Violence (Antihero Inferno #3) - Lily White Page 0,104

about one bad decision away from starting a war. One violent act. One thoughtless reaction.

Somehow managing to keep my distance while Damon walks Emily down the hall, I clench my teeth to see his hand snake around her back to slide over her hip.

Mine.

The fucking word is on repeat in my head, every whisper of it pushing me closer to ripping his arm away and breaking it for touching her.

It’s just a bone.

It’ll heal.

Damon would be fine.

Unfortunately, it’s not the physical damage I have to worry about in this particular moment.

It’s the simple fact my brother would know I’m full of shit about what I’ve told him.

It’s also the truth that if I get violent with him, there’s nobody in this house who can stop us.

So I do nothing. I walk behind them without saying a word, careful not to fist my hands, and struggling like a madman not to rush forward and rip her from his hold.

Shane sees the truth of what I’m thinking the instant we get downstairs, his stare locked on me from over Emily’s shoulder, a silent warning for me to keep my hands to myself.

None of this should matter. I can’t want her. I can’t have her. I should fucking hate her. And I still don’t know what she’s doing with William. My first thought shouldn’t be that I need to touch her. I shouldn’t have made the stupid mistake of kissing her.

Yet that’s exactly what I did, just as soon as I had the first opportunity. And I’m not stupid enough to believe that if given the chance now, I wouldn’t drag her back in that room and take my time tasting every inch of her.

Which means I need to get the hell out of this cabin.

“When do you think Gabe will get back?”

I ask the question as Damon walks Emily over to an empty couch, dropping his weight down as he pulls her along beside him. The corner of my lip curls, but I force my attention to Tanner.

He drops his head back against his chair. “Not sure. Depends on how long he decides to torture her. In the meantime, we should go grab the cars and park them closer to the house.”

“And grab our shirts,” Sawyer suggests, since all of us are still in only shorts.

Not that Damon seems to mind. He’s perfectly content right where he is, Emily so close she’s practically in his lap.

“I’ll help you move the cars,” I offer, happy to have a reason to walk out of this place and not take notice of the fact that Emily won’t look at me.

Tanner groans but shoves up from his seat.

Slapping my shoulder as he passes, he grumbles, “Come on.”

We make quick work of the cars and grab everyone’s shirts before heading back up to the cabin. Before we can walk in, Tanner slams a hand against my chest and knocks me back.

“What’s going on with you, Damon and Emily? And don’t try to fucking lie to me about it either. With the way Shane was staring at you, I’m sure he’ll be thrilled to tell me all about it.”

“It’s handled,” I answer.

He cocks a brow, obviously seeing right past that lie.

“Which must be why you were staring at Damon like you might rip his head off when he came downstairs with his arm around her. Don’t give me that bullshit, Ezra. Do we have another end of high school situation on our hands? Because the last thing I need is the two of you going at each other.”

“It’s fine,” I answer, my jaw tight because Emily is still catching crap for the video that caused the problem he’s talking about.

How fucking funny is it that my first thought is in defense of her? Sorry for her? Absolute rage at the assholes who keep harassing her about what happened?

No matter what, I can’t stop protecting her…or wanting her.

Tanner runs a hand through his hair and paces a few steps away before turning back to me.

“It took you both a long time to get over her. And you were hell to deal with back then, too. I knew I shouldn’t have let Gabe send you after Emily at the fucking engagement party.”

“It was the only way to get her away from Ivy.”

He laughs.

“Yeah, but at what cost? Asking you two to deal with Emily was the equivalent of waving a bag of heroine in front of an addict’s face. And don’t try to argue with me on that. Not after