Page 10 of The Love Destroyers

I lift my face, pretending I can look down my nose at Seamus. “You smell like smoke again.”

“Addiction’s a terrible thing, Emma,” he says with an amused tone.

I start moving again, going fast, but his long legs make it easy for him to keep up.

“So is being an idiot,” I say.

“I wouldn’t know. I’ll have to take your word for it.”

I glance to the side and give him a withering look as I pause. “Are you implying I’m an idiot?”

Grinning, he stops too and lifts both hands, palms out. I can hear Rosie down the hall, three doors down, laughing. She spills out joy as if it costs nothing.

“Like I said,” he tells me. “I’m no idiot. Only a fool would say something like that to a woman like you.”

“I used to think so, too,” I say with a sigh, opening to him again without meaning to. My throat feels raw, and my feet already hurt from the pinch of my heels. He watches me almost earnestly as he leans against the wall. The wallpaper in this hallway is a hideous dark red and gold pattern—the kind of interior design choice you’d expect to see in Dracula’s mansion.

“What changed your mind?”

“Jeffrey won, Seamus.” I glance past him, at the door. “I tried to fight back, and each time I did, it got worse. I’m the hysterical, crazy woman, and he’s a pillar of the community. I can’t get within fifty feet of him.Literally. All of my former friends have written me off.”

He watches me, his eyes unreadable. “I’ll break his kneecaps if you want. You can call it a wedding gift for your brother. I’d prefer to do that than shell out for a pepper grinder.”

Holy shit. I think he actually means it. My mouth drops open, a gasp nearly escaping it. I close it before the worst can happen, thank God. “How would that fix things?”

“It wouldn’t, but at least you wouldn’t be suffering alone.”

“I believe in law and order.”

He gives me a wry look. “But sometimes it needs a little push, don’t you think?”

“Why would you do that for me?” I blurt. “We don’t know each other.”

“That’s not true,” he says, his smile widening. “We’re about to become family.”

“And do you regularly break kneecaps for your family?”

Something flashes in his eyes, and he looks almost dangerous. My whole body becomes intensely aware of him—even my elbows seem to be screaming that this man is a predator. Apparently, my elbows also like predators, because my impulse isn’t to run but to lean in closer, more intimately. He waits for a few seconds, keeping me on alert, then says in a low, serious voice, “There’s no end to what I wouldn’t do for my family.”

Swallowing, I say, “Well, why don’t you prove it by going in there with your sister?”

He grins at me—aknowinggrin—and raises one shoulder. “Shall we?”

I don’t want to walk in with him.

I don’t wantquestions.

I don’t want my horny elbows to create problems for me.

“I’m going to go look at that statue down the hall. I’ll be right there.”

He snorts, shaking his head, and passes me, his hand brushing against mine as he goes. I feel hot shivers pass up my arm and zip directly down between my legs. Dammit, I’ll bet he did that on purpose.

I watch him, soaking in the sight of his body. He has the kind of ass a man only earns if he works for it.

Before he enters the room, he turns his head slightly to look at me, catching me watching, and winks.

A scowl slips over my face, and I head down the hall toward the hideous statue because I need a minute to collect myself. I’m pretty sure Seamus would actually destroy Jeffrey’s knees if I asked, and I’m alarmed by how tempted I am. I won’t do it, but the thought of that man writhing in pain brings asmileto my face.

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