Page 86 of Mama Si's Paradise

“Relax, little brother,” said the last guy to walk in with his hands in his pockets. I barely saw him, but he seemed to be the eldest of the bunch. Possibly fifty, with slightly silver hair around the temples, dark eyes and fair skin, absolutely flawless features. They were all so incredibly beautiful, in the way a lion is. To call themhandsomewould be an insult.

And I needed to stay as far away from them as possible.

“We’re only here to see our new guest,” the man continued, coming to stand right across from us on the other side of the table, his big hands grabbing the edges of a chair. “My, my, she’s a beauty. We haven’t had redheads since I can remember, have we?”

I begged the floor to open up and swallow me whole, take me anywhere but here. Anywhere at all.

The others smiled and laughed and nodded their heads, except the one with the light eyes. His jaws were locked, and his hands fisted as he looked at me, never moving an inch.

“Indeed, she is. They say they’re feisty,” said the one with the thick beard covering half his face. He was as tall as Valentine, his eyes brilliant opals and filled with so muchrawlustas he looked at me that it took me by surprise. “Step aside, Valentine. Let us look at her.”

Oh, God…

“No,” Valentine said, his voice as dark as the certain death looming over my head. Now I was shaking from head to toe. “My dragon picked her. It’s her first day. I’m sure you know the rules.”

“I certainly do,” said the first guy, the eldest. “And I’m telling you, I need to see our bride-to-be without you hiding half of her from my view.”

My eyes squeezed shut.Bride-to-be.

No, no, no, no, no.I slowly moved even farther behind Valentine and gripped the back of his shirt in my fists with all my strength. Bile rose up my throat, and I was thankful my stomach was empty because I’d have been throwing up all over his back by now.

“Leave, Romin,” Valentine said, and his voice was a goddamn growl. “You’ll see her tomorrow.”

The man laughed. “Look at you, all grown up and ready to defy your own already.”

“He makes me proud,” said another, but I didn’t see which one—I was still hiding behind Valentine, praying with all my being that these men left. Thathewas the only one in this room with me.

He—who was apparently these men’s brother. He—who had fangs and a dragon he’d sent to bite me and who’d told me to my face thatmy body belonged to him,and who’d brought me here without my consent while I was unconscious.

This guy. I was trusting this guy.

No.

I let go of his shirt and moved farther back.

“We know she’s yours, Valentine. We know it, we just want to have a look, that’s all. C’mon, Grey was desperate. Just let us take a peek,” said that first guy, and I could havesworn Ifeltthe energy in Valentine’s body change. Become darker.

Please, please, please get me out of here…

“She’s scared,” said another. “Can you hear that little heart beating?”

“Oh, so scared. Yes, I smell her blood,” the eldest said—Romin was his name.

And I about pissed my fucking panties.

“I smell her fear, too. C’mon, step—” said the other, when Valentine took a step forward.

“Back.Off.”His voice was thicker still. “This is the last time I’ll ask you. Leave.”

A second of silence stretched to eternity. I had no choice but to look up. If they were going to come eat me right now, I wanted to fucking see it.

I knew it was coming. A fucking disaster was on the way, and you could tell by the way the light eyes of that man had darkened and were a bit bloodshot as he looked at me. He never moved his eyes from my face, not for a second, while the others were all focused on Valentine.

Then… “Very well,” the eldest suddenly said. “We’ll leave. Tomorrow will come soon enough.”

The three brothers moved back to the doors, except the one with the light eyes. He didn’t budge, still watching me like that, curious and impatient and pissed off—and a million other things I couldn’t name.

“Grey, come on. Let’s go,” the others called him.

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