Page 12 of Loved By the Wolf

“Everything’s fine.” I turned back to Brandon to ask how he was, but he pushed past me to stand mere inches away from Thomas.

The two of them stood like that, eye to eye, for what seemed like forever but was probably only a few seconds. I hadn’t realized I was holding my breath until Thomas moved back, putting his hands up in a similar reaction to the one he’d given me moments before. A chuckle threatened to come out of my mouth, because that meant Brandon and I were quite the intimidating pair.A pair that should be together!

“Brandon—” I began.

“Not now, Becca. I need to know who this man is.”

“I can tell you if you’d just talk to me.”

“Or he can tell me himself.” Brandon’s brow arched upward, and I knew he wasn’t going to bend to anyone’s will but his own.

Sighing, I said, “Thomas, you might as well disclose who you are because Brandon isn’t going anywhere.”

“I will, but only after I know he’s not a threat to you,” Thomas said.

A low growl emanated from Brandon, and I immediately stepped closer and put a hand on his arm. Thomas’s gaze dropped to follow the movement and, did I imagine it, or did Thomas’s hands clench for a second?

In order to dissipate the confrontation, I said, “He’s not. Brandon’s an old friend from law school. We work together.”

“Then no problem,” Thomas said.

Was that a growl that came from Thomas too? What was with men always needing to show their dominance? I wanted to roll my eyes but didn’t dare add fuel to whatever fire was going on here.

Thomas continued, “I’m Becca’s new neighbor down the hall. I moved in last weekend and am looking to make new friends, including you if you’d let me.” He gestured at Brandon in a way that I hoped wouldn’t upset Brandon more.

But Brandon didn’t answer that invitation. Instead, he said bluntly, “I’m going to take Becca home now. Don’t follow.” A deeper and longer growl emanated from Brandon, and I looked at him wondering who this stranger was.

“Yes, sir.” Thomas actually saluted and backed off, leaving us space to walk away.

I didn’t budge. I would have laughed if I wasn’t so mad at Brandon. What game was he playing at? What happened to my happy-go-lucky guy?

“Brandon!” I slapped him on the arm to get his attention. When he turned to face me, I was startled to see that his eyes were glowing, but when they reverted back to normal a split second later, I questioned what I’d seen. “You do not need to take me home,” I said firmly. “I’m more than capable of going by myself, and you’re being really rude.”

“I’m taking you home.” This came out more guttural than before, and once again, I was worried about him.

“Are you coming down with something? Should I be the one taking you home?”

“No.” He stood there shaking his head, both of his hands on my arms while looking at me like he was going to lose me.

“You’re scaring me, Brandon. What is going on?”

“We need to get home.”

Then, as if none of this had happened, he turned and stuck out his hand to Thomas. To Thomas’s credit, he didn’t question the move and simply shook Brandon’s hand. With that done, Brandon turned, holding my arm as he speed-walked me to his car.

“You know I’m more than capable of driving, and my car is here too,” I spluttered.

“You’re riding with me,” he grunted.

And that was the end of it. Brandon didn’t get angry very easily, and I had only ever seen him act this way two other times. The first time it had happened we were in law school, and my phone had died. He wasn’t able to reach me for more than twenty-four hours and had been so frantic he wouldn’t let me out of his sight after he’d found me. The second time was when Jill went missing and I tried to go look for her myself. Minus the fact that my best friend had been kidnapped by her ex and I was out of my mind worried about her, I enjoyed being in Brandon’s arms during that time. He took care of me for a whole week until, once again, I had to tell him to stop suffocating me.

I looked over at the man I loved. Why couldn’t he open up his heart to me? What was holding him back?

He had parked off the main road, and by the time we got to his car, I was fuming and could feel tears trickling down my cheeks. I knew better than to argue with him when he was in this mood, but I couldn’t take it anymore. I wrenched my arm out of his grasp and whirled to face him. “What do you think you’re doing?” I demanded.

“I told you I’m taking you home.”

“No! What is going on between us? Why are you here and not with Luc building his house? Why are you so mad? What was that back there and how you treated my new friend? You’re never like this, not even with your crappy clients. What is going on, Brandon?” I wanted to shake him so badly, but I knew if I touched him, I would be a goner. So, I held my hands by my sides and started counting to a hundred, hoping he’d start talking before then.

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