Page 70 of Claimed
The door opens and Horan steps out, his tan face abnormally pale. He tracks between the four of us. “She is stable.”
Everyone exhales.
“How bad?” Ruin asks before I can.
“Concussion, broken cheekbone, and some other bumps and bruises.”
My fingers tighten over the back of the chair. “Can I …” I force myself to straighten. “Can I see her?”
He appraises me. “She’s sleeping, so try not to disturb her.”
“Horan, I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Ruin’s voice is hard.
We both look at him.
“Why?” I ask, my anger returning as swift as it left.
He crosses his arms. “Because whatever you did earlier left her crying damn near all the way to the job.”
Tanner nods gruffly and my stomach drops.
“What?”
They narrow their eyes. “She reeked of you, Caine,” Tanner says. “She damn near fell trying to get away from you.”
“What did you do to her?” Ruin snaps. “The truth.”
I look from one man to the other. “Nothing.”
Ruin starts to argue and I hold my hand up. “Listen to the beat of my heart, idiot,” I retort. “I didn’t hurt her.”
Tanner shifts. “Then why was she crying?”
“I kissed her,” I whisper.
No one says anything.
“You slept with her last night,” Tanner says, his brows arched high. “Why would a kiss—”
“He did not have intercourse with her,” Horan interjects, his deep voice low.
They all look at me like I sprouted two heads.
“Mr. Orgy, himself? The guy that has a conquest list longer than the register for Louisiana?” Tanner gapes at me. “What the fuck?”
My arms fold over my chest. “She offered to feed me, asshole. Not fuck me. I’m kind of picky about consent.”
Ruin presses into the space between the sofa and table. “Did she want to?”
I glare at him.
He narrows his eyes right back. “If this is some stupid shit about not wanting to have sex because of how you feel about Lilah—”
“It’s not,” I snap. “I didn’t force the issue, that’s all. She wanted to, I was more than willing. But it seemed like piss poor timing.” I try to shrug. “She made it very clear this morning that she got what she wanted out of it, anyway.”
Gage stares. “You’re upset about it.”
“No, I—”
