Page 84 of The Price of Forever

The fire in his eyes suggested that whatever they were talking about had to do with me.

And as I’d suspected, Seven was furious.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

JORDAN

Seven and Damian’s conversation seemed to drag on forever. They’d stepped away from the clamor of the gathering, retreating into the foyer to continue their discussion. I let myself be swept into the fervor, accepting glasses of wine and tiny cubes of cheese when presented with them. How could I not? Hors d’oeuvres were practically my love language.

My attention drifted back to the heated conversation on the fringes of the room. It couldn’t be that serious…right? I mulled over the conflicting details while conversations floated around me. I told Damian it was my decision to slip away. I told him not to be mad at Seven. So what could they possibly be discussing over there for so long, and why did I feel like it was my fault?

Their eternal dialogue finally ended when Damian rubbed his forehead and drifted away from Seven, rejoining the party. Whatever passed between them dropped as soon as he reached Jessa’s side with a smile. But Seven lurked in the shadows, his gaze burning through me.

He jerked his head toward the back of the penthouse, a signal for me to follow. I set my wine down, popped the cheese into my mouth, and hurried toward him. He stormed down a back hallway, taking long strides I struggled to keep up with. He pushed a door open, stepping inside and waiting for me to enter. My belly flipped, and I followed him into a spare bedroom, dimly lit from the waning evening light. Once the door was shut, Seven drew a deep breath, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

I leaned against the wall beside the door and nibbled on my lip, avoiding his gaze. I knew the lashing was coming. But he didn’t say a word.

“Hi,” I finally whispered.

“Don’t fucking ‘hi’ me,” he snapped, his anger leaking out in the sharpness of his words. His nostrils flared for a moment. “What you should be opening with is why the fuck you disappeared today after promising me you wouldn’t.”

I swallowed hard. I had no good reason that was easily explained. It was complex. It was deeply rooted. It was personal. I wasn’t afraid to explain all that to Seven, but confronted this way, I couldn’t form words.

I rolled my lips inward, my gaze stuck on the floor.

“Now, thanks to you, I look like a useless idiot who can’t be trusted to perform the most basic task.” His words were edged with a growl, and the way he advanced told me he needed to hear something—anything—from me.

“That wasn’t my intention,” I whispered, finally daring to meet his gaze. “I swear it wasn’t. I just…needed to clear my head. I wanted to be alone.”

“That’s when you tell me what the plan is.”

“I didn’t know what the plan was,” I shot back, some of my resolve returning.

“Then you give me a fucking heads-up.” He stepped closer, that cologne reaching me again, making me weak. “You text. You call. You say ‘I don’t know where I’m going, but I’ll be back later.’”

“Did you ever consider I’m used to living on my own?” I said, my voice rising. “Maybe I just want to go somewhere on my own and have it be fine.”

“You’re not living in that world anymore,” he shot back. “Not while you’re in my care. Do you know how fucking humiliating it is to have my employer be the one to let me know I’ve lost track of his sister? Think about it. It’s common decency, Jordan. Which maybe you’d see if you weren’t so busy being a brat all the time.”

I balled my fists, annoyed by the way that word could activate me to be even more of a brat. But I couldn’t resist the urge. “It’s a full-time job, Seven, didn’t you know?”

“Just like my job protecting you is,” he retorted. “But I don’t make your life harder. I make it safer.”

“It’s a job I never asked you to do,” I said, already knowing this conversation was on a downward spiral.

“Then go talk to you brothers and persuade them to take me off this assignment so you and I can both go do the things that we actually want to do,” he growled.

My heart thumped against my ribs, conflicting emotions clamoring to be released. Half of me wanted to make sure he never did anything but be forced to protect me, just so he couldn’t go do these other things he “actually wanted to do.” But the other half of me wanted to crumple at his feet and ask him to hold me, to reassure me that he did want to be with me.

Because the truth was that if I didn’t have Seven nearby, everything would feel wrong.

I hated to even admit it to myself. So it needed to never pass my lips.

“Maybe that’s a good idea,” I taunted, rediscovering my edge. “I’ll recommend you for someone much less challenging. Seven needs an easy task. Can’t handle the cool girls, the brats, the ones who actually know how to speak up.”

He let out a dry, humorless chuckle, something dangerous sliding over his face. The sly confirmation that my arrows were hitting their target only egged me on.

“But until I go have that conversation with my brothers, there’s an easier solution here.” I ran my tongue along my teeth, weighing what I was about to say. Being hidden away in this bedroom, inches from his masculinity, his scent, his power and strength, affected me in the same way it always did. I was fucking clenching and desperate.

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