His eyes bored into hers, as if he strove to see into her very soul. “What about Ronin?” he finally said.
“I love Ronin.” The words surprised her, but once she’d said them, she found they were true. “I tried not to care about him again. I didn’t want to be hurt if I lost him once more. But in my heart, he’s my brother. He always will be.”
When a grin began to transform Dagan’s face, she continued, “Still, that doesn’t mean he gets to dictate how I—how we—live our lives.”
His smile fled, and he searched her face, as if questioning the veracity of her statement.
“You’re right, “he said finally, loosening his grip on her shoulders. “I’ll talk to Ronin.”
“We can talk to him together. Later.”
When she leaned forward, he didn’t fight it this time. He tangled his hands into her hair and pulled her to him, covering her mouth with his own.
Victory.
His fingers slowly slid her top up, and she found herself grateful that her breasts were small and firm enough that she could get away with not wearing a bra. But part of her felt insecure, too. He’d had a lot of women, seen a lot of breasts. Probably a fair number of them had been far more spectacular than hers.
Their size didn’t seem to bother him, however. He cupped them and broke away with a groan, leaning back to examine them.
“You’re so beautiful, Lina. Like an unspoiled work of art.”
She snorted at that. Would he think her so unspoiled if he knew she’d been hooked on score? She was far from innocent. “I’m not—”
“Shh. Later.” His lips moved to her throat, teeth scraping lightly and tongue gliding across her heated skin. She moaned and leaned into him, moving her hand down to the stiff length tenting his boxer shorts. Her hand closed over him, and he shuddered.
A silky laugh escaped her lips, and she allowed her hand to creep upward, about to slide it into the waistband of his boxers…when an unexpected pounding sound rent the air. Her heart thudded in response, and she sat back with a start. “What’s that?”
Dagan’s confused but alarmed gaze met hers. He had time to do no more than tug her shirt down before the door leading out to the deck exploded in a mess of wood and splinters.
Lina leaped off Dagan and whirled around, ready to duke it out with whatever awaited on the other side. She couldn’t hold back her shocked gasp when, instead of the army of villains she had expected, she saw a very familiar, extremely enraged figure.
“Ronin!” Dagan’s voice sounded guilty as sin when he jumped up and faced his brother, and Lina had to admit, she’d never seen Ronin so pissed before. Not even close.
“What are you doing here?” Dagan asked.
The fierce anger on Ronin’s face morphed into a grin that was somehow a million times more frightening. It bespoke the menace that oozed out of his every pore, blasting the room with a current of negative energy as thick as fog. “I could say the same to you, little brother.”
Lina looked from Ronin to Dagan, who, based on the defensive posture he’d formed, must have felt the same thing she had. The current of uneasiness in the room flamed to a turbulent crescendo. Then, with a low, threatening growl, Ronin launched himself at Dagan, leaving Lina with just one frantic thought…
Oh shit.
Ronin’s right fist connected with a loud, sickening crack, and Dagan stumbled back, blood spurting from his nose. He closed a hand over it. “Shit. That hurt!”
“It was supposed to.” Ronin shot his left fist toward Dagan’s face. It made contact with the side of Dagan’s face, but he made no move to defend himself.
“Stop it,” Lina yelled, but Ronin didn’t even glance her way. He kept his gaze trained on Dagan, his mouth open on a snarl.
“I can explain if you’ll let me,” Dagan growled at Ronin as he placed his hand on the cheek that must be throbbing.
“Fuck that. Fight back, damn you.” He came at Dagan with another jab, but Dagan simply edged to the side, eyes blazing with emotion.
Lina fought the urge to forcibly break them apart. Clearly they had issues they needed to discuss, but they didn’t have to get physical. At least not in her apartment. “You guys need to stop.”
Neither of them paid her any heed.
“I slept on the couch,” Dagan bit out, his jaw clenched. “Nothing happened.”
“Yeah, I saw nothing happening through the window of the door,” Ronin countered on a roar. “I told you to stay away from her, but you just couldn’t resist another one-night stand, could you?”
“Go to hell.” Dagan flung himself at Ronin, and the two went flying around the room in a whirlwind of elbows and fists. Dagan shoved Ronin backward, and his foot collided with her guitar, cracking the wood. He launched himself back at Dagan, not even noticing the damage he’d caused.