Page 35 of His Lovebug

Growling, I struggled, but the nip on my ear sent a streak of fury and need through me. My stomach clenched hard and my cock tingled.

Only Matt would do that.

“I put you where you would be safe.” This time he bit my ear with enough viciousness that it stung.

A feral snarl slid up my throat, stifled by his palm, and he chuckled; although, I could still hear the anger threaded through the happy sound.

“Princess, I am going to spank your ass red for disobeying me.”

I melted against his chest as something close to euphoria swept over me, but this was a problem. If I couldn’t make him understand where the games had to end and discussions between us must start, then this was it. I slapped the back of his hand, but he didn’t move it away from my mouth.

The smell of acrid smoke had my stomach churning. Where was that coming from? Strange orange light flickered on the yard.

“Those motherfuckers,” Matt whispered.

That stench was terrible. Suddenly, I knew what was happening. The house was on fire. I ripped his hand away from my face.

“Are we just going to sit here while the house burns?” I asked, looking over my shoulder. I couldn’t see his expression well in the shadows.

He pressed a kiss to my neck. “It’s just stuff, Baby Girl. Everything important is right here.”

I let out a sob. “I am so mad at you.”

“Same. I was obviously right,” he said, giving me a little shake.

I turned in his arms and smashed my lips against his, and he held me tight. The sound of gunfire had me stiffening, but when he pulled back, his grin was pure evil. I had the feeling that the men dying right now were the ones who’d set the house ablaze, and not a single bit of me felt bad for them. I’d worked really hard to decorate that house.

Matt kissed me again, and I let him, because angry or not, I loved the jerk.

13

COLT

“Stay here.” I slammed my mouth against Quin’s before he could argue—because he would. He was furious and had every right to be, but I needed to make sure that he stayed safe. “Please.”

Quin’s eyebrows furrowed as he huffed and nodded. He pouted his lips toward me, a clear sign of his irritation, and I took a short moment to stare down at the clothes he was wearing. This wasn’thim, and while he was beautiful no matter what he wore, he didn’t appear comfortable. When he’d first moved in with me, he’d worn more traditionally masculine clothes, but those had always had glittery embellishments or shiny fabric. He kept pulling at the hoodie and tugging down the cap. If this had been any other time, I would’ve stripped him out of the hat, at least, but I preferred him to stay anonymous while I dealt with business.

The men who’d been here were semiprofessionals, and while I didn’t expect to find anything, I also wanted to make sure they were all gone so Quin was safe. I walked around the blazing fire devouring our house, sweat beading on my skin as the heat fanned out from the flames.

My men raced away into the night, probably to wherever they’d stashed their vehicles. We couldn’t have an all-out war in a residential neighborhood, so I wasn’t surprised that killing a handful of men was the best we’d been able to do. The house was unpleasant collateral damage. The assholes who’d been on the offensive—Topher’s goon squad—had dragged off their dead and vanished.

The sound of sirens met my ears, and I rushed back to Quin and grabbed his hand, hauling him down the street.

“What are we doing?” He ran to keep up with my large strides. “Matt!”

“We need to leave before the fire department gets here. My Hummer’s not far, and we can give them half an hour before we pretend that we just arrived home.”

I tugged him along faster, and he huffed until we came to the vehicle. I unlocked the doors and shoved him into the passenger seat. I cut off his muttering by slamming the door shut behind him. Rushing around to the driver’s side, I glanced in the direction of our house, the night sky illuminated in orange as the flames raged high.

Once inside, I fell back against the seat and glanced at Quin. The glare he threw my way was brutal. “Let loose, Baby Girl. Tell me how pissed off you are.”

He laughed angrily. “There are no words in the dictionary for how I feel. Youleft meat Derek’s. And after I told you that we were in this together!” He turned in the seat, arms crossed over the boring hoodie that did little to show off how beautiful and amazing he was. “I told you that if you left me stranded, there wouldn’t be a wedding, didn’t I?”

Fear struck me through the heart as it had earlier when Derek had called to tell me Quin left without him realizing, but this was much more severe. After talking to Derek, I’d knownQuin was coming home. But here and now, his threat held promise.

I reached for his hand, and relief washed through me when he let me take it in mine. Squeezing his fingers, I smiled gently. “You understand why now, don’t you?” I pointed toward the blazing sky above the houses of our neighbors. “That’s the kind of person Topher is.”

His shoulders slumped and he glanced in the direction of our burning home. “Who is he? You still haven’t said. Not really.”