The formality is for Jonah's benefit. In private, she calls me Drake. Sometimes she calls me other things entirely, her voice breathy with pleasure as I worship her body with my mouth.
"Yes. Have a seat. We're discussing an import proposal."
Katriana moves toward the table, her heels clicking against the marble floor. She's almost to her chair when she finally looks at the other person in the room.
She freezes.
The color drains from her face. Her hand grips the back of the chair like she needs it to stay upright.
"Jonah." Her voice cracks.
His name comes out choked, strangled by emotions I can only imagine. Fear. Anger. The ghost of old wounds that never fully healed would be my guess.
My brother rises slowly from his seat. His eyes rake over Katriana with a possessiveness that makes my fists clench.
"Kat." His voice is soft, almost tender, and it makes my skin crawl. "You look... different."
"Don't call me that." The words come out stronger now. Steadier. She's finding her footing, her hands curling into fists at her sides. Her jaw sets with a defiance that makes my chest ache with pride. "You don't get to call me that anymore."
"Right. Because you belong to my brother now."
Jonah's gaze swings to me, and the tenderness evaporates into pure venom.
"Tell me, Drake. How long did you wait before you made your move on what I own? A month? A week? Or were you circling her the whole time we were together?"
He knows it’s nothing like that, but he’s baiting me.
The truth burns in my chest. I wanted her the whole fucking time, but I kept my distance. Again, he’s baiting me into a fight. He doesn’t care about the truth.
"Katriana came to Scarlet Thorn with a wish a few weeks ago. I granted it. That's how this works." He doesn’t need to know about the finer details.
"Bullshit." Jonah slams his palm against the table, making Katriana flinch. "You've wanted her since the moment you met her. I saw the way you looked at her at family dinners. Like she was something to be devoured. I finally had something you wanted and you couldn’t stand it."
"Jonah, stop." Katriana's voice cuts through the tension. "This isn't about Drake. This is about you being unable to accept that you don’t own me. You dumped me, remember. You are the one who said I was a cold bitch and your dick was too good for a piece of trash like me. Do you remember saying those things to me? Because I remember every poisonous syllable you forced me to listen to as you gripped my throat and nearly squeezed the life out of me."
The longer she lays out her truth, the redder her face becomes. It takes everything I have not to get up and wrap my arms aroundher and shield my woman from the ugly that is my brother. But she looks like she need to face him and I am happy to provide her that safety.
"You were a scared dirty little poor mouse who jumped at her own shadow. I needed a real woman. Someone who could stand at my side and didn’t try to keep her virginity as something to hold over me. You were too scared to give me what I needed."
"What you needed?" She laughs, but there's no humor in it. "You needed someone to stroke your ego and ignore your affairs and pretend I didn't notice when you came home smelling like other women's perfume."
"I came home smelling like other women because you wouldn't?—"
"Careful." The word leaves my mouth like a blade. Low. Deadly. "Choose your next words very carefully, brother."
Jonah's jaw works with fury. He looks between me and Katriana, and I watch something shift in his eyes. Something dark and desperate and dangerously unstable.
"You know what? I didn't come here for a business deal." He shoves the folder aside, sending papers scattering across the table. "I came here to see for myself. To confirm what I saw the other night at the restaurant wasn’t a figment of my imagination. Well, I got what I wanted."
"What?" Katriana asks.
"I saw you all cuddly and kissing up on my brother like a fucking slut. I never thought I'd see the day where Drake Moses claimed my leftovers." Jonah's lips curl into a sneer. "That the great andpowerful king of the docks is so desperate for an heir he had to poach his brother's ex-girlfriend like the fucking slut she is."
I'm on my feet before I realize I've moved. "Watch your mouth."
"Or what? You'll have your men throw me out? Beat me bloody?" Jonah spreads his arms wide, mocking. "Go ahead. Prove what we both know is true. That you're nothing but a thug in an expensive suit."
"Jonah, please." Katriana steps between us, her hands raised like she's trying to calm two snarling dogs. "This doesn't have to?—"
