Page 78 of Too Tempting

“Holy shit, he just went all the way, didn’t he?” I say with my mouth wide open, staring at the bond mark. “No wonder he looks like he could kill someone right now. Not that he wouldn’t have done the same if you weren’t bonded. I’m just shocked he actually did it.” My brother, the complete fucking grump and pessimist, marked her. Made her his. Yet here I am, not knowing what I’m coming back home to. I shake myself out of my thoughts. We’re focusing on Cami right now, not my pack drama.

“It felt right, and just kinda happened, and it was amazing.”

“I’m so happy for you two,” I say, squeezing Cami a little tighter. “Once everything calms down, I can’t wait to tell him ‘I told ya so.’ ” And I truly can’t. He deserves a swift kick in the ass for not realizing she’s the one. My brother deserves so much happiness, and I’m so glad he found it in Cami.

“I’ve been looking forward to that part,” she tells me with a wink.

There’s a loud crash from our bedroom and all three of us are immediately on our feet, running in to find my brother’s knuckles bloody and Cami’s manager bruised up on the floor.

Just what we all fucking needed. More problems.

I pace the guest bedroom, biting my nails. Dom looks so tired that he might just completely pass out on the bed. “This is bad, this is so bad,” I can’t stop chanting.

“Come here,” Dom orders, and I obey immediately as he lies down and holds me in his arms. “Smith fucked up, but with everything that’s coming to light, we’ll get him out of jail.”

“He beat that man up to a complete pulp!” I exclaim.

“Yeah, he really fucking did. Do you blame him?”

I shake my head no. “No, he was protecting his mate. Anyone else would have done the same.” I still can’t believe that Cami’s manager and driver were the ones who did this to her. They sold photos of her during her heat and were trying to get even more money out of her by threatening to post videos. I can’t say that I also didn’t want to get a kick or a punch in the mix as well. Cami is so unbelievably sweet and doesn’t deserve any of this. I’ve done the best I can at being a good friend while we work with lawyers and contacts to help get my brother out of this mess. No matter how well founded his intentions might be, he still sent that man to the hospital.

“I won’t lie. I wanted to do the same with Meera, but Shyla took care of it for me.”

I snuggle closer to him. I need his large body to anchor me right now. “At least I can say I don’t think things could get any worse right now.” I whisper, hoping that there isn’t some other shitstorm waiting for me when I get home.

Dom groans. “I sure fucking hope not.”

“Have you heard from Shyla or… Cameron?” I whisper his name at the end.

“Yes, they stayed at a hotel last night. They’re going back to Shyla’s house tonight.”

I nod my head, not really knowing what to say next. Dom grabs the side of my face with both palms, his soft brown eyes looking at my face with so much tenderness I want to cry all over again. “Cameron is complicated, but you didn’t hear everything he said. It’s not my place to tell you what he said, either. But you have to know he didn’t mean to hurt you. I didn’t realize his jealousy was so bad. We will work through this.”

“But what if he can’t stop feeling this way?” What if Dom chooses and it’s not me? What if I lose Cameron? Thankfully I’m already cried out and have nothing left to give.

Dom groans. “I have a feeling that if we were all bonded, it would be different for him. I think his insecurity is that when he sees any of us together and he’s not involved that we don’t need him. And we all know that’s not the case.”

I nod my head and sigh. “He did really hurt me, though.”

Dom squeezes me against his chest. His scent calms me and I nestle closer to his chest. “I know, baby. I think we all have things we need to discuss when we get home.” I’m glad that Dom doesn’t defend him or invalidate my feelings. I’m allowed to feel hurt even if deep down I know Cameron didn’t mean it. It doesn’t make me feel any less upset.

“What about Shyla?” I ask, since he hasn’t commented on what happened.

“Part of me sees her as a teammate after how she handled Meera. Another part of me is afraid of the fact that she might be anything like her sister and could hurt you like that.”

“She wouldn’t.” Nothing in how Shyla has treated me seems anything like Meera, and she and Emmett have been together for years. He truly knows what kind of person she is.

“I don’t think so either.”

“I knew she was Meera’s sister.”

He pops off the bed. “You what?”

“We saw Vernice at the UPS store and Emmett connected all the dots. I’ve known for a little while now. Emmett said we should wait till Shyla felt more confident in the pack before we told her. And after seeing her reaction, I guess he was right. But I feel guilty.”

‘She’ll forgive you. That’s a lot. And I don’t know if it means anything. But she’s really not that bad.”

I smile and clear my throat. “There’s something else I need to tell you.”

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