Page 105 of Eat You Alive (Court Legacy 4)

These things had been stupid, and I was aware of that now just as I was sheshouldn’tbe standing in my fucking house. Tingles hit my fingers again, but I knew that didn’t have anything to do with her. I gripped my fists. “What are you doing here?”

She shouldn’t be here, but when I approached, I noticed something else. My brother promptly cut in front of the new arrival, his hand up. Bruno Sloane-Mallick wasn’t a small guy, and even though we called himkid, he wasn’t one. He was just as big as me and my boys and actually played football with us in high school.

“Bro,” he said, looking at me. He passed a glance to the girl who lingered there. He passed a glance toFawn.She stood by the door, and though she’d frozen at the sight of me, she quickly got her bearings.

Her tongue eased over her freckled lips, and even though I stared directly at her, she gazed at my brother. She braced her arms, not looking at me.

What the fuck is this?

I stepped forward again, butagain, my brother got in the fucking way. “Bru, what the hell?” It was like the two were in their own little world, a silent exchange between them. They passed long glances, and not one of them was in my direction. My nostrils flared. “What the hell is this?”

They looked at each other like they knew each other.

And when he touched her…

My brother put his hand on Fawn’s shoulder, easing her the rest of the way inside. The contact sent my back up, and when he closed the door, he stayed behind her. He was bigger than her, though, and appeared like some kind of protective force.

Like a bodyguard.

My back rose higher. I started to speak but noticed Bru. I had to say, when he’d come in, I hadn’t been paying too much attention to him.

I was now, and I noticed the chilling look on my brother. His dark eyebrows knitted tight, his lips pinched too. He looked pissed, but that didn’t make any sense.

I faced Fawn, but once again, she wasn’t looking at me. She had her little arms crossed, her chin tipped like she was about to tell a motherfucker off. She had that fiery look about her that never ceased to shoot my cock up. I liked her fight. I liked her lip.

I liked…

“Well, it’s nice to see it for myself.”

My attention drifted to my brother again. He’d spoken and, currently, had his arms crossed too.

His frown deepened. “I guess I don’t have to introduce you. You clearly know Fawn.”

I did know Fawn, and considering the way she was locked up, that history could be seen. She did not want to be here and especially not with me. My jaw shifted. “Why are you here?”

She finally brought her eyes my way, ice in her gaze. If looks could shatter, I’d be in a million fucking pieces. She looked at me like she had that last day.

Like she hated me.

Of course, that’d been the point. I’d said a lot of things to hurt her. She said I hadn’t, but I’d called her on her bluff. I’d left her pretty fucked up.

But she had nothing on me.

This girl unnerved me, and I was secure in myself enough to only admit that to myself. She’d said I hadn’t wanted to deal with my feelings, but the truth was, I had. I did have feelings for her.

Which was why I’d protected her from them.

Fawn started to say something, her lips moving. Instead, she just opted to look at my brother once more, and this time, he came around her.

“She’s here because I asked her,” he said, eyes narrowed at me. “Fawn’s spending the holiday with us. My guest for Christmas.”

His… guest.

A few things took my attention in that moment. The first was that my brother referred to Fawn as his guest, but that wasn’t what had me gripping my fists again.

It was his hand.

He placed it on Fawn again, around her and on her shoulder. He held her like he not only knew her but did so intimately.

A dark haze hit me then, confusion, anger. My little brother somehow knew my ex-fake-girlfriend, but I didn’t currently have the mental bandwidth to question the how.

I was too busy looking at his hand on her.

---