Page 61 of Claimed By My Fiancé's Brother

I reached out to grab the letter, but Dylan lifted his hand, holding it just out of my reach.

I’d never hated my petite stature more than I did at that moment.

“Hand it over, Dylan.”

But he didn’t.

Faster than I could blink, Dylan ripped the letter into shreds.

A gasp of disbelief left my lips, followed by a fresh wave of anger.

“You fucking jerk!” I snarled. I launched myself at Dylan as the pieces of Alexander’s letter still fluttered in the wind.

I landed two punches on his face.

Feeling Dylan’s nose break beneath my fist did nothing to assuage my rage.

I raised my hand to hit him a third time, but the element of surprise was gone. Dylan caught my hand and twisted my wrist behind my back, tugging me against him.

Then I heard his voice in my ear.

“Do you have feelings for him?” Dylan asked, his voice soft with vulnerability.

His hold was sloppy compared to West’s, so I had no problem breaking out of it. I quickly stepped back, putting enough space between us so Dylan couldn’t grab me again.

Ignoring the look of surprise on Dylan’s face, I lashed out at him.

“What does that matter? For the Goddess’s sake, Dylan, your mate is pregnant.”

Dylan flinched, looking away momentarily.

“The consequence of the mistake I made that night,” he said hoarsely, his face tight with remorse.

Then he raised his eyes to meet mine and took a step toward me, seeming almost entranced.

“But you’re all I can think about, Eleanor.”

I took a step back, disconcerted by the frankness in Dylan’s gaze.

“Dylan,” I said. “You can’t say that.”

Dylan took another step toward me.

“Just answer me,” he pushed. “Do you care for him?”

For a minute, I considered his question.

Did I care for Alexander?

I…I wasn’t sure.

I knew I wanted to read his letter. I knew his scent inexplicably calmed me. I knew even though I was trying to forget his kindness during my heat, I yearned for his touch.

But I didn’t know how much of my wants were a residual of the heat. How much of them were Lara’s unstable emotions or the effect of the mate bond? Were any of these feelings truly mine?

Lost in my thoughts of Alexander, I didn’t realize when Dylan closed the space between us, his expression impossibly soft as he lifted his hand to cradle my cheek.

“I need you to push me away, Eleanor,” he whispered. “I don’t know how to do it myself.”

---