Harrison fascinated me beyond words. I was eager to find out what was going on between the two men. And, truth be told, the minute he stepped away I felt his absence. I was drawn to him in a fucked up way like no man ever had before. Part of me disliked him intensely because of his strange behavior, while another part of me couldn’t get enough and was greedy to know more. He was like a drug; I’d only had a small taste and now I was desperate to get more.
Harrison’s voice boomed over the traffic noise. “Knox, for the last time I'm warning you: stay away from my sister. I never want to see you with her again. I'm letting it slide tonight—with immense difficultly, I might add— because I don’t want to ruin Jade’s birthday.”
“It's not your decision to make, Summers. It's mine and Jade’s.” Ryder's fists clenched and unclenched by his sides.
Harrison snarled. “I'm going to make life hell for you and that scum club of yours. You’d better be looking over your shoulder all the time,” Harrison threatened.
Ryder’s voice was cold and measured. “You don’t scare me. I've been through a hell of a lot worse in my life than having a vengeful cop on my ass.” Ryder laughed, and I was surprised that he didn’t sound bitter. He merely stated the fact.
I gasped as Harrison gripped Ryder’s shirt, twisting it in his hand, his face mere inches from Ryder’s. “Leave. Jade. The. Fuck. Alone. You are ruining her life. Stop being a selfish prick and walk away while you can. Do the right thing, for once in your miserable life, before I chop you down at the fucking knees.”
This was getting out of hand. Both men were practically foaming at the mouth. My heartbeat sped up and my mouth felt dry. Should I stop them? A shiver ran down my spine.
“Never. I'm never leaving Jade. Fuck you, and fuck your threats.”
“Knox—”
Before Harrison could say another word I stepped out from the darkness. I smiled as if I’d just come outside and was surprised to see them here. “Hey guys, anyone have a smoke for me? I left mine at home, but after a few wines I'm dying for one.”
Ryder stepped away from Harrison, smoothing down his shirt. He speared his fingers through his hair, narrowing his eyes at me. “You smoke? That’s bad for you—”
“Brothers,” I said playfully, rolling my eyes. “I’ve given up two years ago, but sometimes I still crave a cigarette.”
“Summers, I think you should leave before this gets ugly.” Ryder grabbed hold of my arm and steered me toward the door. “Let’s go back inside, Eva. As your brother, it's my duty to protect you from big, bad wolves. And Summers here is the worst of the lot. There’s no way in hell I want you even talking to him.”
Harrison sucked in a breath.
Ryder opened the door and held it for me, but I managed to look back to where Harrison was standing. His gaze locked on mine. A wistful smile twisted his lips before he turned around and walked across the street without so much as looking back. My stomach dropped.
Ryder steered me inside and toward our table. Pizza had been served and the crowd that had arrived for Jade’s birthday was just digging in.
I'd lost all interest in being there. The din in the pub had become a loud and raucous noise that hurt my head. I’d had enough. I wanted to go home and replay tonight in my mind, trying to figure out just what the heck was going on.
And more than anything, I had to work out how come a man as hostile and angry as Harrison could make me have bad and crazy thoughts about him possessing me. For when I’d looked into his eyes that last time, my core clenched and my whole body tingled. I wanted him to fuck me. Badly. And that would be the end of both men. Two men, each trying to keep their sister away from the other.
Now, wasn’t that fucking ironic?
Chapter Eight — Harrison
Sitting across from Eva, I slowly stirred my coffee as I stole glances of her beautiful face. She was even more gorgeous in the daylight. Flicking a strand of hair from her cheek, she smiled at me with such brilliance it knocked the wind out of me.
I wasn’t accustomed to reacting like this to women. It shook me to my core, scaring the living fuck out of me. I'd called her this morning for two reasons. One: I wanted to see if she’d still have the same effect on me she had last night, or if it had been a figment of my overactive imagination. Second, I wanted to see where she stood on the relationship between Ryder and Jade.
“Jade’s a lovely woman. I can understand why Ryder is so madly in love with her. Even though he had a hard time admitting that he is, it's just so obvious in the way he looks at her.” She sighed into her cup, a cloud shifting over her face as she sipped her coffee.