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She tensed, a knot forming in her stomach. “What about him?”
Rylan ran a hand through his hair, clearly struggling with what he wanted to say. “I know you care about him, but?—”
She held up a hand to stop him. “No, don’t. There are no good ways to end that sentence, Rylan. Yes, I cared about him. Deeply. I’d even go so far as to say I’m falling in love with him.”
Rylan winced.
She ignored it. “I’m not naive. I know who and what he is. I know loving him is dangerous and makes me a target for the people who want to hurt him. But I don’t care.”
Rylan’s eyes widened, his brow furrowing with concern. “Rhiannon, you can’t just ignore the risks. Pierce’s enemies… they’re not going to stop coming after him. And if they know how much you mean to him...”
“I know,” she said softly, her gaze drifting past Rylan to the darkened tree line beyond the porch railing. “But I also know that what Pierce and I have is real. It’s the kind of love Mom and Daddy have. It’s worth fighting for.”
Rylan’s expression darkened, a mix of frustration and concern etching deep lines into his face. “Your safety, your life, matters more than anything else. I can’t...” He swallowed hard, his voice dropping to a hoarse whisper. “I can’t lose you. Not again.”
Rhiannon’s heart clenched at the raw pain in her brother’s eyes. She reached out, grasping his hand tightly in hers. “You won’t lose me, Ry. I promise. But I can’t walk away from Pierce. He needs me.”
“He’s not the only one who needs you,” Rylan argued, his grip on her hand almost desperate. “Ma, Pa, me... We need you, too.We need you safe, alive. Pierce’s demons, his enemies, they’ll destroy you if you let them.”
She shook her head, a sad smile tugging at her lips. “His demons are already a part of me. I can’t just turn my back on him and pretend I don’t feel what I feel. I have to help him face this, Rylan. Just like you do. Don’t deny it,” she scolded when he opened his mouth to likely do just that. “I know you would still be here helping him even if I wasn’t involved in this. He means a lot to you, too.”
Several seconds stretched by in silence.
“Fuck,” Rylan finally said with feeling and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I told him if he loved you, he needed to back off.”
She sighed. She supposed she should’ve expected it. “Oh, Ry…”
“I just wanted to protect you.”
“I know.” She hugged him
Rhiannon held her brother tight, feeling the tension slowly drain from his body. When she pulled back, Rylan’s eyes were heavy with resignation.
“I’m not going to change your mind about this, am I?” he said, a wry twist to his lips.
“No. And now I need to talk to Pierce,” she said softly, her gaze going toward the door. “I’m sure he’s in there beating himself up for ever touching me.”
Rylan hissed out a breath like he was in pain. “Ireallydon’t want the mental image of him touching you, Rhee.”
She laughed and bumped her shoulder against his. “Speaking of lovers…”
He groaned and looked at the ceiling. “No, we weren’t. We absolutely weren’t.”
“We absolutely were. So, what’s going on with you and… Izzy? Is that her name? You two seemed pretty cozy out here before I interrupted.”
Rylan’s cheeks flushed, and he rubbed the back of his neck, suddenly unable to meet her gaze. For a badass, her brother could be adorably awkward at times.
“Yeah, uh, Izzy. She’s… Well, we’re…”
Rhiannon grinned, enjoying her brother’s rare moment of flustered self-consciousness. “You’re what? Dating? In love? Having wild and crazy sex when nobody’s looking?”
He choked. “Jesus, Rhee. It’s not… We’re not… No, none of that!”
“Uh-huh. But you want all of that, don’t you? Especially the wild sex.”
“We’re just friends,” Rylan said quickly. Too quickly.
“Friends who cuddle on the porch and gaze longingly into each other’s eyes?” she teased.
