Oh, this is too good. Something juicy went down. I need to know.
“Did you fuck?” I say outright.
Elodie gasps, Alfie gives me a backhand to the shoulder.
“No! Don’t be ridiculous,” he spits.
“Then what is going on between you two?” Caden says coldly.
Alfie shoves his chair back and abruptly stands. “I’m tired. Goodnight.” He storms away.
I haven’t seen him this uptight in a long time.
Both of us turn our attention to Elodie.
“Well?” Caden demands.
“Well, what?”
“Why is he like that?”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“Don’t bullshit me. You pissed him off.”
Elodie’s mouth falls open in outrage. “Me? Of course, I get the blame for fucking everything!”
Caden leans back in his chair, fist curling tight on the table. “Alfie’s got the patience of a saint. He certainly has with you. You’ve done something to upset him. You don’t know us yet, Elodie,” Caden says, eyes darkening, “but there are some things you certainly should know. You do not want to push Alfie too far.”
She freezes at this, looks at him, then me. “Why? What happens?”
My whole body goes cold. This was not a conversation I thought we’d be having tonight.
I sigh. “We all have bad tempers, I’m sure you know that much by now, princess. But… with Alfie…” I sigh again, not knowing the right words.
Caden hops back in. “He’s a goddamn bomb, alright? And he hates that he is. So we need to keep him calm. You know he’s a recovering addict and every day is a battle to stay clean.” He raises a finger to point at her. “And if you ever…everpush him over the edge, do anything to break his self-control, we’ll have big fucking problems.”
She bites down on her lip. “Nothing happened tonight.”
“Clearly something did,” I say, throwing an arm towards the door Alfie stormed away through.
“No, seriously, nothing happened,” she mutters, cheeks glowing bright red. “I may have overstepped. I flirted a little, and he didn’t like it. That’s all.”
My eyes flash to Caden, who remains stoic, but I catch the tightening of his jaw.
“Shouldn’t come as a surprise,” Caden says, low and threatening. Full of venom. “You’re desperate to jump on his cock.”
Elodie’s face screws up. “Yeah, anyone’s but fucking yours!” She jumps to her feet. “You don’t have to worry about it, anyway, Alfie made it quite clear he doesn’t like me. It won’t be happening again.”
I can almost taste the bitterness of rejection in her words, see the shame in her blue eyes.
She goes to walk off, and I grab her arm as she passes. “Anyone but him, aye? Does that mean I have a chance?”
“Urgh!” She yanks her arm out of my grip and kicks me in the thigh. It’s a brutal blow and sends pain shooting up to my stomach, but I can’t help the chuckle rumbling from me.
“No,” she yells at me, “I’d sell my soul to the devil himself before I went anywhere near you.”
Caden rises to his feet slowly. “You already have, princess.”
