Not that Mace had experienced it. But he’d seen it. And it looked just…like…that.
Nooooo.
His ribs tightened, squeezing the air out of his lungs as the truth sank in. The three of them had seen each other in every kind of situation, in nearly every state of undress, and they’d been tangled tighter together than a skein of yarn over the years, but they had never been this uncomfortable with each other.
Only one thing could cause that.
The image of Blade and Scotty together in a cabin scorched his mind. He could picture them rolling around in front of a fire, maybe on a bearskin rug or some romantic shit. He knew how Blade fucked—the guy liked it rough and intense. He’d tear Scotty up.
Mace reconsidered that last thought. Scotty was a wildcat who could hold her own. She wouldn’t wilt under Blade’s sexual assault.
She’d thrive.
The image of her flipping Blade so she was on top played like an erotic movie in his head. She was naked, her pale skin glowing in the light of the fire, contrasting with Blade’s hard-cut, tanned body. Sweat glistened between her breasts as she rocked her hips against his, riding him, demanding more of him, her hair flowing down her slender back in a cascade of lava.
His rage hit a new level, so hot he could practically smell smoke.
He’d been best friends with Blade for as long as he could remember, and this was the first time he wanted to beat the guy to a pulp. But not here. Not in front of dozens of people, friends, and families. Mace might be an impulsive ass, but he wasn’t a total loose cannon.
Mostly. It was taking an extraordinary amount of self-control to keep himself in check right now.
“Come with me,” he growled to them, his words so warped with fury that he barely understood them himself.
Mace didn’t give them time to ask questions. He strode toward the house, his fists clenched tightly at his sides, every footstep falling harder than the last. He figured he should be leaving burned footsteps in his wake, but he didn’t look back to see.
The moment they were inside with the door closed, Mace slammed one of those tight fists into Blade’s jaw so hard he heard his own shoulder pop. Blade stumbled backward, hitting the wall with enough force to leave a dent in the shiny steel.
“Mace!” Scotty leaped between them, blocking his path before he could nail Blade with another blow. “Holy shit! What are you doing?”
Mace ignored her, his focus fully on Blade, whose stunned expression and bloody lip almost made Mace feel bad for hitting him. Almost. The level of betrayal kept him firmly raged out.
“You bastard!” he snarled. “You broke our vow and fucked her!” He rounded on Scotty and jabbed his finger in her face. “And you. How could you?”
The air in the kitchen went still. Heavy and laden with layers of shock and shame that pulsed off them in waves.
Scotty’s skin, already creamy pale, went sheet-white, her freckles standing out almost in defiance of the accusation.
Silence hung over them like a shroud.
“Answer me!”
Startled by Mace’s roar, Scotty jumped. “Mace. Please. It wasn’t like that.”
The breath whooshed painfully from his lungs. It was true. Yes, he’d suspected, but a not-so-small part of him was sure he was wrong. That he’d imagined things.
Scotty swallowed dryly, but before she could explain howit wasn’t like that, he lost his shit.
“But you don’t deny it.” No, of course not. They just looked down at the floor, so suddenly curious about the fucking, blue-stained cement. Level of his fury? Maximum. Totally pegged out. All he could think about was Scotty asking them to find her someone to screw. “What the fuck? Whatthe fuck, Scotty? Were you so desperate to lose your virginity that you what? Seduced him while I was laid up in the hospital?”
“What? No!” Anger or, more likely, guilt, turned her face crimson. “Gods, Mace, we didn’t have a choice!”
He stared in disbelief. “No…nochoice? What, you had a virginity emergency? Did your hymen suddenly—?”
“Don’t.”Blade’s voice was a low growl, rumbling with the threat of violence. “Don’t talk to her like that, Mace. I’m warning you.”
Blade could shove his warning up his ass. “Or what? You’ll fuck her again?”
Suddenly, the fist of a pissed-off, redheaded daughter of a Horseman cracked into his cheek, knocking him into the fridge.
