Page 4 of Bound by Adoration

Liam leaned back in the gray chair, his long legs going straight out as he crossed his ankles, showing zero fear. Had to admit, the waves coming off of Raid sent a few tingles rippling on my skin.

“Yeah, yeah. Badass biker who does and says whatever the fuck he wants, not givin’ a shit how it affects others’ lives,” Liam responded. “I know very well who you are. This situation, though, ain’t got shit to do with you, so I need to speak with Cami. Alone.”

Whoa… He said so much in those few little words. What happened between these two? Had to admit my curiosity was piqued even more now. Liam was ever steady, always calm, never rattled. Raid was pure masculine energy at all times. I couldn’t figure out who was winning the power play between them.

“Damn straight. And I don’t give a fuck what you think. I just wanna know why you’re here and what you want with Nyx. She’s mine, and you know how that goes with Ravage.”

Liam’s brow tipped, that smirk coming back a bit as his eyes connected with mine. “Nyx? Good pick. It fits you much better.” His disregard for Raid wasn’t lost on me.

“Thanks. I like it,” I responded, shrugging my shoulder, just as a squeeze came to my hand. I looked at Raid, his eyes searching. A sigh left my lips. “You knew I had a past. So don’t give me any shit, Raid. I’m also not a pet or an accessory, so you don’t get to say, ‘she’s mine,’ bang your chest, and that simply gives you what you want. Liam is part of my past, and that past runs deep. You have your story, and I have mine.”

“Yeah, but didn’t know it’d bring this fucker back in my life,” Raid clipped. “Get this is new and shit, but my world, your boy here knows how it works. If he needs a reminder, I’ll give it to him.”

The room was filled with a tension unlike anything I had experienced before. “Fuck you. I’m not here for your ass!” Liam informed with fire in his tone. “Didn’t even know you knew Cami. This shit ain’t about you. You can fuckin’ go now.” Liam sat up in the chair and put his elbows on his knees, staring the two of us down. The way his eye twitched told me he was losing his patience.

Hell, I was losing mine with all this back and forth fucking shit, but I had to admit I liked the fact that neither of them conspired with me being here. That was at least one thing to take off my plate.

“Are you fuckin’ dense? Wait. You are. I almost forgot,” Raid fired back.

The energy in the room got thicker, and I swore my living room was going to catch on fire. And looking between these two men, I started to feel as if I were a third wheel in this scenario. It was evident there was some unresolved issues.

“Don’t fuckin’ start with me. I got nothing left for you,” Liam said, then turned to me and dismissed Raid. “Can you get rid of him, so we can talk?”

Like I could muscle the man beside me out the door or something? Raid was Raid, and in our short time together, I learned he wasn’t easily swayed and had a caveman attitude.

It was both a blessing and a curse. The level of security and protection I felt in Raid’s presence and the level of trust he had in me when he did let me control things was this beautiful, twisted disaster.

But this was a different type of disaster.

Liam had no idea how territorial Raid had become. He wouldn’t leave me alone with Liam. I knew it to my very bones. There were too many questions, and he wanted answers. But hell, maybe he did know, and Liam was pushing Raid’s buttons.

I refused to be a bone for two dogs to fight over, because that was what it was starting to feel like.

“Try it,” Raid replied, and I lost it.

“Okay, macho men. Let’s try to act like adults. Raid, you know Liam; Liam, you know Raid. You two have whatever history it is you have. High school rivals, jock versus jokester, fighting over some chick, I don’t know. Right now, what I do know is Liam wouldn’t be here, he wouldn’t have come for me, if it wasn’t important.”

Both men just glared at each other while taking in my words. I could tell by the way their eyes danced they were listening and digesting my every word while mentally sizing up the other. Maybe these two would just go at it, and I could sneak out. But truth be told, I wanted to know what Liam had to say. Knowledge was power and all that.

“This is not some three-ring circus or Jerry Springer episode. Cujo, calm your shit, put the teeth away, and stop the growling. I get you don’t like him, but that’s your shit, not mine.” Then I turned to Liam and said, “Liam, I need you to tell me how you found me before we get into any other bullshit. It’s the most important because the deal was you weren’t to find me.”

Liam’s lip tipped in this half smirk that I remembered like a second skin. It still set my body alight. The man had a presence that commanded attention in a smooth, easy way. He was effortless to be around and had that same sense of protectiveness that Raid had. “Cami, I think we should talk privately.”

Confidence.

Liam had it.

Raid had it.

Me, I didn’t have shit at the moment except a headache starting in the back of my skull and a space filled with too much testosterone that was choking me.

Liam was always steady, calm, not one to express things; he held them close to the vest. He was this caged beast. With wild animal abandon in the right time and sinister planning when stalking a target.

Time passed, people changed, but nothing about the man in front of me had changed. He was mentally circling, pacing, preparing to attack. He was the lion, and Raid was his prey.

Only Raid was not a lonely gazelle running in a field. He was as equally matched and like a king of the jungle, prepared to defend his pride to the death.

With every passing breath, the tension in the room continued to rise.

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