Page 11 of God of War

He strolled through the doors, set his sights on me, and set the entire place on fire with rumors and speculation.

"Shit." My brother immediately releases his hold on me, his expression softening with regret. For all his flaws, he isn't a bad man. He's a complicated one. A criminal, yes. A hedonist, absolutely. A pain in my ass, only every day of the week. But he means well. He worries. I guess he has plenty of reason for that. "I'm sorry. I'm an asshole. Did I hurt you?"

"No." I pause for a beat. "But you are getting on my nerves."

A tiny smile flickers at his lips. "So Naz didn't do any damage, then?" He scrutinizes my expression, genuine worry in his gaze. "You're okay?"

"I'm fine, Niall." I roll my eyes, guilt flickering through me. I hate that I'm lying even as I do it…but I do it anyway. "Honestly, you worry too much. What was he going to do in a room full of witnesses? He wanted to annoy you and Dad. He succeeded. As soon as he accomplished his mission, he disappeared."

I'm no longer sure that's what he wants at all. He meant it when he said he wants me. I'm just not entirely surewhyhe wants me so badly. The rational half of my brain screams that it's exactly what I suspect—I'm some pawn in whatever game he's playing with my father. But the other half rebels against the thought. That half, stupidly, wants a reason to trust him. It wants a reason to fall into whatever this fascination is. It wants to believe he wants me simply for me.

The way he looks at me is electric, pulsing with something I've never felt. I like it a little too much. And that's dangerous.He'sdangerous—and I don't mean for obvious reasons.

I'm trying to carve out a little independence for myself. He's a threat to that in far too many ways. If I tell my brother that he kissed me, it'll fan the flames of war. And if I tell Niall that I liked it?

Well, I'll never see the light of day again. He and my father will have me surrounded by guards before I can even blink. No more freedom, no more school, no more tiny little life outside of their world.

Everything I've fought for will disappear, and I'll be trapped like a rat in a cage all over again. It's not a risk I'm willing to take when I only just slipped out of my cage. Whatever Naz wants…I just have to ensure he doesn't get it.

Doubt swirls through me for the thousandth time since he left me standing on the terrace. He's…alluring. Tempting in a way that's terrifying.

And I've never been good at resisting temptation.

It's precisely why I had to have this damn dress fitted yesterday when it fit fine six months ago.

Niall snorts. "As if he's capable of slinking off without causing problems."

My brows furrow. "What does that mean?"

"He got into a fight with Adrian Lombardi before he stormed out."

"He got into a fight?" I blink wide eyes, startled. "Why? When?"

"Five minutes ago." Niall nods toward the bar. I follow his gaze, watching in shock as a member of the waitstaff sweeps broken glass into a dustpan while another straightens overturned barstools. "No idea what it was about. 'Da is talking to Adrian, trying to sort it out, see if he can find anything useful."

"Useful?" I glance back at my brother, my brow furrowing.

He shoots me a smirk, his eyes glittering with intent. "Do you really think we're going to let him get away with what he did tonight,deirfiúr? No one messes with you, least of all Nazario fucking Leyva."

My stomach churns, anxiety pulsing through me. This is exactly what I don't want. Why is this world always tit for tat, you hurt me, so I hurt you? It's fucking exhausting.

"It was just a dance, Niall," I say quietly. "He didn't do anything. He was a perfect gentleman."

"Right." Niall snorts. "As if the prick even knows the definition."

"Niall!" I glower at him. "I'm serious. He didn't do anything. He was nice to me. That's it." I glance back toward the bar, away from my brother. "He said he liked my dress."

"Jesus Christ," Niall growls, spinning me around to face him with a hand on my arm. "You like him."

"What? No, of course not," I lie hastily, pasting an innocent look on my face—the same one he and my father never bother to look past. Just like they never look past the fake smiles and false reassurance that I'm perfectly fine, fine, fine. Managing them is second nature at this point. It's all I've done for years. And frankly, it's exhausting.

I'm tired of being the perfect little princess who does as she's told and has no dreams beyond placating her overprotective family. I'm tired of pretending I was ever her to begin with. I'm just…not. I wantmore.

Maybe I'm not doing as good a job managing my brother as I thought because his emerald eyes narrow on my face, his gaze assessing. "You know you can talk to me, right?" he says softly.

Ha. Not about this, I can't. If I tell him the truth, he'll lose his mind. Family is everything to Niall. And the fact that I liked the way it felt when one of the family's biggest enemies had his hands on me? Well, he'll never understand that.

"I know," I say instead of telling him any of that. "But there's nothing to talk about, Niall. Nazario was trying to get a rise out of you and Dad, and it clearly worked. But he was nice to me, and I appreciated it. It was a refreshing change from the way these little power struggles usually go." I shoot him a pointed glance. "Would you prefer another kidnap attempt?"

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