Page 121 of Defiant Beta

I feign indifference as I give him a once-over. “You snicked yourself. You’re bleeding.”

“Where?”

On a jawline as hard as sin that I want to kiss.

I point. “There.”

He glances at the mirror, curses, then reaches into a drawer, takes out a plaster, and offers it to me. “Care to do the honors?”

I raise an eyebrow. “A plaster?Really?”

“You have steadier hands. Not a scratch with those scissors. See the damage I do to myself when left unchecked? You’re looking at a war wound.” His chest puffs up.

I can’t help but laugh. “Give it here.”

I take the plaster from him, and he dips his head so I can stick the completely unnecessary plaster on his war wound. “There. All done.”

He looks down at me, eyes hooded. “Didn’t feel a thing.”

“It’s a plaster, not an axe attack. I'd better go.” I put my hands on his chest and push. But I don’t want to let go.

“Chicken,” he whispers.

“I don’t know what you mean.” I take my hands off his six-pack.

He lowers his head a little more, one corner of his mouth lifting in a crooked smile. “You know exactly what I mean.”

Tension simmers between us. And I’m tempted. Don’t think I’m not tempted. But I’m not sure I can believe what Xavier said about Levi, and I have no intention of being used and discarded by anyone. Especially not an alpha. Three hurt me so badly I’m still healing from an experience that I’m not sure I’ll ever fully recover from.

If anyone is doing the using, I want it to be me.

“Move, please.”

He steps aside, and I duck around him.

He’s smiling slightly as he clears the mess he made on the counter. “You know where to find me.”

“And why would I need to find you?”

He raises his head, meeting my gaze in the mirror. “This isn’t a game, Della. Maybe it started as one in Haven, but I’m not playing. Neither is Levi, nor is Vince.”

I turn to leave. “What you want is playtime with a beta until your perfect omega comes along. How about you skip the trampling over me to get to the woman you want, huh?”

I’m stepping out of the bathroom when I jump as a large, tanned arm wraps around my middle and draws my body back to his. My breathing slows, then races because it’s clear Levi isn’t the only alpha under this roof who wants me.

He speaks directly into my ear, sending a shiver down my spine. “You want us as much as we all want you.”

“Your brother doesn’t want me,” I whisper.

Vincent asked if I had a boyfriend, and I convinced myself it meant nothing.

Xavier is saying it means something.

“If you’re too blind to see it, ask him. He’ll tell you. If not in the things he says, then in what he doesn’t. And in the things he does.”

What isthatsupposed to mean?

His arm falls away, releasing me. But I just stand there, breathing in and out, staring at his unmade bed with the memory of his touch haunting me. I want him to pull me back into his arms. It had felt so warm and safe for the few seconds I was in it.

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