the gesture wouldn’t have meant anything.
He knew what Ryan wasn’t saying and Dane couldn’t argue.
How right did something have to feel before he admitted it?
Yes, it felt right to have Evie here, in his bed, between
him and Ryan.
Their friendship wasn’t sexual but was based on need. At
least, Dane’s need for Ryan. For his steady calm. Sometimes, it only took a few
minutes of conversation with Ryan to make Dane see things more clearly.
Ryan never seemed to need anyone. Always in control. Never
thrown by anything.
And always willing to drop everything when Dane called.
They’d make one hell of a married couple if either of them
had wanted that relationship.
But as much as Dane loved Ryan, he didn’t want to throw the
guy on a bed and fuck him. Hell, Ryan had basically said the same thing to him
after they’d shared the first of several women in vet school.
But Evie wasn’t just another woman they’d picked up in a
bar.
She was the first woman with whom Dane had initiated a
relationship.
And that fact hadn’t been lost on Ryan. He’d want to talk.
He’d want to know what this meant to Dane.
And Dane couldn’t answer that question. Not yet.
He let his gaze fall to Evie.
Sound asleep. She needed the rest.
He’d taken her blood to make a serum to help the child of
the woman who’d kidnapped her and held her prisoner for weeks. Then he and Ryan
had fucked her unconscious.
Vaffanculo , he was a selfish prick.
“Dane, chill.” Ryan’s quiet voice held a note of command
Dane didn’t hear very often. “I’m not going to let you fuck this up already.”
His temper already climbing, Dane carefully released Evie
and slid from the bed. She didn’t wake, though her hand clutched at the
blankets in the spot where his body had lain.
He allowed himself a second to stare down at her, her skin
creamy against the white silk sheets. Her hair, mussed and covering much of her
face, shone sable in the low light…of the candles he hadn’t lit.
Turning, his gaze narrowed at the golden flares of the
candles on his dresser. His mother had given him the set to “soften the
austerity” of his bedroom.
He’d never lit the damn things.
Evie. It had to be Evie.
He looked back at Ryan, who’d followed his gaze.
“We need to talk.”
Ryan nodded as he looked back at the woman curled into his
body. “Yeah, I guess we do.”
Chapter Five
“She lost control over her power.”
Dane reached into the fridge for a beer and pulled a Coke
out for Ryan, which he tossed him over the kitchen island.
“And that’s how the candles got lit?”
“Yeah.”
“And that’s not normal for streghe ?”
“Evie hasn’t been a strega very long and she’s not
your normal strega .” Dane popped the top off the bottle and let the
amber liquid slide down his throat. “She wasn’t born into the life. She’s still
got a lot to learn and an immense amount of power to control. And I completely
fucked up everything by forcing her into a situation she wasn’t ready for.”
Ryan shook his head at him, his expression screwing into a
frown. “Christ, Dane, you didn’t tie her up and rape her. She was a willing participant.
And she’s not a child.”
“She’s only twenty-two. Vaffanculo , this is a—”
“Dane, shut the fuck up for a few minutes and take a deep
breath. You’re getting way ahead of yourself. Evie may only be twenty-two but
she’s got a stronger will than anyone else I know. And you trying to reduce her
to the level of a teenager is only going to piss her off so I’d be careful you
don’t spout this shit in front of her. Christ, I’ve only known her two days and
I can see this. Why the fuck can’t you? You’re being an ass so just knock it
off.”
Ryan’s tone made Dane jolt to a stop with the realization
that, yeah, he was probably overreacting.
And that wasn’t like him.
He didn’t overreact. Most people who knew him complained
that he reacted like a robot most of the time. No
He knew what Ryan wasn’t saying and Dane couldn’t argue.
How right did something have to feel before he admitted it?
Yes, it felt right to have Evie here, in his bed, between
him and Ryan.
Their friendship wasn’t sexual but was based on need. At
least, Dane’s need for Ryan. For his steady calm. Sometimes, it only took a few
minutes of conversation with Ryan to make Dane see things more clearly.
Ryan never seemed to need anyone. Always in control. Never
thrown by anything.
And always willing to drop everything when Dane called.
They’d make one hell of a married couple if either of them
had wanted that relationship.
But as much as Dane loved Ryan, he didn’t want to throw the
guy on a bed and fuck him. Hell, Ryan had basically said the same thing to him
after they’d shared the first of several women in vet school.
But Evie wasn’t just another woman they’d picked up in a
bar.
She was the first woman with whom Dane had initiated a
relationship.
And that fact hadn’t been lost on Ryan. He’d want to talk.
He’d want to know what this meant to Dane.
And Dane couldn’t answer that question. Not yet.
He let his gaze fall to Evie.
Sound asleep. She needed the rest.
He’d taken her blood to make a serum to help the child of
the woman who’d kidnapped her and held her prisoner for weeks. Then he and Ryan
had fucked her unconscious.
Vaffanculo , he was a selfish prick.
“Dane, chill.” Ryan’s quiet voice held a note of command
Dane didn’t hear very often. “I’m not going to let you fuck this up already.”
His temper already climbing, Dane carefully released Evie
and slid from the bed. She didn’t wake, though her hand clutched at the
blankets in the spot where his body had lain.
He allowed himself a second to stare down at her, her skin
creamy against the white silk sheets. Her hair, mussed and covering much of her
face, shone sable in the low light…of the candles he hadn’t lit.
Turning, his gaze narrowed at the golden flares of the
candles on his dresser. His mother had given him the set to “soften the
austerity” of his bedroom.
He’d never lit the damn things.
Evie. It had to be Evie.
He looked back at Ryan, who’d followed his gaze.
“We need to talk.”
Ryan nodded as he looked back at the woman curled into his
body. “Yeah, I guess we do.”
Chapter Five
“She lost control over her power.”
Dane reached into the fridge for a beer and pulled a Coke
out for Ryan, which he tossed him over the kitchen island.
“And that’s how the candles got lit?”
“Yeah.”
“And that’s not normal for streghe ?”
“Evie hasn’t been a strega very long and she’s not
your normal strega .” Dane popped the top off the bottle and let the
amber liquid slide down his throat. “She wasn’t born into the life. She’s still
got a lot to learn and an immense amount of power to control. And I completely
fucked up everything by forcing her into a situation she wasn’t ready for.”
Ryan shook his head at him, his expression screwing into a
frown. “Christ, Dane, you didn’t tie her up and rape her. She was a willing participant.
And she’s not a child.”
“She’s only twenty-two. Vaffanculo , this is a—”
“Dane, shut the fuck up for a few minutes and take a deep
breath. You’re getting way ahead of yourself. Evie may only be twenty-two but
she’s got a stronger will than anyone else I know. And you trying to reduce her
to the level of a teenager is only going to piss her off so I’d be careful you
don’t spout this shit in front of her. Christ, I’ve only known her two days and
I can see this. Why the fuck can’t you? You’re being an ass so just knock it
off.”
Ryan’s tone made Dane jolt to a stop with the realization
that, yeah, he was probably overreacting.
And that wasn’t like him.
He didn’t overreact. Most people who knew him complained
that he reacted like a robot most of the time. No
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