She glared at him. “Yeah, you did.”
A long sigh spilled from his lips, and she softened when she saw the misery etched on his face. He didn’t have to know she’d gone all gooey though.
She fixed him with a frown, and he returned her stare bleakly.
“Can we talk?” he asked as he gestured toward the living room.
“Where’s Sawyer?” she asked as she walked in front of him.
“I don’t know,” he admitted. “He hasn’t been back yet.”
A twinge of fear rippled through her chest. She rounded on Hutch and used her anger to block out that fear.
“What the fuck were you thinking, Hutch? What was that all about?”
He flopped onto the couch, dug his elbows into his knees and buried his face in his hands.
“I’m an asshole,” he muttered.
She sank down in the chair across from him. “Yeah, well that’s been established. Care to tell me what prompted this particular assholic venture?”
He stared up at her with such pain in his eyes that she recoiled. A prickle of unease skirted down her spine, and her anger was replaced by concern.
“What’s wrong, Hutch?” she asked softly. “What would cause you to think that Sawyer or Cam would ever hurt me? Did it look like I was protesting?”
Hutch took in a deep breath, and she could see the battle he fought, could see the muscles twitching and the nerves jumping in his taut body.
“I didn’t see how you could possibly have a chance to say no with your hands tied behind your back, your mouth full of Cam’s dick and Sawyer’s shoved up your ass,” he said bluntly.
She flushed, and her lips tightened. “Look at me, Hutch.”
He turned dull eyes on her. They had the same haunted look of Sawyer’s.
“What’s going on? You know they wouldn’t hurt me. You have to know that. Do you honestly think I’d just lie there like a moron and take it if they were doing something I didn’t want?”
His protest was swift. “You’re smaller than them, Reggie. Especially Sawyer. It wouldn’t be hard for him to overpower you, and there isn’t a damn thing you could do to stop him.”
There was fear in his voice and a thread of anger, but it went beyond what had happened on the couch. His gaze was unfocused, as if he was lost in some other place. Another time.
“Do you honestly think Sawyer would ever hurt me, Hutch? Look me in the eye and tell me you think something so bad of a man who’s been your brother since you were ten years old.”
A dull flush crept up Hutch’s neck. “No,” he muttered. “He loves you. He’d die before hurting you.”
“Then what the fuck were you thinking today?” she demanded. “You hurt him, Hutch. Did you see the look in his eyes? How the hell am I supposed to ever get him to even look at me now?”
She curled her fingers into fists and willed herself not to lose the tenuous grip she had on her temper. Hutch was hurting too. She didn’t have a clue why, but something else was going on here.
Hutch looked away. His shoulders shook, and he dragged a trembling hand through his short hair.
“I know, Reggie. I know. I’m sorry.”
“It’s not me you need to apologize to,” she pointed out.
“Yeah, it is. I embarrassed you. I decked my brother. I put you in a difficult position, and for that I’m sorry.”
“But why?” she asked softly. “What happened, Hutch? It’s not like you to go off like that. Is it the situation? Are you jealous? Is this something you can’t deal with?”
“No,” he said sharply as he snapped his head around.
