Page 40 of Shark’s Pride

“And that means…what?”

He pulled his hand back in and flipped it around to hammer its heel into his temple. “It means give me a damn second, okay?”

I dropped my hands into my lap. “Okay.”

“Shit. I’m sorry, Abs. You’re being a grownup here, and I’m snapping like a jerk.”

“Just tell me…are you mad? That I didn’t say anything sooner? Or that…” I ordered myself to stop there. No use detailing even more sins for the guy.

But as my big brother took a chomp of his flatbread, he did so with contemplative purpose. He leaned back, slowly chewing, and took to futzing with his coaster again.

“Has the guy been treating you with respect? Making sure you’re safe?” he finally asked after a tense moment.

“Well, of course.”

“Not ‘well, of course.’ To be transparent, we’re all painfully aware of the hormonal torch you’ve been carrying for the guy, Abbi.”

“Oh my God.” And there went my hope of getting in a stress-free bite of pasta.

“But I’m trusting that you know to make decisions with the head on your shoulders and not the zings between your thighs.”

“Sean!”

“Abbigail?” He twirled some kale into his mouth with a sublime grin. “Just answer the question.”

I took a few seconds to focus on breathing. “I can tell you, with every certainty in my soul, that my safety is Bas’s number-one concern.” I reached over and wrapped my fingers across my brother’s meaty hand. “He drove me home from downtown one night because it was late. He walked me all the way to the door.”

Sean’s face was a combination of sanction and supposition. “And then all the way inside too?”

“You really want to know the answer to that?”

“Fuck.” He glowered at my saucy reply. “No. For God’s sake, no.”

I tossed my head back, giving in to a gloating guffaw.

His eyes danced like a leprechaun’s as he settled fully back into his seat again. “You’re enjoying the hell out of this, aren’t you?”

“Absolutely and completely.” I smiled. “But I wasn’t expecting you to be all calm waters about this.”

“You’re an adult, Abbi.” Sean averted his gaze, seemingly trying to align his swirling emotions with the words he wanted to relay. “Eventually we’re going to have to release the hounds on some poor fool. You get that, right? Better off some guy who can hold his own—like Shark—than some idiot who will get eaten alive by your pack of overprotective brothers.”

“He certainly can do that. Hold his own, I mean,” I agreed before stuffing more pasta in my mouth so I didn’t say anything else I would have to explain. Time for a subject change. “So, anyway, tell me about the new job you applied for.”

With that, Sean was off and running, excitement glittering his eyes while he told me all the details about the new employment prospect.

We finished our meals, and as tempting as chocolate, sugary goodness sounded on top of all the carbs I’d just ingested, I knew I didn’t want to pay for it on my next run. “I think I’ll pass,” I said, smiling as I slid the waitress my credit card with the dessert menu. She gave me a quick wink, letting me know she understood I wanted to pick up the check without a lot of posturing from my brother, and hurried off to take care of settling the bill.

In the parking lot, after one final “make sure he treats you well” type of warning from Sean, we went our separate ways. I climbed into the truck, took a deep breath to clear my mind for driving, and started the engine.

As soon as the Bluetooth engaged with the car, the dashboard display lit up with an incoming call to my cell.

I’d never been so happy to see Sebastian’s number.

“Hey.” I recognized my failure at hiding the exhaustion from my voice.

“Hey yourself.” His voice, so rich and confident and masculine, filled the cabin’s air. I almost inhaled it. At this exact moment, he was my opium. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Just tired. I had pasta and I’m in a carb coma.” I attempted a light laugh, but he cut in.