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He shoved Aiden aside and slammed the kitchen door with so much force it rattled the windows.
"Tessa!" he roared furiously.
An ominous silence followed, then a loud thump and the sound of scrambling footsteps. Tessa appeared at the top of the stairs, wide-eyed and panicked. Her hair was a wild tangle around her pale face. Riley stumbled into view behind her, hopping frantically to tug on his last boot. They were both fully clothed, but it was clear they'd dressed in a hurry.
Aiden clapped a hand over his face with a groan. "Jesus, kid."
"It's not what you think, sir," Riley babbled, trying to step in front of Tessa while she blocked him. "We just fell asleep, I swear!"
Seth's eyes narrowed on the misaligned buttons of his shirt. He planted one foot threateningly on the bottom step. "Without your clothes?” he asked, low and vicious. "In the middle of the night? Under my roof?"
"It's not your roof!" Tessa yelled. She grabbed Riley by the arm, attempting to tug him out of Seth's warpath.
"It sure as hell isn't anybody else's!" Seth exploded.
"It's okay," Riley said, gently extracting himself from Tessa's grasp. He smoothed a comforting hand over her tumbled hair before facing Seth head-on. "I'm not going to fight you."
Seth growled with incoherent rage and started up the stairs. "You don't have to fight," he promised. "You've just got to bleed."
"Seth, no!" Aiden grabbed him around the waist and twisted, throwing him like he was bulldogging a steer at the local rodeo. Seth cursed, catching himself on an elbow and falling sideways to avoid crushing Aiden beneath his weight.
"Goddammit, Aiden!"
Aiden scrambled on top of him, sitting astride his waist, shoving Seth's head down and pinning it against the stairs with a forearm across the back of his neck. "Knock it off," he panted. "Your sister deserves better than this."
Seth quit struggling when he considered it might send Aiden falling down the stairs. He lay still, breath coming in harsh gasps. "You're right," he growled. "She deserves someone who respects her."
"I do!" Riley protested. "I love her! I want her to move in with me since she's probably not going back to school…"
Seth snarled incoherently.
"Not helping, kid," Aiden said with a helpless laugh, slipping an arm around Seth's shoulders and holding on when he bucked convulsively beneath him. He cursed. "Knock it off, Seth!"
"Stop being such a damn hypocrite!" Tessa protested. She was still hugging Riley's arm like a human shield, but her original panic was slowly fading, replaced by fury. Her pale cheeks washed with angry color when she demanded, "How is this any different than Aiden spending the night?"
"We're adults!" Seth snapped.
"So are we!" she retorted hotly.
Seth growled, but Aiden gave him a warning squeeze. He wasn't letting Seth up without a fight, and Seth wasn't willing to go all out and risk hurting him.
His failure weighed heavier on him than Aiden’s body. He'd stood at his father's grave and promised to do right by Tessa and the Double Jay, and he'd failed on both counts.
"Get off me, Aiden," he said quietly.
Aiden hesitated before slowly releasing him. He stood, gripping the banister, and reached down to offer Seth a helping hand. Seth ignored him, climbing to his feet and brushing off his clothes.
Then he looked at his sister—really looked at her—for the first time. She wasn't a freckle-faced little girl with muddy shoes and uncombed hair anymore. She'd grown into a voluptuous, beautiful woman. She was already older than he'd been when he fell in love with Aiden, and she was more intelligent than he'd ever been. What right did he have to tell her what to do?
He took a deep breath, but his voice still came out unsteady when he said, "We need to talk, Tess. Privately."
She nodded and hesitantly loosened her death grip on Riley's arm. "Okay. Let's talk."
Aiden pointed a finger at Riley, halting him in his tracks when he tried to follow. "You stay here, kiddo. We can have our own special chat."
Riley's throat bobbed when he swallowed, but he nodded meekly.
Seth reached out impulsively and brushed Aiden's fingers with a touch of gratitude. Aiden glanced toward him, eyes flickering, and Seth felt a burst of warmth in his chest.
