Page 40 of Beautifully Reckless

He also has dangerous energy surrounding him. You can’t look at him and wonder if he’s a lethal man or not. It’s visible in every part of him.

My face heats as Marcus’ words echo in my head, but before I can come up with a response, Rhys beats me to it.

“Marky Mark.” She strolls up to him, unfazed by his tension, and reaches up, brushing his mussed brown waves back off his forehead. “Baby. He’s not trying to control her. He’s her daddy.”

“Jesus,” Garrett mutters, gripping the back of his neck awkwardly as his eyes shoot to Ayden’s mum in discomfort.

“Ahh. We should get you cleaned up,” Peter interjects, clearly feeling just as uncomfortable with the conversation, gesturing to the passage off the kitchen.

Ringo grunts, giving him a nod, and the tension in the room doesn’t disappear. It shifts.

Stepping aside, my friends make a path for him as Andrea speaks up.

“What do you need? I can get the first aid kit.”

Ringo stills, only a few steps past Marcus, Garrett and Ayden, before turning back to face me. Slowly, he lowers his hands from his bloody nose, a trickle of blood trailing down, catching in his beard.

Even through the mess, I can tell he’s smirking.

“There’s only one thing I need.” His voice is a low rasp as he lifts his hand before crooking his finger. “Be a good girl, Angel. Come and clean up your daddy.”

My mouth falls open as I stare at him, but before I can react, Marcus lunges.

Ayden and Garrett leap into action again, yanking Marcus back before he can land another hit, and through it all, Ringo doesn’t even flinch, his hard stare still zeroed in on me.

“Really?” I quip, raising a brow, and he nods.

“Really.”

My eyes flick to Lexi’s to find her smirking, her amusement contagious as my lips kick up in a grin.

I have no idea what’s happening between me and Ringo. He was asked to protect me, but somewhere along the way, it turned into something else.

I don’t know what that something is. But even as my mind scrambles for clarity, my body moves forward, ignoring the burn of Marcus’ gaze as my other friends watch on with curiosity.

Taking my hand as soon as I am close enough, Ringo leads me down the passage and into the small bathroom.

My head is spinning as he locks us in, the bright white tiles surrounding us feeling too stark for the mood.

“Was that really necessary?” I ask, crossing my arms over my chest.

He nods without hesitation, moving to the sink and leaning closer to the mirror, checking out the damage.

“Ayden’s cousin has a mean right hook.” He wipes some of the blood away, examining his nose. “Not mean enough, though. My nose is still straight and barely bleeding now.”

I roll my eyes. “You’re such a brute.”

He chuckles.

“So you want me to help patch you up?” I step up beside him, checking the damage in the mirror.

“Nope,” he mutters in response and I stiffen.

Shifting to face him, I frown. “No? Then why did you bring me in here?”

Turning on the tap, Ringo leans down, washing the blood from his nose and beard.

So, I wait. Patiently, I might add, leaning back against the bench so I don’t have to look at my own reflection in the mirror.

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