The worst thing of all was that Ronin knew Dagan couldn’t, and he’d used it against him. Dagan stared at his brother, wondering which of the two of them he hated more right now. “Fuck you.”
“Why don’t you find one of your women to do that for you?” Ronin said coldly.
Dagan recoiled at the invisible punch his brother’s words packed. “Screw it, I’m out of here. I don’t need this shit.”
Bitter chords of anguish and regret threatened to burst out of him as he turned and blindly headed for the front door.
…
Ronin’s anger slowly receded as he watched Dagan go. The recollection of the expression on Dagan’s face when he called him man-whore sent a shred of guilt spiraling through his chest. Maybe he’d overreacted.
He thought back to the endless list of women his brother had slept with. Dagan hadn’t made any promises to any of them. In fact, he’d been very clear to all of them where he stood, making an obvious effort to ensure nobody got hurt. But that was beside the point. Dagan wasn’t capable of monogamy, and Lina deserved nothing less than someone who would worship her. Even if she’d convinced herself into thinking casual sex was all she wanted, Ronin didn’t believe it. What she really needed was someone who cared about her.
Ronin had failed Lina in so many ways. He hadn’t been there for her when she needed it. But this was one way he could still protect her. And so he would.
The rhythmic click of heels along the apartment’s wooden floor alerted Ronin to someone’s presence. A moment later, Amara appeared in the hallway leading out from the bedrooms. She wore a wary expression as she glanced about the room. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” Not really.
He turned to face the windows. Amara slipped behind him and slid her arms around his waist, resting her cheek on his back.
“I couldn’t help but overhear your argument with Dagan.”
Of course she’d heard it. Succubi, like all demons, had hyper-sensitive hearing. “I hadn’t realized you’d returned from your shopping trip.”
Amara’s low laugh sent a familiar tremor of awareness through his body. “I cut out of there as soon as I could. Shopping with Solara is…scary, to say the least. Once she pulled out the crotchless panties, I was gone.”
Ronin let out a sigh, knowing Amara was waiting for him to broach the obvious subject. “I just want Lina to know I still care, despite everything. I want to protect her.”
“You wouldn’t be a big brother if you didn’t.” Amara twisted around to his front and pressed a kiss to his chin before hitting him with her piercing gaze. “But don’t forget about Dagan. He needs your love and understanding too, even if he would never ask for it.”
He couldn’t help but stiffen. “He shouldn’t have gone over there.”
“Maybe not, but maybe you should give him the benefit of the doubt. You’ve made your position clear, and he’s never let you down before, not when it really counted. Why not trust that he’ll do the right thing?”
“Yeah…maybe.”
“I think we both need a drink.” Amara gave him a squeeze before stepping back and heading for the bar. She dug two glasses out and uncapped the bottle of whiskey before casually saying, “You know, Dagan is a good man. He might be willing to change a lot about himself…for the right woman.”
Ronin considered her words. For about all of a second.
Dagan, content with sleeping with one woman for the rest of his life?
No, he wasn’t buying that.
Chapter Seven
At a quarter past eight in the evening, Lina found herself at the entrance to Eros. After the way Ronin had stormed out of her apartment earlier, she’d wavered about whether or not to come, but in the end, she’d concluded the money was too good to pass up. And if a little part of her hadn’t wanted to let Ronin down by standing him up, well she could just ignore that. The last thing she needed was to start worrying about other people’s feelings.
A quick glance around the crowded space was all it took to confirm Ronin hadn’t yet arrived. Lina made her way to the bar and snagged a barstool one of the patrons—a shifter of some sort by the looks of him—had vacated upon seeing her. He grinned and tried to start a conversation with her, but she ignored him, pointedly turning her back to search out the bartender.
The bartender, a beautiful fae with long, dark hair, spotted her and sidled over. “What’ll you have?”
Lina ignored the uncomfortable flutter of jealousy that the sight of the fae had sparked in her stomach. She’d come here once, about a month ago, and had seen Taeg and Dagan sitting at the bar. Dagan had been hitting on the bartender, who hadn’t seemed to be buying what Dagan was selling. That still didn’t stop Lina from hating her, just the slightest bit.