Page 104 of Savage Hearts
Panicking, I turn to him and grab his arm. “Please don’t—”
“Save your breath,” he interrupts. “I won’t kill him.”
I collapse against the porch railing, closing my eyes and inhaling a deep breath. “Thank you.”
“You seem particularly fond of that one.”
His tone is even, but there’s an undercurrent there. An edge.
When I look at him, he’s gazing at me with half-lidded eyes.
It’s a smoldering look. An intense one. And obviously possessive.
My mouth goes dry. I moisten my lips before I speak. “I am. He’s my friend.”
“Friend.”
He draws the word out, repeating it like it tastes bad in his mouth.
“Yes. A friend. I’m sure you’re familiar with the concept.” His jaw tightens. He stares down his nose at me, all swaggering machismo and snorting bull.
“I don’t have friends.”
“Yes, you do.”
“No, I don’t.”
“Yes, you do, you stubborn ass.”
“Name one.”
“Me.”
He looks at me like I’m certifiably insane and should be locked away forever for the safety of humanity.
I sigh heavily. “Oh, shut up. I know it doesn’t make any sense. It’s still true.”
His hands clench. A vein stands out in the side of his neck.
He steps closer to me, eyes blazing.
Before he can shout insults into my face, I say loudly, “I don’t care if you don’t like it.”
“I kidnapped you!”
“You saved me from dying of a gunshot wound.”
“A shot that was meant for me!”
“Yes, and since then, you’ve been pampering me and worrying yourself sick over my every little cough and sparing people you’d normally kill because I asked you to. Unless that thing about Spider was a lie, but I don’t think it was, because I know you don’t like to disappoint me.”
When he does his growling-bristling-macho-man routine, I wave my hand at him dismissively. I’m not done talking.
“Also, you’ve kept your hands to yourself and your dick in your pants, though we both know you don’t want to, and there’s not a thing I could do to make you stop if you decided to have your way with me.”
Through gritted teeth, the cords in his neck standing out, he says incredulously, “Have my way with you?”
“You know what I mean. The point I’m making is that people who aren’t family and aren’t sleeping together but who look out for each other and take care of each other and make sacrifices for each other they wouldn’t normally make are called friends. Deal with it.”
