Page 48 of The Untamed

“Are you fucking kidding me right now?” he hisses, anger flashing dark in his eyes.

I swivel around, quickly making sure no one is around who can hear. The men are all speaking in hushed voices with Logan at the center. It’s just me and Ryder.

The embarrassment threatens to swallow me whole. I don’t know what to say or how to explain what just happened. All I know is I liked it—no, loved it—but also know it’s really wrong.

“Did you suck his dick?” Ryder demands in a barely audible whisper, practically snarling the question.

I swallow hard and shake my head vehemently. “N-No. Ryder, calm down.”

“Calm down?” His eyes widen in disbelief. “Some fucker is seducing my brother and I’m supposed to calm the fuck down?”

His voice has risen, but thankfully still not loud enough for the group to hear above their own talking. I grab hold of his hand, pleading with my eyes.

“It was just a kiss,” I blurt out. Pain slices through my chest as Ryder flinches like he’s been struck. “It was nothing.”

Lies.

It was everything.

Everything I’ll never have, but I so desperately want.

He shakes his head, betrayal making his face crumble into a devastated frown. I don’t understand why he’s so upset with me over a stupid kiss!

Not a stupid kiss.

A perfect, wonderful, soul-destroying kiss.

“Ryder—”

He swings a hand my way and for a second I think he might hit me. Of course he doesn’t. Instead, he shoves his middle finger in my face. I blink at it, stung by the action.

“Whatever,” he snaps. “Have fun ruining your life all by yourself.”

With those words, he storms away back to the group. Pain slams into my chest a million times worse than if he’d actually hit me.

What have I done?

“It was just a kiss. It was nothing.”

His words repeat over and over and over again in my head, making me angrier by the second. It wasn’t just a kiss. It was an invasion. A hostile takeover. An act of war.

Logan is preying on my brother and he’s falling for it.

I want to know what Logan’s plans are for Ronan. Does he think he can fuck him on the side while his wife recovers from being gang raped? Everything in me screams at me to tell Dad what happened. But as much as that entices me so I can watch Dad go apeshit on Logan, I bite my tongue.

He’ll go apeshit on Ronan too.

Wind whistles through the trees and I have to plant my feet firmly into the ground to keep from swaying. Rain is imminent. I can smell the earthy ozone scent in the air as pine needles and leaves dance across my face from the wind.

“Rowdy, take the boys to that clearing we passed,” Dad instructs. “Me, Owen, and Logan can set some traps nearby. They’re close and with this storm rolling in, they won’t get far. It’ll be easier to be stealthy with just a few of us.”

Rowdy nods and then turns on his flashlight, motioning for us to follow him. I’m not sure where CJ and Jace are as we haven’t run into the other group yet. Honestly, I hope they stay far away from me or I’ll use CJ’s face as a means to beat out my frustrations.

And frustrations I have aplenty.

I’ve been obsessing over the fact that me and Rae had a moment earlier. A sick, twisted, wrong moment.

Fuck, it had been thrilling, though.

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