Page 135 of Stranger to Love

"Leave?" I repeated, my voice dropping an octave into something dark and non-negotiable. "You aren't going anywhere, Alex. You belong in this house. In this bed."

I leaned down, pressing my forehead against hers, breathing her in. "You stay here. You are not something I’m hiding or throwing out just because my brother is an idiot. Lock the door, get some rest, and let Mommy fix this."

I cupped her cheeks, tilting her face up to force her to see the absolute certainty in my eyes. "I am not hiding you, Alex. But Richard is an unrefined idiot, and he is not worth the introduction—not today, and certainly not like this. You are far too precious for me to let him see you when you’re this... vulnerable."

I pressed a soft, lingering kiss to her lips, tasting the private sanctuary we had built in this room.

Then, the world shattered.

The door swung open with a cheerful, unceremonious creak. I hadn't fully engaged the lock.

Richard stood in the doorway, looking like a crumpled, unwashed disaster in a flannel shirt. In his hands, he held a plate of cold leftover roast and a bottle of vintage Bordeaux from my collection that cost more than his monthly allowance.

"Hey, CC, I can’t find the—"

He stopped dead. The words withered in his throat.

His gaze traveled slowly from me to the girl sitting on my bed. The silence in the room turned thick enough to choke on. Richard’s eyes went wide, tracing the oversized silk robe slipping off her shoulder, settling directly on the vivid, purple-red marks blossoming across her throat. He looked at the bed, then back to me.

I turned around with the slow, terrifying grace of an apex predator interrupted mid-meal.

"Richard," I said. My voice wasn't loud, but it possessed a subsonic edge that caused the wine bottle in his hand to visibly tremble. "Get. Out."

He blinked, his mouth falling open. "I... uh... the corkscrew? I didn't think you had... company."

"I am not 'company,'" Alex snapped from behind me, her own protective streak flaring up despite the sheer embarrassment of her state. She pulled the silk robe tighter around her skin.

I took a single step forward, my silhouette completely blocking his view of her, shielding my prize from his pathetic eyes. "You have three seconds to turn around and go back downstairs before I make sure you never find that corkscrew—or your luggage—ever again. One."

But Richard didn’t move. He was an absolute, unmitigated idiot. Instead of retreating, he leaned to the side, peering around my shoulder with a lopsided, drunken grin that made my skin crawl. His eyes raked over her one last time, a knowing, predatory glint in his expression.

Then, he let out a long, low wolf whistle.

"I didn't realise you had a thing for the younger ones, CC," he chuckled, thick with unearned bravado. "And here I thought you were just a boring old academic. She’s a firecracker, isn't she? Does she have a name, or—"

I saw absolute, blinding red.

It was an instantaneous, violent shift. I did not wait for him to finish the sentence. Moving with pure, instinctive speed, my hand shot out and gripped the lapel of his flannel shirt. I slammed him backward into the hallway, the heavy thud of his spine hitting the doorframe echoing down the corridor.

"You will not look at her," I hissed, my face inches from his, my voice a low, vibrating snarl that made the very air in the hallway turn cold. "You will not speak to her. And you will never speak about her again."

Richard’s drunken grin vanished, replaced by a look of sheer, sober terror. The plate of roast tilted precariously, food sliding onto my rug, but he was too busy staring into my eyes. He realised, finally, that he was looking at a woman who was entirely capable of ruining him.

"CC, I was just—"

"You were just making the biggest mistake of your life," I interrupted, my fingers tightening on his shirt until his heels nearly lifted off the floor. "She is the most important person in this house, and you are a guest I am seconds away from evicting into the snow. Do you understand me, Richard? One more word, one more look, and I will erase you from my life before the sun sets."

"Understood," he squeaked, his face turning a mottled, pathetic shade of red.

"Good." I shoved him backward toward the stairs. "Now, go to the guest room. Lock the door. And don't you dare come out until I tell you to."

I slammed the bedroom door shut, and this time, I turned the key with a force that nearly snapped the metal inside the lock. I stood there for a moment, my back to the room, my shoulders heaving as I forced the absolute fury back into its cage.

I turned back around, my chest still heaving, the fire in my eyes slowly cooling as I looked at the bed. Alex was wide-eyed, completely frozen. I could see the shock in her expression—she knew I protected her, but she had never seen me lay hands on my own blood for her sake.

I let out a long breath, my mask melting away entirely as I crossed the rug to meet her halfway. Her arms slid around my waist, pulling me into the safety of her hold, and I could feel the faint tremors still running through her own frame.

"Baby," she whispered, looking up into my eyes. "Is there anything I can do? Do you need a minute?"