Chapter 7
CHAPTER SEVEN
Christian
By some miracle, I manage to rein myself in. And, honestly, were it not for my titanium restraint, I’d be balls deep inside Eve right now, fucking that smirk right off those pink, dewy lips.
Goddamn, this chick both infuriates and intrigues me, which is a really fucked up combination. I could probably deal with each one of those things individually, but together, they’re a fucking firestorm in my brain.
Her eyes are wide, her mouth open slightly, but she doesn’t say anything. Smart girl. Anything she says at this point will only light a match to my anger, and when that happens, who knows what I’ll do?
“Go upstairs,” I say, my jaw throbbing. “Before I change my mind and decide to be selfish…”
When I release her arm, she’s already pulling away, so she stumbles backward. I can see the fear in her eyes and I’d be lying if I said it didn’t make me want to snatch her back and tear through those flimsy leggings to get to that sweet pussy.
I’ve already tasted her once, what’s one more small sample?
I step toward her, but like a skittish fox, she darts out of the room before I can grab her again. “Run while you can, Little Fox. This wolf is coming for you,” I call after her.
With Eve’s hurried footsteps retreating up the staircase, I make my way into the living room. At any given time of day, there are at least two dozen people hanging out here—before class, after, into the night, doesn’t matter. This house is always a buzz of activity, which can get annoying, if I’m being real.
Right now, there are a couple of guys playing chess in the corner, but everyone else is watching Jackson play his video game, his energized screams for “fucking backup” filling the large room.
Lucas is here with Wyn, and they’re tangled up on the couch, watching Jackson. Lucas gets up when he sees me walk in. “Yo,” he says, walking up to me. “Where the fuck have you been? I’ve been texting you.”
“Been busy.” I shrug. “Why, what’s up?”
Lucas’s critical gaze takes me in. “I haven’t seen you in a while. Just checking in. How’s it going with the Savano chick?”
Shoving my hands into my pockets, I tilt my head back. “Fine. Great,” I answer vaguely. “She’s annoying as fuck, but what girl isn’t?”
Lucas nods slowly, his face an exact match for mine. “Just don’t get sucked in, dude. Seriously. She’s not someone you should fuck around with.”
I prickle at that. Is he telling me what to do? Yeah, no. Fuck that.
“And why is that?”
My twin blinks at me. “Look, you have your pick of chicks around here. Just promise me you won’t fuck around with that one. She’s nothing but drama—the kind of walking disaster that could blow everything up for us.”
I smirk at his concern. It’s been two weeks since Eve showed up on our doorstep. Where the fuck has he been? Oh, right. Balls deep in Wyn. The rest of us are an afterthought.
I slap Lucas on the shoulder. “Go back to your fairytale, bro, and don’t worry about the rest of us out here in the real world. I’ve got this.”
His eyes narrow, and I wonder briefly if that’s what I look like when I’m heated. Damn. “Do I have to remind you that I’m still the leader of the Burning Crown?”
“You’re serious?” I half-laugh, because this must be a fucking joke. “You’d have to be here more than once a month for that to be true,” I say, trying to keep the bitterness from my tone. I’m failing. “You can’t just pop up occasionally and expect everyone to fall in line. Shit doesn’t work that way.”
“I’ve been recovering,” he says defensively.
It’s true that Lucas narrowly escaped death a few weeks ago, and a knife wound like the one he suffered takes time to heal—but it infuriates me that he’s acting like this shit ran itself while he was away. While he’s still away.
“You’ve been hiding, Lucas. Big difference. And I’ve stepped into the breach.” I shrug again. “So, just continue to sit back and build your castles in the sky with Wyn. Don’t worry about Eve.”
He’s watching me like he doesn’t believe me. And he shouldn’t. If I’m being honest, his absence these last few weeks has pissed me off, but what’s the point of drudging any of that up now? He’s happy. He’s made his choice and it wasn’t his own damn brother. Fuck, whatever. It’s not the first time he’s chosen someone else over me, and it probably won’t be the last. I should be used to it by now.
Instead of responding to my comment, he glances over his shoulder at the room, then back at me. “Jackson said tensions are brewing. The guys all want a piece of Eve, apparently, and it’s escalating.”
He’s telling me this? I’ve been here, laying down the law, breaking up fights, enforcing punishments. Keeping the peace has been a full-time job lately.
“I’m aware,” I say curtly. “And I have a solution.”
When I don’t expand on said solution, he prompts me, “And that’s…what?”
“Don’t—”
He holds his hand up, interrupting me. “Let me guess, ‘don’t worry about it.’”
Leaning back on my heels, I cross my arms over my chest and pin him down with a stare. “You wanna take this over? I’ll hand this circus back over to you right now .”
He runs his tongue over his teeth, considering. Then his gaze flicks to Wyn sitting on the couch. Finally, he says, “Nah, man. I trust you. Just…be careful with Eve. We barely escaped a shitstorm with the police recently. No need to bring any more unwanted attention on us.”
“Right,” I say. Idiot. The only reason we “ barely escaped a shitstorm with the police” was because he went against protocol. He let his obsession with Wyn get to his head, and he acted without thinking.
That’s not me. That’s not my vibe.
He turns and flicks his chin at Wyn. “Hey, babe. Let’s go. I’ll walk you to class.”
As they leave, he claps his hand down on my shoulder. “I know these last few weeks have been tough. Just be careful,” he tells me for the millionth time.
Once Lucas and Wyn are gone, I call Austin over.
“What’s up?” Austin asks eagerly. It’s why I like him. He’s always ready and willing to do whatever I ask.
“I have some invites ready that need to go out before tonight.”
“Yeah, no problem,” he says. “I’ll do it now.”
“Sara has the envelopes and the list,” I say.
Eve’s presence has infected Rush House like a virus, turning the guys against each other. Now it’s time to administer the cure...