Who fucking touched her? Someone is going to die today.
Her hands grab mine and squeeze. “It’s nothing Ryan, honest. I came up under someone’s surfboard.”
“What?” The rage is so hard to control once it takes over, no matter how much I’ve taught myself self-restraint.
She scrunches her nose. “It was a stupid accident, no one’s to blame.”
“Who was the surfer, what did he look like?” I demand. I don’t care if she thinks it was an accident, those surfing fucks shouldn’t be that far in where swimmers are.
Her arms wrap around me, enveloping me in her scent, in her comfort, making the anger start to ebb. “I just feel dumb, let’s not dwell on it, okay? You’re going away tonight, let’s feed you before you go.”
“You hate cooking,” I point out.
She pulls back and pokes a finger in my chest. “I didn’t say anything about me cooking, let’s order.”
I wait for Cereus to leave the room before I corner Georgina. “If anything happens to Cereus when you’re with her, I hold you responsible. So be a good girl and don’t try and encourage Cereus to go partying or some shit tonight because I’m away.”
She’s shaking her head before I’ve even finished talking. “I won’t, I promise.”
She tries to walk by me but I pin her head to the wall with one hand, holding her by the back of the neck. Her face thuds a little and a gasp escapes her lips. “That means no parties here either.”
Her heavy panting tells me she’s more turned on than afraid right now. Damn, were all the women in heat around me? I know I’m good looking but I could practically see the wet trial down her leg she was so desperate for it. What would Cereus think about her little ‘friend’ wanting to fuck me so bad she was gyrating against the wall at just being near me?
“I won’t have anyone here, I promise.”
“One more thing,” I growl.
“What is it? I’ll do anything you ask,” she pleads. No wonder Jack kept her around.
I yank her head back so I can talk directly into her ear. “Any bruises or marks Cereus comes home with when out with you,” I slam her face forward into the wall and relish the crunch and sight of blood from her nose busting. “You get the same. If I find out she’s lying about how she got that bruise, it won’t be good for you or her.”
She’s crying and I know it’s going to alert Cereus so I smother her mouth with my hand. “Now go get cleaned up and stop your sniffling.”
She rushes to escape me but stops in the doorway, her eyes rise from the floor to look over at me but she can’t keep contact. She knows she’s inferior to me. “Would you hurt Cereus?” she asks, confusion altering her voice. She must realise I don’t understand why she would even ask that. “You said we both would be sorry,” she clarifies.
“I just meant Cereus would feel bad when she found your rotting corpse.”
She’s gone quick as lightening. She was insane for even asking the question, I didn’t like the fact she did, and did she think her and Cereus were similar? Did she not know that she was temporary and soon my Cereus would outgrow her?
He never kept me waiting. It didn’t matter if I arrived early, Blake always beat me here.
“Eager to see me, big brother?” I ask, approaching him as he stands against his car in the motel parking lot. “You could have gone inside.” I gesture to the same room he always checks us into.
“I like to see you coming. So there are no surprises.”
“Like what?” I tease.
“Oh I have enough scars from you to never have my back to you, little brother.”
An involuntary ‘Ha!’ erupts from my chest. “Touché,” I concede, snatching the keys from his grasp and going ahead of him.
The motel room is rank as fuck. I wouldn’t let a dog live here, probably because I hate dogs and would kill it but that’s not the point. These type of places were infections waiting to happen. If a deadly virus was ever to break out and infect the world it would start here. There was a damp smell emanating from the bathroom.
“Couldn’t you splash out on something a bit more fancy?” I ask.
“This is less conspicuous,” he defends and I can’t help but laugh.
“Really? Because we don’t look like the kind of men who would stay in a dive like this, neither of us is carrying luggage apart from a brown envelope. Motels are crime magnets and all officers of the law, i.e. you, know that.”
“A hotel has cameras, this shit hole doesn’t so you want to shut up about the accommodation and get this over with?”