Page 49 of Colin

He was preppier than Fox would have expected for an ex-boyfriend of Colin’s, all neat blond hair and expensive jeans. Although, he was handsome enough, which pissed Fox the fuck off. Even with that sour-lemon expression on his face. Apparently he wasn’t too pleased by Fox’s arrival.

Too fucking bad.

Colin, though, was stiff against him, meaning there was probably a fifty-fifty chance of Fox getting socked in the face for this particular proprietary display. But he’d known that going in.

Then Colin’s hand settled on Fox’s arm, and he relaxed back against him. “Hey,” Colin said softly, the anger that had been in his voice nowhere to be found. “Derek, this is Fox. Fox, Derek.”

“Pleasure,” Fox bit out, making it clear it was anything but.

He felt Dane behind him before he saw him. Fox had only a second of worry that he might get pissy—he’d wanted Foxnotto smother Colin, hadn’t he?—before he had to bite back a smirk when Dane fuckingkissed the side of Colin’s headin greeting, standing close enough to make it abundantly clear how their relationship stood.

Derek—and was there any douchier name in the world thanDerek?—was gaping now, eyes dancing between each of them. “You’re joking,” he said, his voice strangled. “I feel like I just walked onto the set of a bad porno.”

“Who the fuck’s laughing?” Colin said coolly, before either Fox or Dane could go off on the guy.

Derek gave him the most fake-ass smile Fox had ever seen. “I’m just surprised is all. You used to have trouble with justoneboyfriend, let alone two.”

“I think it was you who had the trouble.”

“Not the way I remember it.” Derek stepped closer, clearly about to say something nasty. “The wayIremember—”

Fox had had enough. Fuck this guy. Fuck his stupid name. Fuck his picture-perfect looks. Fuck the way he looked at Colin like he had a right to him. Fox growled, long and low, fighting to keep his devil from surfacing. “I suggest you step back if you don’t want to pay for reconstructive surgery on that pretty face of yours.”

Derek’s hands shot up, placating. “Whoa, whoa. No need to get aggressive. Colin and I are cool. Aren’t we, Colin?”

The hand on Fox’s arm clenched tightly. “We haven’t been cool in a long time, Derek. You can fuck right off, and I think you know that. Better yet, we will.” Colin stepped out of Fox’s arms and turned to Jamie. “Can I get a rain check?”

“Sure thing, dude. We already had drinks and a show. What more could I ask for?”

Derek let out a forced laugh, clearly trying to save face. “God, Colin. I don’t remember you being this much of a dick.” He caught Fox’s eye, and it took everything in Fox not to blind him for the audacity. “All I’m saying is don’t be surprised when you end up disappointed with this one. He tends to make promises he can’t keep.”

He slinked past them into the main bar, and it was only knowing Colin would hate a scene that prevented Fox from reaching out and snapping his arm like a twig.

Still, it was best to check. Maybe he’d be surprised. “Want us to ruin him for you?”

Colin scrubbed at his face with one hand. “No, thanks.” The sadness in his voice was like a knife to the gut. “Just take me home, yeah?”

The walk back was too quiet, Colin tense and silent beside them.

Fox didn’t press just yet. He wanted to get Colin home—in their own space—before asking any questions that could set him off.

That didn’t make it any easier to stand by while their human was so upset.

Fox’s devil was practically scratching at the walls, urging him to make it better. Just kiss him, bite him, fuck him better.

But their Colin was more complex than that. Fox needed to let his human brain guide him, not his base vampire instincts.

He was rewarded for his patience. Before the front door had even closed behind them, Colin erupted. “Thisis the shitty thing about coming back to your hometown. Running into assholes you shouldn’t ever have to see again.”

He seemed to be talking more to himself than to them, but Fox would still take it as an opening.

“Ex-boyfriend?” Dane asked. His question came out mild enough, but Fox could feel through the bond that Dane was feeling anything but. He was just as murderous as Fox, his anger and his protectiveness forming a heady mix between them.

The fact that some pretty-faced, average-as-fuck human had upset what was theirs? It was intolerable to them both.

“High school boyfriend,” Colin answered, pacing back and forth across their living room. “And a little after. I held off going to art school for that dick.”

Fox and Dane exchanged a look—how do we get him to settle?—and Dane gestured to the couch. “You wanna sit?”

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