her head with her arms.
I try to hold it in.
I really do.
I try so hard I’m terrified I’m going to pop something. In the end, it’s no use. The laughter bursts
out of me and I fold over to rest my hands on my knees. My laughter seems to shake Maya out of her
embarrassment. She rolls to her side, glares up at me, then pushes herself to sit neatly on the floor.
When my chuckles don’t stop, she reaches over and slaps the back of my leg. It barely stings, but the
fact that she did it sends heat coursing through my body.
I couldsoget into that.
“What was that?” Nick asks in a wheezing voice, wiping wetness from his cheeks.
She smooths her hands down her hair, patting it in place over her breast. Does she do that shit on
purpose, or does she really not realize how patting her boobs draws eyes to her? I scan the room and
stare down my unpaired-up brothers, sending a clear ‘stay away’ glare in their direction.
“He was going to break something. Or set something on fire.” Maya says, glaring at me.
“Wait…what?” Colton asks, sitting up from his spot on the floor.
“He lit a book on fire earlier!” she says, horror clear in her voice. “It was a rare book, and he
just…lit it on fire.”
“Why would he do that?” Ransom asks.
She throws her hands up in the air. “I don’tknow.Because he’s a lunatic?”
Ransom’s questioning eyes lock on me. I blow out a breath and drop to the arm of the couch. “I
was trying to make a point.”
“That books are flammable?” Kade asks. I shoot him ashut the fuck upglare, and he just laughs.
“I have all this shit because I like looking at it. But none of it matters more than you guys. I was
just illustrating the point for Maya earlier.”
Declan gives me a dubious look. “Really? You’re saying you bought all this shit but don’t care
about any of it?”
I shrug, trying to loosen the tension at the base of my neck. “I like it. I enjoy it. But if it’s making it
so people don’t feel comfortable in my home, then no, I don’t care about it.” I rub the back of my neck
and study my brothers. “Do you all feel this way? Like you can’t relax in here?” They all nod, and a
wave of shame washes over me.
