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His jaw tenses and his Adam’s apple bobs with a harsh swallow, but he doesn’t say any of the things that I know are right on the tip of his tongue.

“I know. But it’s okay.”

My brows pinch as I stare at him.

“I know it was a mistake, beautiful. If you’d wanted Alex, you’d have had him by now.”

Fair point. He’s sure given me enough chances to take things further with me.

“Yeah, I know, but—” I thought you’d be freaking the fuck out right now.

Deep down, I can see that he is. The promise of pain and blood swirls in his eyes, but this is Alex we’re talking about. If it were anyone else, I’ve no doubt he’d already be bleeding out on the kitchen floor.

“Who do you belong to, Angel?” he grits out, voice cracking with pent-up rage.

“You. Always you.”

Dipping his head, he brushes his lips over mine in the gentlest of kisses.

“Aside from you, Alex is the most important person in the world to me.”

“What about Isla?” I ask, aware that the two of them are close.

“Close third,” he confesses. “But in an entirely different way to you.”

I nod in understanding. I can only assume—or hope—that he feels about Isla as I do Alex.

“You’re mine. And I’d do fucking anything for you. Both of you.”

I nod again, silence stretching between us as I run the events of the past thirty minutes through my head.

“He knew. All this time… he knew. That’s…”

“Yeah,” Daemon agrees. “I shouldn’t be surprised. He’s always been a bit of a sneaky fucker.”

“Oh?” I ask, grasping that little thread that might reveal some secrets and tugging.

He chuckles, shaking his head softly. “Not now. But I think you should go and talk to him.”

“Me?” I ask, rearing back in surprise. “No, I think you should probably—”

“Trust me, Angel. It needs to be you.”

I suck in a deep breath, unsure if I’m going to be able to face him after feeling him up only minutes ago.

“I’m going to need to put some knickers on,” I say, making my favourite lazy smile appear on Daemon’s face.

“Yeah, that would be ideal. My restraint is only so good.”

“You wouldn’t hurt hi—” I quickly stop myself, knowing full well that he would. He has recently because of me, so there’s no reason why I should think he wouldn’t do it again. “Okay, so you would. But it’s not necessary.”

“I know. That’s why I’m here with you right now and not pounding him into the sand.”

“How very brotherly of you,” I quip.

To my surprise, he takes a step back when I push from the counter, ready to pull up my big girl pants—literally—and go and talk to Alex.

I stop when I get to the door and look back.