Page 39 of Ruthless Heir

He’s touching her like he wants to fuck her. But…maybe he already has.

Was he who she was talking about the other day?

When she said there were plenty of hotels to hook up in? Or clubs and fucking back alleys. He certainly looks like the type who would do all of the above.

Okay, like she said the other day, I’m no saint. I’ve done all the above too, but this isn’t about me. And I don’t want her to do any of that shit.

Is that where they’ve come from?

My stomach twists with a foreign feeling when I think of that guy with his hands all over her body.

The feeling and the image boil my blood like lava in an active volcano and my body temperature rises like it’s gonna blow.

When he leans in to kiss her cheek and tug on her top, my wild imagination takes over.

I skip past the sex and think of him hurting her. Hurting her the way Nick did. That’s enough to move me.

Rage fuels my steps and I race down the stairs.

“I promise Harper won’t be any trouble,”says Josh in my head.

No, Josh. Your sister is the fucking goddess of trouble.

Just like there are the goddesses of spring, love, war, happiness, death. Harper is right up there with them.

My mythology is a little rusty but I think the goddess of trouble was called Eris. The one who played a key role in the Trojan War. Harper is the incarnate of her.

That would certainly explain the dark-haired saber-toothed X-men-looking dude on my drive talking to her.

I fling the door open, hoping like hell they're still justtalking.

I’m thankful when I see that they are. The sound of the door smashing into the wall makes them jump apart.

Harper's eyes widen when she sees me and the guy gives me a curious stare.

Now that I’m close and can see him better, I think I’m right. This is exactly the kind of freak she shouldn’t be talking to.

“Who the hell is this?” I stare him down, knowing I’ve embarrassed Harper and not caring.

I look at her and see I’m right. Her cheeks are red.

The guy extends his hand toward me and gives me a pleasant smile. “I'm Jack. I was just making sure Harper got home safe.”

He sounds decent enough but I don't care. All psychos sound like that when you first meet them.

“She's safe now so you can leave.”

Jack looks taken aback and Harper looks like she might wither away. She steps between us and frowns at me with a claw-your-eyes-out look on her face.

She looks back at Jack with a nervous smile. “Sorry, Jack. My brother'sbest friendhasn't taken his meds today.”

What the fuck?

Suddenly I'mjusther brother's best friend and I no longer have a name.

“Don’t want to cause any trouble between you and yourbrother’s best friend.” He looks back at me, assessing me like he wants a fight.

That’s fine. I’ll give him one. He has a little more muscle than me but I’ve handled bigger guys. I’d take him down in a heartbeat. God knows I need to work off some steam.

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