Page 46 of Guarded Love

We both gasped, freezing solid, before looking toward the doorway.

Where Barrett and Lourde stood after coming home a day early.

21

EVELYN

No. Please, not like this.

It didn’t matter how I tried to bargain with fate. The truth was there in front of me. My brother and his wife were home a day early. There I was, stretched out at the foot of the bed with my hand down Magnus’s pants while his hand was still inside my bra.

Barrett shook with rage. “Get your hands off my sister,” he gritted out, his teeth clenched.

“Now wait a second.” I scrambled out from beneath Magnus and straightened out my shirt. “You don’t need to talk to him that way.”

“Oh? You’re going to tell me what I need?”

“Don’t do this,” Lourde whispered as she tugged on Barrett’s arm.

He ignored her and pointed at Magnus instead. “You motherfucker. You could have any woman you wanted, but you chose her? My sister?”

“Is that such a surprise?” I demanded. “I am a living, breathing person.”

“I’ll deal with you later,” he grunted out.

“Don’t talk to her like that!” Magnus jumped to his feet. The fists clenched at his sides made my stomach churn. Why did I have to eat so much for breakfast? It was about to paint the hardwood floor.

“Don’t you fucking dare tell me how to speak to my sister, you son of a bitch. I asked you to take care of her, and what did you do? You took advantage of her!”

“He didn’t take advantage of anybody!” I screamed and was surprised at how loud it came out, but it had to. I had to make him hear me. “I realize you forgot this, Barrett, but I am the older sibling. I am a grown woman. I know what I want. I don’t need you to protect me from life. I can handle things on my own.”

“You don’t know him the way I do. You don’t know how he is.”

“I know how he is with me, and that’s what matters.”

“Why don’t you try listening to her for once?” Magnus demanded. “You might learn something.”

Barrett was red-faced, shaking, barely intelligible thanks to the way he clenched his jaw. “I want you to get the fuck out of my place, and I meanright now.”

“What about what I want?” I looked at Lourde, pleading silently, and she nodded.

“Honey, let’s give him a minute. Come on, it’s not worth this.”

“Maybe it isn’t to you. But it damn sure is to me.” Barrett’s head snapped back around so he could shoot daggers at Magnus with his eyes. “We are done. You’re dead to me.”

“You don’t mean that!” I was crying and didn’t mean to, but some things couldn’t be helped.

“Fuck it.” Magnus snarled. “If that’s all our friendship means to you? Fine. Gladly. I’m out of your fucking life.”

“Don’t do this,” Lourde pleaded.

“If you won’t listen to me, listen to your wife,” I begged Barrett. “We both know you don’t listen to a damn thing I say, anyway.”

He had the nerve to sigh. “I told you I would deal with you—”

“No, we’re talking about it now! For fifteen years, you have done everything you could to help me, and I will never not be grateful for that.” I was angry as I brushed hot, bitter tears away. “But you don’t own my life. Do you want to know why I don’t want to move to New York? This, right here. I can’t even sleep with a man without you coming in and raising hell. I am thirty-three years old, dammit! And finally, Barrett, I’m finally living!”

“He is no good for you.”

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