Page 20 of The Manticore's Mate

As I step in, she follows and puffs out that stupid bottom lip of hers. “I could use some girl talk. You are my big sister. Who else am I supposed to ask about things.”

My eyes roll of their own accord. There’s no stopping them as I grab my clutch from the chair. “You do not need my advice and if you did, you should have married someone else.”

“That’s not fair,” she snaps as if she’s the injured party and flops into the chair. “I love Derek, and you didn’t really want him or you would have set a date and he’d already be your husband.”

“Fine.” I sit on the edge of the mattress in hopes that if I let her talk, this will be over in a minute, and I can call Cade. “What do you want to talk about?”

“This guy you forced on us this weekend. Is it serious?” Her eyes are narrowed in the same way Mom’s get when she’s setting me up to give away something about my life that I don’t want to tell her.

That might work for Mom but it will not fly with my sister. “I met him a few days ago, Melony. What do you think?” I hedge, because even to her, I don’t want to deny my feelings outright. It would feel too much like a betrayal of what Cade and I have.

“Derek doesn’t like him. He told me so. He’s going to have him looked into.” She tips her chin up like she’s said something smart or hurtful.

Standing, I loom over my little sister. “Melony, you need to hear me right now. I don’t give a fuck what you or your husband think of me or the men I date. You are not important in my decisions. I’m sure there’s nothing for Derek to find out about Cade that he wouldn’t be willing to tell me. Now, get out of my room and go to your picnic.”

How she manages to tear up at will has always been a mystery to me. She should have been an actress, the way she can cry on command. She dashes a tear from her cheek. “There’s no need to be so cruel, Leona. I’ve always been a good sister to you.”

“Have you, though?” Unable to bear her a moment longer, I leave my room to get away from her.

As expected, by the time I reach the elevator, she’s beside me. “Derek and I are married now. There’s no going back. You’re going to have to live with it and since we’re all a part of this family, I suggest you learn to toe the line.”

The doors open.

She gets in.

I stare at her. “Toe the line?”

She nods and crosses her arms over her chest. “DeRosas stick together.”

As the doors close with me still in the hallway, I say, “I’ll take the stairs.”

Pulling my phone out again, I call Cade, but the call goes to voicemail. “Don’t come here today, Cade. It’s Derek. He’s the one who…”

The door to the stairs opens and Derek walks into the hall. His eyes widen when he sees me, then he smiles. “The elevator was taking too long. Your mom sent me to check on you and Melony.”

Casually, I slip my thumb over the disconnect button on my phone and slide it into my back pocket. “Melony just went down. I decided I didn’t need my purse after all. I’m just going to drop it back in my room, and I’ll be right out.”

He nods but waits in the hall while I toss my clutch on the bed. As soon as I’m back in the hall, he says, “We can go down together, unless you still hate me.”

That kind of emotion would take too much energy and he’s not worth it. At least he wasn’t until I learned that he was the scumbag who tried to hurt Cade. “I’m sure we can manage a ride in an elevator without our emotions overcoming us, Derek.”

It must not be the response he expected. He frowns and pushes the down arrow.

On the ride to the ground floor, I pray that Cade gets my message and stays as far away from the resort as possible.

“I never meant to hurt you, Leo.” Derek’s voice is soft, like he’s trying to woo me again.

Unable to stop myself, I laugh. “It’s Leona. Of course, you did. But there’s no room for regret now. You married my sister.”

He closes the distance between us. “But you will always be the DeRosa sister who I love.”

“No.” I put my hand hard against his chest.

Grabbing my wrist, he presses against me. “I don’t like that word, and it doesn’t suit you.”

Fury rises inside me in a way I’ve never felt before. I channel it into my right knee and jerk it up directly into his balls.

He gasps and falls to the elevator floor, holding his crotch.

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