Page 66 of Together We Reign

My nerve endings feel electric, sizzling with the need to touch Teigan after all this time. My body is buzzing in a way it hasn’t for so long. No matter how many pussies I’ve sunk my dick into over the years, it’s never felt like this, and I didn’t even get to fucking kiss her. I’m close to blowing a load in my boxers, and she didn’t even touch me. That’s the power Tee has over me—and that scares the shit out of me.

Before I can spiral into overthinking, Bree slams the gym door open and comes barging in, a fierce expression on her face. “Why the fuck didn’t you answer me when I called?”

I narrow my gaze at the fiery redhead. “What?”

She rolls her eyes at my dismissive tone. “I sent you both a few texts, letting you know I was coming over. When I didn’t hear back, I called a few times, too. But neither of you answered. So I rushed over here, and when I came through the door, calling for you, nobody responded.”

Teigan steps closer to Bree, taking hold of her hand in a reassuring way. “I’m sorry we freaked you out, Bree. We’ve been working out, and we don’t have our phones on us. We must have got caught up and didn’t hear you. It’s a little hard to concentrate when you’re getting slammed into the mat,” she jokes, and I choke on my own fucking breath at her double meaning, breaking into a coughing fit.

Bree smacks me on the back, hitting me a little harder than is necessary, taking a little too much pleasure in it for my liking. Thankfully, Teigan’s piss poor attempt at humour went rightover Bree’s head. “How are your self defence lessons coming along?” she asks.

Tee nods her head, a forced smile on her face. “Good, thanks. We’re finally making some progress.”

This time when Teigan looks over at me, there’s a smirk on her face. I’ve only just got control of my breathing, and I feel like I’m about to start choking again. So, I quickly change the subject. “Why are you here, Bree?”

She rounds to face me, her eyes narrowing in a way that tells me she doesn’t appreciate my tone. She’s one of the few people I know who really could kill someone with a look alone. Bree’s always calling me out on my asshole behaviour, and it would appear, now is no fucking exception.

“Well, dickhead, you’d know if you looked at your phone. We are having a family meeting tomorrow, to finally decide how to deal with Whitlock,” she explains. I can tell by the way she pauses that there’s more.

“So?” I prompt.

She lets out a sigh, before turning to face Teigan. “The way this family works is everyone is allowed a seat at the table, if they want one. If you have a seat at the table, you get a say in the way we do things. Obviously, I’m in charge, and my decision is final, but I don’t operate like a dictator.

“Evan rules the Irish families, and Shane rules the Northern families. They’re both experienced, and I’d be stupid not to take on the advice of others, which is why I run the family like a democracy.”

Teigan looks just as confused as I am. “What does that have to do with me?” she asks, voicing the same question that’s tumbling around my head.

“We all have a grudge against Whitlock, for different reasons, but you have just as much of a reason to hate him as we do.Therefore, you should be able to have a say in what happens to him, if you want to?”

Before Teigan has the chance to respond, I cut in. “Absolutely fucking not. She’s not part of our world, Bree. She’s not attending a family meeting and making decisions that affect a guy’s life,” I snap.

Even though I couldn’t give a flying fucking shit about Whitlock, or what we decide to do to him, I care about Teigan. She’s been through enough. She doesn’t need this.

She might think she wants some kind of revenge, but being responsible for these kinds of decisions isn’t something she can take back. I don’t want her living with regrets because she lets her pain and anger rule her need for revenge.

Both females turn to glare at me, but I stand my ground. They both may scare the shit out of me, but on this, I know I need to look out for Teigan.

Bree starts what I’m sure will be a very impressive lecture, but Tee cuts her off. “You might not see me as part of your family, but I have a right to be part of this decision. You can’t take that away from me, Evan.”

I expect her to be mad at me, but the sadness in her voice hits me harder than if she had yelled at me. When she says that I don’t see her as family, my heart aches. This is exactly why I didn’t want to let her in. The problem is, I do see her as my family. I always have. I just can’t trust her enough to let her in, only for her to break me all over again.

“That’s not—” I try to explain, but I can’t find the words.

“I have to do this, Evan,” she says, almost pleading with me to understand.

“If you make decisions based on anger and hate, looking for revenge, you might regret them. You can’t turn your back on the decision you make in that meeting. We all have to live with ourdecisions, and that’s not something I want for you,” I explain, trying to keep my voice as soft as I can.

“I’m not acting out of revenge, Ev. I need to be part of this to take back a little of the control that he took from me.”

Before I can respond, Bree cuts in. “Then it’s settled. We will hold the family meeting here in the morning at ten.”

I grunt in confirmation, knowing that Bree is giving an order that I can’t argue against. That doesn’t mean I’m going to stand here and be happy about it though.

Without another word, I turn and storm out of the gym, slamming the doors as I lock myself in my bedroom. My mind is fucking spinning. Not just from the news of this meeting, or the fact we’re finally dealing with that asshole, Whitlock. That’s what I should be focused on, but instead, all I can think about is what might have happened had Bree not shown up when she did.

I would have kissed Teigan, of that there is no doubt. Would things have gone further? I want to believe I would have had the strength to pull away after a kiss, to do the right thing, but I know I’m talking bullshit. One taste of my angel and I would have been lost for good. I would have taken anything she was willing to give me, and I would have drowned in her.

Maybe Bree interrupting us was a good thing. Too much has happened, and Teigan and I haven’t exactly talked about the past. How can we expect to move forward if we don’t deal with the pain that’s between us?

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