Page 88 of Branded Betrayal

“What’s going on?” Blaze asks in a tight voice, his eyes laser focused on our interlocked hands.

I sneak a look at Tyler. He meets Blaze’s glare. “I was here treating some injured cattle. They had a few deep lacerations from the cut fence.”

I cast a cold look at Blaze. “There was an accident here this morning.”

Which you would have known about if you hadn’t cut and run like you always freaking do.

“Why didn’t you call me?” he asks, a twinge of defensiveness in his tone.

“She needed a vet, not—” Tyler’s lips snap together before he can continue his sentence.

“Not what?” Blaze steps closer, his fists clenched at his sides.

Tyler just smiles, and that infuriates Blaze even more. “Nothing for you to worry about. I’ve got it covered.”

“Seems like you’re making yourself real comfortable here, Burgess.”

Tyler shrugs. “Just doing my job. Taking care of things.” He releases my hand, but it’s slow. Almost exaggerated, deliberately so. A peek at Blaze confirms his head is about to spin off his neck.

“I should go. I’ve got some other house calls to make.” He smiles at me. “I’ll call you later to see if you need anything.”

“She won’t need anything. She’s got me,” Blaze interjects, pushing himself between us.

“Does she?” Tyler asks with a lift of his lips. But his smile isn’t the warm one he usually reserves for me. This one is different. Knowing.

He leaves before Blaze can respond.

The silence stretches between us, thick with tension, heavy with so many things unsaid.

“What the hell was that?” I finally ask.

Blaze watches Tyler’s truck disappear down the drive with narrowed eyes. When he finally turns to face me, something dangerous flickers in his hardened gaze.

“Stay away from him, Savannah.”

“Excuse me?” I fold my arms over my chest.

He steps closer, and despite my anger, my traitorous body responds to his proximity. Heat rolls off him, sizzling my skin. “Tyler Burgess. Stay. Away.”

“He’s the town vet, Blaze. And unlike some people, he actually shows up when I need help.”

His expression is eclipsed by a complicated mix of possession, jealousy, and something almost feral. “See, that’s where you’re wrong, Savvie.”

“About what?”

He steps so close I can feel his breath against my cheek. “You think you have a choice. You think Burgess showing up, being reliable, being safe, gives you options.”

“It does—”

“No.” His voice is quiet. “It doesn’t. Because no matter how many times I leave, no matter how many times I fuck this up, you’ll still let me back in. You’ll still open that door.” His eyes bore into mine. “Just like you did last night.”

“That’s not true,” I say, my voice weak. Because I am lying through my damn teeth right now.

He’s so close now I can barely breathe anything other than him. “Tell me I’m wrong. Tell me if I walked away right now, you wouldn’t spend all day wishing I’d stayed. Tell me you wouldn’t answer if I showed up at your door at midnight.”

I want to tell him he’s wrong. I want to say I’m done, that I’d choose Tyler’s steady reliability over Blaze’s chaos any day.

“Hate me all you want,” he says, voice rough. “But don’t fool yourself into thinking Burgess, or anyone else for that matter, can give you what I do. Even when I’m destroying you, you can’t stay away.” He leans in, lips brushing against my ear. “And that’s not me having you, Savvie. That’s you being mine, whether you like it or not.”