The rapid exposure to the high-altitude pine-scented air made me dizzy.
“We’ve been through a lot together. He’s basically a good guy, but that little voice inside your head that should stop you from saying shit you shouldn’t? He doesn’t have it. You and I talked about this a while ago.” His eyes flickered with shadows I somehow knew weren’t caused by our conversation about War’s character, but involved circumstances between the two of them that I wasn’t privy to. “In Southside, you have to be tough or you lose the things you care about.”
“Strength not weakness. Alliances over enemies,” I said, knowing how it worked and wishing Bryan was an ally, wanting to be one for him.
I might not currently be one of his closest friends, but maybe with time, I could regain that position. Sometimes who had your back was the only thing that stood between success and failure, or life and death. And even then, like with King’s brother, sometimes it wasn’t enough.
“It’s the escalation with War that worries me.” Bryan’s expression sobered. “Problems for him are battles to be won at all cost, even when it involves someone who really matters to him.”
Does he mean I matter to War?
Bryan exhaled heavily. A little shiver ran up my spine as his warm minty breath lifted tendrils of my hair. This was probably the closest I’d ever get to sharing a kiss with him. As I imagined his lips on mine, his tongue in my mouth, and his breath mingling with mine, my stomach fluttered.
“What happened after I left last night?” I asked. “With the record label reps?” I didn’t really want to know if War had slept with someone else, or for that matter, if Bryan had.
He studied me for a beat before answering. “They said we have potential but are too inexperienced. They left business cards. Told us to call them back when we’re headlining.”
“I’ll bet that pissed War off.” My brows lifted as I imagined it.
“He was already mad. But yeah, it was like gas to a flame.”
“He didn’t make a good impression with the reps. With his temper.”
“No. Not hardly. And he got completely shit-faced right in front of them too.”
“I’m sorry. It sounds like you had an upsetting night.” Without stopping to think about it, I reached for Bryan.
The instant my fingers touched his arm, I felt a spark. Heat singed my skin, but I also felt something deeper. With him, there was that foundation of shared experiences that settled me. Sure, he was all grown up and sexy as hell, but I also knew him, knew with him I was always safe.
Immediately craving more of that heat—I was, after all, an addictive personality more like my mother than I cared to admit—I swept my thumb across his skin in a wider arc. More of what I craved blazed through me like wildfire.
Bryan wasn’t unaffected either. His eyes darkened, and his nostrils flared.
“I don’t believe my evening was nearly as upsetting as yours,” he said low, his gaze dropping to his arm.
“Who told you about it?” Withdrawing my hand, I used it to toss a strand of my hair over my shoulder and affected a casual expression. But my pulse continued to fly, and my skin burned.
“King.” Bryan’s gaze remained on mine, but it was darker and twinkled with something else. Anger? Desire? Amusement? I wasn’t sure. “He said you were ballsy as hell.”
“He exaggerates.” I shook my head. “Truthfully, I was scared shitless.”
“I should have gone with you. I don’t like that I wasn’t there to protect you.” He frowned. “Diz said your uncle laid into you last night too.”
“He laid into both of us. Diz and me.” I dropped my chin, and Bryan gently lifted it.
“Why didn’t you tell me how terrible he is to you?”
“Because . . .” I lost my train of thought, falling, tumbling headlong right into the depths of his understanding gaze. Bryan’s tenderness always got me. The thoughtful boy I’d once crushed on remained, but he was a man now, strong with edges like War. Maybe not as lethal, but sharp nonetheless.
“Because why, Lace?” Bryan asked softly. The sharpness of him was a compelling contrast to this sweetness, a nearly irresistible one.
“Because it’s sad to be treated the way he treats me, and it makes me feel vulnerable for you to know.”
“You think you deserve to be treated that way.” His expression hardened. “Which is not happening, I hope you realize.”
Words, simple ones, but profound coming from