Page 43 of Hostile Cravings
He gave me a smirk, my body’s response nothing like it was to the smirks Tyson gave me.
“My father and I had a meeting here today but with the news that you left Raines, the meeting disbanded and I stayed to claim my prize.”
I walked past him. “I’m not your prize.”
Grabbing my wrist, he stopped me. “Yes, you are. Raines gave you up, although it seems you let him touch that body before he did. That picture he sent is still in my phone, and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve jerked off to your sexy ass.”
“That’s gross.” I tried to pull away, but he held me steady. My ankle was hurting again, so I shifted my weight, tumbling toward him a little.
“Get your hands off my sister,” Tony commanded, storming out of the house.
“I can touch her all I want now. She’s mine and she’s coming home with me.”
Tony’s jaw clenched, his fists bunching, and I knew he was trying not to punch Joey. He jerked me from Joey’s hold, my ankle giving out when he unbalanced me. “Did Raines hurt you?” he asked, steadying me.
“No, I twisted my ankle,” I snapped, not wanting to talk about it. “What does he mean I’m going with him?”
“Let me talk to my sister,” Tony said. “She needs to see my father, too. You can wait out here.”
He ushered me into the house, not saying anything further.
“Tony, what is going on?” I asked, exhausted from the emotional day I’d had.
“What did you do to ruin things with Raines?” he asked, pushing me into my father’s office.
“I didn’t do anything. He did.” My voice trembled. The wall I’d built to keep the pain and tears at bay broke, and I collapsed into his arms. My brother had always been my rock, the only one who saw my vulnerable side, even if I kept it from him most of the time.
He embraced me, soothing my hair with his hand as the tears wracked my body. “Anj, what happened?” he asked, worry lining his voice. “Do I need to hunt that prick down and kill him?”
I shook my head against his chest. “No. He’s just an asshole and I let my guard down.”
He pushed me back. “Did that asshole touch you?”
“Shut up, Joey. Men touch me all the time and you never give two shits about it.”
“The hell I don’t. I hate that you sleep around, sis. I want to kill every man who touches you because you’re my little sister. But if Raines touched you?—”
“You won’t do anything.”
His brow creased as he studied me. “Something happened, didn’t it?”
“Go away, Tony. Let me see Dad.”
“No,” he said, pushing me back in front of him and holding my shoulders. “Tell me what went down, Anj.”
“You don’t need to know.”
“Yes, I do because that twat out there is about to take you to his territory and marry you now that Raines is out of the way.”
My mouth dropped, my knees trembling. “He can’t.”
“Yes, he can. He doesn’t give a shit about the marriage to Raines and he didn’t believe it in the first place. With the sham blown up, Mason didn’t have any choice but to concede to step out and let Dad and Tirenti handle it. He left this morning. Dad’s hands are tied. He and Mason suspect Tirenti is being swayed by the Bad Omen and the only thing that can stop that is a union between the two families.”
“Me and Joey.”
“Yeah,” he said, confirming my suspicions about what I faced when I turned my back on Tyson. “Now tell me what happened with Raines.”
My mind was going through so many thoughts that it was hard to find the words. I didn’t want to marry Joey. As much as I’d talked a good game when I’d been angry with Tyson, I didn’t want to be anywhere near Joey. He terrifiedme.
