James has been catching my tells since I learned to talk. If he sees me watching her, really watching her, it’ll be blood in the water. He needs to think she’s no more than a lay to me.
So I watch the table instead. The ridiculous modern chandelier above it throws soft light across the polished wood, across the silver that probably costs more than Kira’s mortgage did. Crystal glasses. Linen napkins folded perfectly. A dinner spread that looks like a magazine cover. And Kira, who looks likeshebelongs spread on the table for said magazine.
Damn it.
I force my gaze to the wall and tell my cock to calm down. Not only is it going to put a target on Kira’s back, it’s jumping to conclusions. She may have agreed to dinner, but she’s still angry with me, and I probably won’t get to taste her anytime soon—as much as I would love for her to be on the menu tonight.
“I hear your home was, unfortunately, in a fire?” James asks from the head of the table.
There isn’t an ounce of sympathy in his tone, and while I refuse to look, I feel Kira’s gaze flick to me.
“Um,” she clears her throat. “Yes, unfortunately.” There’s a hint of irritation, no doubt aimed at me, that makes my lip twitch. Despite being nervous, she’s still in there.
“Shame,” James maintains a dry monotone.
“It really is,” Nix pipes up, saccharine sweet, from across the table. “But it issokind of you to let us stay here in the interim.”
And then she kicks a booted foot up onto the table.
Well, fuck.
She’s in between Caleb and Kira, with Caleb on James’ left, but the thud vibrates through the table, setting the silverware and James’ drink trembling. A tense silence follows where Kira looks horrified, Caleb visibly pales, and I nearly crack a tooth.
The one time Kira is on such good behavior, her sister is the problem. What is it with these Noland girls? If it’s not one, it’s the other.
Arnold pushes off the wall, the fucking watchdog, and my hand immediately goes to the waistband behind my back. Ifhe’s really going to throw a hissy fit over a teenager acting like a teenager, I don’t have any choice but to step in. I had really hoped we’d get farther than this, but I guess this is where I lay down my cards. The old neighbor Arnold shot was just that; old. I could have stepped in, but the consequences weren’t worth it. In this instance, it’s worth it.
But James holds up a hand, stilling us both.
“Of course.” He leans back, a satisfied smirk curling his lips. “I would never let anacquaintanceof Caleb’s go without a roof.”
I settle back into my chair as Arnold leans back again, not liking where this is going. If there’s anything I got from James, it’s my love of a good challenge—seeing as how I spent most of my youth, horns locked, with him. But whereas I’m not a sore loser, James is unable to accept defeat. And if I know anything about Nix, she isn’t either. This isn’t going to end well.
Why the fuck does she want to antagonize him?
“Girlfriend,” Nix corrects.
James shrugs.
She narrows her eyes.
