Page 119 of Ice Rebel

Ford: Brother, you need to come outside and by yourself.

A strange cold chill drifted down my spine. He obviously knew I was with Chelsea. What could be so frigging important?

I didn’t bother answering at this point. He’d better be quick since we had to leave in a couple of hours and I had no intention of doing so without taking a long, hot shower and not alone.

Chelsea rolled over when I eased from the bed, the sheet falling all the way to her waist. I resisted touching her, but man, was it tough to be a good boy.

I grabbed my jeans, struggling into them and without combing my hair or brushing my teeth headed to the door. Even as I threw it open, I stretched and yawned. It was funny how a couple of rounds of hot sex and a long, sex-filled night’s sleep could do a body good.

Ford was pacing, stopping just long enough to toss me a glare like I’d never seen on him before.

“Jesus, brother. What time is it?” I closed the door behind me, fighting the sleepiness as I walked closer. The air was fucking chilly yet I was burning up, my body temperature raised with her remaining so near. I gripped my forearm, wincing from the early morning light coming over the horizon.

“Yeah, well, I was hoping to get here before the press crashed down on this place.”

“They know we’re here?”

“Oh, yeah.”

“Crap. We shouldn’t have teased them about being married.”

He tossed me a look but continued to pace. What the hell was going on? “I think there’s more to it than that.”

I took a deep breath, trying to shove the fog from my mind. “So the old lady at the desk talked? Is that what this is about?”

“Well, someone did. Hell, maybe that… girlfriend of yours. She certainly had a solid plan in mind. That’s for certain.”

“Whoa. Whoa. What the fuck are you insinuating?” I was awake now.

“I guess you’ve been too busy fucking to pay any attention to social media.”

Now I was extremely angry, taking a couple of steps toward him and even fisting my hand before realizing what I was doing.

He reared back, more surprised at my response than concerned about my reaction. “Well, shit. She really is your damn mate.”

“Yes. Maybe. Hell if I know for sure, but I do know you have no right to insinuate anything without proof.”

He carefully placed his hands on his hips and hung his head. “You’re right, but I’m your big brother and trying to look out for you.”

Now what the hell was I supposed to say?

“Let’s just start over, man. I’m exhausted while enjoying myself for the first time. If you’ve got something to say, just do it.”

My brother wasn’t usually one to mince words. That’s why we’d gotten into arguments as kids. Mr. Know-it-all assumed he was great at everything. He pulled out his phone, using his thumbs to search for something. “I want to see you happy, bro. You should know that.”

“I don’t know what you’re getting at. Honestly, I don’t care if the press thinks we’re married. Maybe that’s just fine by me. Who knows. That might happen in a few weeks or months.”

He took a couple of seconds to lift his chin, eyes flicking across my face. “That’s not the issue. At least not personally. But she’s not who she pretends to be.”

I took another step closer, angrier than I’d ever been in my life. So much so it was difficult to breathe. “I’m only going to tell you this once, brother. You’d better have something to back that up or get the fuck out of my face. And my life.”

Ford knew I meant what I’d said, the realization I’d choose her over my blood shocking. Another indication she was my mate. We’d die to protect what belonged to us. Well, fuck. How did things get so out of hand so quickly?

He said nothing, merely handing me his phone. What I saw were pictures of us a few assholes had cobbled together. The captions were wild.

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