I nod slowly, really fucking glad I already took care of business before these two appeared, before skirting around Damon.
If he wanted to, he could grab me, but he seems to have enough self-preservation to not antagonize the guy with the gun.
As soon as I’m within reach, Ryker wraps an arm around my waist and pushes me behind him, putting himself between me and Damon.
“Go back to the car and wait for me.”
“No.” The word slips out before I can catch it, because I should do exactly that. I should get back in the car and get the fuck out of here before either of them can follow me.
And yet the idea of leaving Ryker and Damon alone to kill each other feels impossible.
His eyes flicker to me before returning to the threat, surprise quickly replaced with frustration. He’s only trying to keep me safe, but he doesn’t understand how complicated my relationship with Damon is.
“Siren, you can walk your pretty ass back to the car, or I’m going to throw you over my shoulder and carry you out of here.”
Damon’s attention drops from the gun that’s aimed at him, a smirk tugging at the corners of his lips when he meets my eyes.
“Seems like you’re still collecting admirers, aren’t you, Duchess?”
CHAPTER THIRTY
CHLOE
THEN
TEN YEARS AGO
“Always running from me, aren’t you, Duchess?” His deep voice startles me from my thoughts.
When I heard the light footsteps in the distance, I assumed it was Ronan following to make sure I was safe or one of the attendees searching for fresh air.
Honestly, if I’d made a list of everyone I thought might follow me out here, Damon Lombardi would have been at the very bottom.
Because this is the first time we’ve been alone in…years.
He’s made sure of it, and eventually I gave up trying.
Damon has made it clear that any friendship we may have had is over, and that’s something I’ve had to learn to live with.
Even though it broke my heart in a way I never knew it could break.
I don’t turn, don’t make any effort to look away from the garden despite the way his fingers flex around my throat.
He could kill me so easily I probably wouldn’t even feel it, but that’s not why he has me cornered, and although he hates me, his hatred doesn’t extend far enough to murder me during his engagement party.
I’m not sure why I even came out here in the first place. It’s not like his engagement to Mikayla is a surprise. It’s been arranged for as long as I can remember.
But knowing something’s going to happen doesn’t make seeing it any easier.
“What are you doing out here?” I ask, keeping my voice even despite the way my pulse kicks up a notch against his fingers.
“I needed some air,” he replies, pressing himself closer until I can barely breathe through the heat at my back.
I hate how affected I am. Loathe the way my body sings at his touch despite his continued cruelty.
My eyes fall closed, and for a moment I imagine things are different. I imagine he never woke up one day despising my very existence. I imagine the fragile love we shared all those years ago had a chance to blossom. But most of all, I imagine that his marriage was never agreed upon and that I wouldn’t have to watch him with another woman for the rest of time.
I’m being selfish, greedy even, but I can’t help that somewhere along the way the childish affection for my two best friends moved into something else, somethingmore.
