Page 4 of Hostile Cravings
I wanted to punch him, but I knew he was playing the part, although he was adding his own sting to it because he was as uncomfortable with this as I was. My father cleared his throat, but stayed silent, something I knew was killing him with the way Tyson had just talked about me. But he had no choice but to let Tyson direct the action.
“Isn’t that right, little viper?”
“Mmm, that’s right.” It was hard to answer because his handhad moved up my back, his fingers twisting in my hair. Goosebumps lined my skin. I’d been with aggressive men who had firm touches and took me hard, but I suspected they were nothing compared to the intensity that Tyson brought. The thought made me uncomfortably warm, the pull of my hair making me more wet than I wanted to admit.
He shoved my lips to his, our mouths smashing with a force that had me gasping. I couldn’t help but kiss him back, not liking how my body responded.
“I think that’s enough of that. My sister knows I don’t like seeing men touch her, Raines,” Tony said, and I could hear the disgust in his voice.
Tyson released me and I teetered slightly, my legs too weak for my liking. But he pulled me against him, keeping me upright. I couldn’t think. The way that kiss had worked its way through my body had me discombobulated.
“Any other questions, gentleman?”
Tirenti crossed his arms, looking between the two of us.
“Why am I just hearing about this, Donelli? I set this meeting up between us, and Raines is suddenly here to claim your daughter is his?” He turned on my father, storming over to him. Tony reached for his gun, our men doing the same, but my father rose from his seat, standing tall and facing Tirenti. I had a surge of pride. Almost losing Tony and me had left him wounded, and he hadn’t been the same since the events with the Bad Omen weeks earlier. He was aging, one of the original bosses who remained in the provinces. He’d married our mother late after his first wife had been murdered in a territory war, so even though I was only twenty-five, my father was in his seventies. I’d never thought much of it. He’d always been a powerful figure in my life until recently.
Seeing him stand up to Tirenti, proud and terrifying, warmed my heart.
“You dare come into my house and threaten me?” His wordswere like gavels dropping, each one stressed with a growl. “I will not have you question me or my family.”
“My son wants your daughter, Donelli, and I thought I made that clear.”
“That’s too bad, Tirenti,” Tyson said. “Because she’s mine and your son will need to go through me to touch her, and I can promise you that won’t happen.”
Tirenti snapped his head to Tyson.
“Go home and take Joey with you. He’s not laying a finger on my wife.”
His muscles flexed on the word wife, and I could sense it was as hard to say as the words I’d said.
Tirenti snapped his jacket and motioned for his men and Joey to leave.
“And Tirenti,” Tyson said, stopping him in his tracks. “Keep your son on a tighter leash. I hear he’s leaving bruises on the women he plays with and there’s talk of bodies in the river with worse marks. Mason doesn’t stand for that kind of shit and neither do I.”
Tirenti glared at him. He shoved Joey out of the room, then followed, their men right behind them.
The door closed, and we all stood frozen, staring at it and waiting for them to leave the house. I realized I had Tyson’s jacket bunched in my hand, clinging to him, my body having slowly moved closer to him with his revelations about Joey. No wonder the man had given me the creeps. And now it made sense why my father had asked for Tyson’s help.
Tyson’s arm dropped from me, and I quickly pushed away from him, wiping my mouth on the back of my hand and trying to brush the sensation of his body against mine away. He was staring at me as he straightened his jacket.
“You kiss me like that again, and I’ll show you what I did to that guy at the hangar when Casey and I were saving your ass,” I said.
His jaw tightened and a distinct sneer formed on his lips. “Trust me, I don’t plan to. It’s like kissing an inexperienced virgin.”
I shot him an annoyed look. “You go around having sex with virgins a lot?”
This time, the vein on his forehead popped. “I prefer my women experienced, baby. The men around here may not care, but I do.”
“You two are going to be a blast,” Tony joked. “You sure you don’t want to do this marriage thing here so I can see who kills who first?”
“Nobody’s killing anyone,” my father groused, rubbing his temples. “You two need to make this work. You promised me, Raines?—”
“I didn’t promise you anything, Donelli. Mason did, and that’s the only reason I’m here putting up with this shit. Tirenti’s not gonna back down, which is why I’m taking Angie to Treemont with me. The further we are from his scrutiny, the better. But that guarantees nothing. Watch your back.”
“And you watch my daughter,” my father said.
“I don’t have a choice. Angie, go get your suitcase. We need to leave.”
