“’Cause I’m not so sure,” I force out. “Maybe it was your friends who slipped in—”

“Careful, baby.” His low, almost wounded rasp stings, but I hide it.

I have to.

This is too much.

And he’s a liar.

I’m a fucking toy, not good enough to look in the eye when he touches me.

Not worth the sight of desire.

A dark, dirty, damaged little secret.

My head falls back on a mocking laugh, and his muscles grow tenser.

I lock my eyes on his.

His gaze narrows, and my god, the pain in his harsh whisper. “Don’t.”

But I have to...

“Look at you.” I shake my head, speaking slowly in an attempt to keep from slurring my words. “Showing up tonight and acting the part of what, exactly? The disrespected wannabe alpha? Is your pride bruised?” I lean into him and his body twitches in anger.

“I know you get jealous. I see it in your eyes when I lay my head on Arsen’s chest, or when I smile at Beretta. Your jaw gets tight, like it is now, and you—”

“If you really think I don’t trust them with every fucking thing I own, I am, and I’ll be, you’re mistaken,” he hisses frankly. “There is no rift in our water and there never will be.” His eyes shift between mine. “But what about you, hmm? Is the ground beneath your feet starting to shake? Is your ocean on the edge of a tsunami, ready to spill over until all that’s left is a mess of broken parts?”

“Screw you.”

He acts as if I didn’t speak. “Better be careful, Trouble, you might want to run soon. You wouldn’t want Scott to realize how you like extra whipped cream on your coffee, or how your toes curl in your heels when you’re nervous or anxious... or wanting.”

My pulse jumps in my throat. “Shut up.”

“You wouldn’t want him to notice the way your lips curl left when you fight a smile, and how you love it when—”

“I saw you” rushes from my mouth, the need for him to stop talking higher than I’ll admit.

It works, distracting his train of thought.

His mouth slowly closes, and his eyes grow quizzical.

I steady my breathing and summon a bitchy carelessness I struggle to find. “In the park, with the blonde. And I know you fucked Amy.”

As if his body is dropped in arctic waters, his limbs lock up, freezing him in place, and the struck state he’s in, the shock and lack of denial makes it easier to continue.