When I look up I find his eyes still on me. I swallow and lick my lips when his gaze moves over my face, pausing at my lips before he meets my eyes again.
“How is sis?”
“Good. Excuse me,” I say and try to slip under his arm.
He doesn’t let me, though.
I spread my arms on either side of me to hold myself up. It’s too deep for me to stand, but Bastian’s taller, so he doesn’t have the same problem. It’s either that or hold his shoulders, and I don’t want to do that, so to anyone watching, we look like we’re having a friendly conversation. Or a more intimate one. But his words from the first time I met him return to me.
“You’re here now. Ours. Ours to punish. To level the scales.”
“What do you want?” I ask, hearing the slight waver in my voice, wondering if he hears it.
He shrugs a shoulder. “Just killing time.”
“Well, kill it on your own. I have things to do.” Again, I try to slip away, but again, he doesn’t allow it. This time, he closes his hands over my arms, pressing me against the wall.
“That’s no way to behave with your brother-in-law.”
“Where is my husband?” I make a point of using those words because even though I know I shouldn’t push him, I see how it bothers Bastian.
“Do you need him to save you from me?”
I search his eyes, trying to figure out what he’s doing, what he wants. Trying not to think about my proximity to him, especially with the scraps of clothes we’re wearing.
“He won’t like you so close to me,” I say, but the word “ours” keeps replaying. They’ve both used it. Does Amadeo intend to share me? But that isn’t the most troubling part of it. It’s that the thought doesn’t revolt me. The opposite.
“Won’t he? I think he’d love it, actually. He does keep going on about how you belong to us.”
I swallow.
“Don’t worry, Dandelion. I’m not here to fuck you. I just want to be sure you know where you stand. He fucked you because he had to. The marriage can’t be contested now. No chance of annulment. Nothing.”
I don’t know why his words hurt me. I know Bastian hates me.
“Don’t think to come between us,” he adds, and I realize why he’s doing this. He’s afraid.
I let my eyes narrow as one corner of my mouth curves upward. “What’s the matter, Bastian? Are you scared I’ve already done just that?”
Bastian doesn’t get a chance to answer, though, because Amadeo’s low, deep voice interrupts. “What’s going on out here?”
I gasp, my eyes flicking to Amadeo’s. I didn’t see or hear him approach and am startled, feeling caught. Guilty. Bastian only grins as if he knew all along. He doesn’t even look back.
“Your brother is trying to put me in my place,” I tell Amadeo, who surprises me by taking a seat on the edge of one of the lounge chairs, legs wide, hands on elbows, and watches us.
“Is he?”
I meet Bastian’s eyes, confused. His grin widens.
“Tell him to let me go,” I tell Amadeo, keeping my eyes on Bastian’s.
“You’re not keeping her against her will, are you, brother?” Amadeo asks, and it’s like that night at the restaurant when they cornered me in the bathroom. The two of them talking as if I’m not there but both watching me.
“I’d never do that, brother.”
Amadeo smiles. “Help her out.”
This is not a victory for me. I know it and am further unsettled by Bastian’s growing grin.