The urge to punch Atticus had been strong all evening, but when he uttered his last question, I had to physically restrain myself from clocking him. It wouldn’t be good form to lay him out over the table, not with unknowns present and guards watching. But I didn’t like how he was acting. Growling, I leveled him with a glare so cold, it could’ve rivaled Antarctica.
“Boss, is that an appropriate dinner conversation?” I hedged, attempting to steer the conversation away from things that made me want to throttle him. His eyes never left Loren’s, though, and he only smirked in response, the corner of his lip lifting slightly as he waited.
“I agree with the old man, Cous. It’s not really—“
Atticus lifted a hand, stopping Nicco from saying anything else, his eyes fixed on the enchanting woman across from him. The two men at the end of the table shifted uncomfortably, and I noticed our newest fighter gripped his utensil, his jaw clenched. Interesting. It seemed he cared more about her than just fucking.
Returning to Loren, I conveyed with my eyes for her to fire back that it would be okay and no matter what, I would protect her. Ultimately, this was a test, and Atticus wanted to know if she could withstand the pressure. Despite his reluctance to have her in our life, he continued to show his hand concerning her. Eventually, he would fall to his knees, and I, for one, wanted to be there to see it when he did. He was fighting too hard for him to not care about her. Denial was his middle name.
Loren looked at me briefly, her face warm from his suggestion, before returning to Atticus, her spine straightened.
“I didn’t realize you were interested in my bedroom partners, Mr. Masters. Does your fiancée know you go around asking women who they slept with?”
She took a sip of the wine, running her tongue over the rim to lick up the drop of the red liquid that had fallen. Smirking, I attempted to smother my chuckle with my fist as I watched Loren rise to the occasion. Each day with her, I began to believe in things I didn’t know were possible. She softened me in a way. I just wasn’t sure if it was for good or bad. I wondered if it would be detrimental in the end.
“As a matter of fact,” Atticus started, but I’d had enough, and cut him off. If I could get some time with her before she left, I wanted it to be alone and not with a table of dudes I couldn’t drop my shield with.
“Sir, was there anything else you wished to address?”
Atticus’ jaw ticked, irritation evident in his actions, but he knew me well enough to know I wouldn’t have stepped in without cause. Granted, my cause was mostly so I could eat my dessert, and only minimally so he didn’t bury himself so far he wouldn’t have a way out.
“No, that was all.”
Atticus pushed back from the table and stalked from the room, ignoring everyone in it. The guard opened the door, following him out, and the tension immediately leaked from the area with his exit. The grouchy fighter cleared his throat, getting up to leave as well. He didn’t say anything but paused before he left, briefly looking over his shoulder at Loren.
“Kitten, I expect to see you tomorrow.”
He waited for her to respond, and when she smiled, nodding, his shoulders dropped as he left. His gait had lessened in the aggression, giving me pause, again. It seemed Mr. Young still felt he had a chance in this race. The thought made me laugh, surprising the table at the sound. I ignored them, though, not owing any of them an answer but Loren. It seemed my time was running out on getting on board with the other two, and I wanted to take every opportunity available to me until then.
My gut reaction was to push them away, and make them accept she was ours and move on. This wasn’t the life for them. It wasn’t even the life for her, but I’d do everything in my power to protect Loren. And I was starting to understand, that meant allowing her to choose who she deemed important in her life. It didn’t mean I had to like them, though.
My circle was small for a reason. The fewer people I cared about, the better. That currently only included three people I’d go to the ends of the earth for. Four when Nic wasn’t getting on my nerves, which was few and far between most days. He was the little brother, constantly pestering, but you loved him anyway.
His hand right now was asking for trouble as it kept creeping up her leg. I didn’t begrudge the man for wanting to touch Loren, but there was a limit to what I could take having to watch and not join in on.
Loren cleared her throat, glancing at the three of us that remained. I gave the lawyer a curious look. He’d snuck in when I hadn’t expected, and I wondered if I’d need to check into him more. He looked harmless, but he had the most access to her. On paper, he was also the best candidate for Loren. Something about that unnerved me. I didn’t like thinking I wasn’t good enough for her or the best person.
I knew it came with a cost, but I wanted it to be worth it. My whole life, I’d risked everything for the family, pushing my desires aside to do what was needed. This was something I wanted. Someone I needed, and I didn’t want to question whether it was a good idea or not.
Because I knew it was a terrible idea, but I’d already lost that fight with myself. So here I was, wanting what I couldn’t have and taking it anyway.
“Spitfire, do you have time to have a nightcap before you need to leave?”
“Um,” she looked between the remaining two men, and I saw the indecision in her eyes. Needing to see her for a few minutes, I tried to make it easy for her.
“I have something to give you, actually. I promise to be on my best manners.”
“Oh,” she paused, her face heating at my innuendo, “sure, I’d love to.”
She turned to the one she came with. “I’ll be a few minutes. I don’t know what time it is, but I just remembered I left my phone at my place. Can you get Jude, and I’ll meet you up front when I’m done?”
“Of course, Lo.” He kissed her cheek, and if I wasn’t mistaken, he gave me a bit of side-eye. I didn’t care if he thought he was marking his territory because I knew the score, but it did make me have a smidge of respect for the guy. Perhaps there was hope for him yet, and he’d show me he deserved to be included.
“I can show you where they are,” Nicco offered to Mr. Nice Guy.
“Thanks.”
Loren beamed as she looked between them, and it was the only thing that had me faltering for a microsecond. They both smirked as they passed, clearly seeing her joy at them being friendly. Narrowing my eyes at them, I waited until they passed by before I pounced.