Page 281 of By His Rule

He takes a step closer, and his scent gets stronger.

Some of the tightness I haven’t been able to shake since I ran from his office two days ago loosens, and my stomach knots with a mixture of anticipation and confusion.

“You can’t be here,” I blurt, keeping my defenses up despite knowing it’s probably too late.

“And yet, here I am,” he says, getting impossibly close.

I might be inside the house and at his eye level but I feel tiny under his intense stare.

My heart rate becomes even more erratic, and it only gets worse when I hear footsteps approaching from behind me.

“What’s going on? Who’s—” Wilder’s words are abruptly cut off as he steps up behind me and finds Kian on our doorstep. “Pretty sure you’ve got the wrong town, mate. No one wears Ralph around here. Well, not unless you want to get mugged in daylight.”

“I’m in the right town. I’m at the right house, too,” Kian confirms before sticking his hand out for my brother.

“It’s good to finally meet you, Wilder. I’m Kian, Lorelei’s?—”

“Boss,” I blurt, stepping aside a little to see what Wilder will do with the proffered hand.

It’s not the kind of way people around here greet each other, so color me intrigued.

“Can’t say she’s mentioned you,” Wilder says, his own hands staying firmly at his sides.

“How are you feeling? I saw your tackle. You took quite the hit.”

Suddenly, everything makes sense and I turn to glare at my brother.

“You posted about it?”

He shrugs. “Of course I did. My fan club, remember?”

“Jesus,” I mutter while Kian snorts in amusement.

“So, are you coming in or what?” Wilder asks after looking between the two of us for a few seconds as if he’ll figure everything out.

If only it were that easy.

“N-no, Kian is?—”

“I’d love to,” Kian says, giving me a wide grin and slipping into our shitty trailer.

Fuck my life.

I stand there in the doorway, watching as he follows Wilder to the couch.

The TV has been forgotten and both Hendrix and Noelle are watching the scene play out before them, curiosity burning bright in their eyes.

I glance around our home and cringe.

The boys—okay, Noelle—do a pretty good job of keeping it tidy, but there’s only so much you can do to make this place presentable. Something tells me that Kian has never seen anything like this before in his life.

Wilder drops into the spot he vacated and gets himself comfortable while Kian perches himself on the edge of the couch as if he’s scared of breaking it.

“Would you like a drink?” Noelle asks politely before she gets up and walks to the kitchen.

“Yes, please. Whatever you guys are having.”

She rushes into the kitchen and pulls the refrigerator open, plunging us back into awkward silence.

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