8. Ryuji
RYUJI
Max hobbled from the living room as soon as Leona walked out with that sexy saunter to her hips.
God, my cock was hard just thinking about her.
If Max weren’t here, I would already be buried inside her, along with my brothers, and we would all drown ourselves in each other to avoid thinking about the chaos ahead.
But Max had to fuck it up.
With Ciel, Wynn, and Cas gone off to work, I was the only one left in the room, watching him. Guess babysitting duty fell to me. I followed the dickwad, eyes locked on the back of his head, pretending I could laser beam his brains with just my eyes.
I needed to call Kostya and warn him about the Italians, but that could wait until Maxy and I talked. We needed to get on the same page about his ground rules for being here.
Because one thing was for certain, he would not get in the way of us and Leona.
He limped up the stairs and down the hallway, pausing in front of one closed set of doors.
I could hear the water running inside and I smiled, imagining our girl naked under the spray, soaped up and soaking wet.
My dick twitched in my pants again—until I heard the sounds echoing inside.
Obi and Leona together, and instantly my cock was rock hard.
I almost reached for the handle of the door to push my way inside and join them, before I saw Max pause a few steps past the door.
He froze, his head tilting slightly.
Then a whispered curse as we both heard her moans.
Nope. Fuck right off.
New goal: fuck with Max until he’s pissed off enough to leave us alone and die.
“Doesn’t she sound incredible?” I asked.
Max jumped slightly, flinching, but he didn’t even glance over his shoulder. He knew I had followed, but obviously forgot when he heard her. Instead of responding, he limped forward again, looking around as if he couldn’t remember which room Cas had dumped him in.
I followed again.
A few steps behind. Close enough that he could feel me. Far enough away to annoy him.
His limp grew heavier the farther away we got from the main rooms of the house. His breathing became more pronounced as his injuries flared. He needed to rest.
I would not let him.
“Are you going to kill me?” he grunted, finally glancing over his shoulder. Sweat misted his brow.
“Eventually. Probably.” I flipped my knife end over end in my hand, watching him. He wasn’t in good enough shape physically to attempt anything, but I didn’t fucking trust him.
“Sooner rather than later, if you would.” He braced an arm against the wall. His room was only a few steps ahead.
I scoffed. “You want me to kill you?”
“Might save us all some trouble, don’t you think?”
My eyes narrowed. “Nah. You’re not getting off that easy.”
“Figures.” He pushed off the wall and finally reached the closed door that marked his “guest” room. He pushed inside. I watched as he struggled forward until he reached the bed and then sat on it, finally facing me head on. “What do you want, then?”
“What the fuck do you want?”
Max didn’t answer.
He said he wanted to stay, but in my head, there was only one reason that could be true. He wanted her.
And I wanted to kill him over it. It didn’t matter to me that the more we heard from him, the more she told us, made it seem like he’d been protecting her for far longer than any of us knew.
He had still hurt her, tried to kill her, rejected her, and made her feel worthless.
I said it before and I’d say it again, I was the king of motherfucking grudges.
“Do you want her?”
“No.”
His answer was too quick, too definite. I used the tip of my knife to clean under my fingernails. “I thought we weren’t going to lie anymore.”
He exhaled slowly. “She doesn’t want me that way.”
Were we really sure about that?
If she did…then I guessed that changed things. I’d have to cross that rickety, decrepit bridge when I came to it. Even if that were true, it still didn’t change how I fully believed he’d hurt her again.
“But you do.”
“It doesn’t matter what I want.”
I cocked my head to the side. “That is true.”
“Even if I wanted her, it’s a nonstarter. The five of you would never let me in, you least of all. You’ll kill me the minute I take a breath wrong.”
“Careful, Max, it sounds like you want to be let in.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“You say a lot with what you decide not to say.”
His face closed off. “Fuck off and leave me alone.”
I flicked my knife, and it embedded in the bed next to his leg. “Nah. I want to drive you crazy.”
“Don’t you have better things to do?”
“Not really.”
He pulled the knife from the bed and flung it back at me. I dodged just in time for it to lodge into the doorframe beside my head. My mouth split into a grin. “Maxy has knife skills.”
“I might be at my lowest, but I’m not completely inept.”
I stepped farther into the room. “Let me give you some advice, Max, if you want to stay alive here. You had better start being honest about what you want. With yourself and with us. Because if any of us find out you’re lying, for whatever reason—to protect her, or hurt her, it doesn’t matter—we’ll make you suffer for eternity.
We’ve been chasing you for months, and now that we have you, it won’t be hard to take our pound of flesh as payment for all your sins. ”
He glared up at me. “Kill me or leave me alone. I’m too tired to care.”
“Everything okay in here?” Cas said, appearing at the door. He looked back and forth between me and Max.
“Completely fine,” I said with a toothy smile. “Just setting some ground rules and giving some friendly advice.”
“No problems at all,” Max said.
“Right,” Cas said, one eyebrow raised. “You’re both the worst liars.”
My back straightened. “Hey, I’m a good liar.”
“You’re transparent as shit, Ryu,” he said with a laugh.
I smirked, stepping forward to invade his personal space.
“Sure I am, bodyguard,” I said as I collared his throat and leaned in close. His pulse thundered under my palm, and his eyes dilated. I leaned just a hairsbreadth away from his mouth, and he froze completely. “Just like you.”
The moment we’d shared at the gym in the penthouse flashed before both of our eyes.
I could see it in the color of his cheeks.
We’d left things underdeveloped back then, but that wouldn’t last forever.
Not if I had anything to do with it. His eyes flicked to my lips, and heat rolled through my veins.
I stepped backward and shoved my hands into my pockets. “Stay here and don’t cause any trouble,” I said over my shoulder to Max. “When I decide whether I’m going to kill you, I’ll let you know.”
After plucking my knife from the wall, I shoved my way out of the room. My thoughts were a twisted up knot while I tried to find a room of my own to claim so I could call Kostya and warn the Russians.
Leona was permanent.
So if she ended up wanting Max, then I’d have to fucking deal with it.
But if he was going to pretend he didn’t want her as badly as the rest of us, maybe I’d have to keep pushing him. Test him to see if he was real or not. Make him show his cards before he hurt her again. Torture him until he broke—in either direction.
When he failed the test, I’d kill him. If he passed…I’d figure something out.