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My jaw locks as I go silent again.

We arrive at my house, the gate swinging open. When it clangs behind us, I breathe out. “How soon do we need to discuss next steps?” I ask Ryker as he pulls up by the front door.

His mouth forms a grim line. “I’m going to need ten minutes of your time, and then the rest of us will start forming a plan.”

I nod, pushing open the car door. Stepping out with Honeyeh in my arms, I set her on her feet long enough to take off my sports coat and wrap it around her body. She hugs it tight around her middle as I wrap my arm around her, leading her toward the house.

Mrs. Raith appears in the doorway, but I wave her away. “Clear the house,” I order as I walk Honeyeh up the stairs.

Mrs. Raith jerks her chin and then disappears.

“I’m mortified,” Honeyeh whispers next to me even as Ryker and Rush fan out on either side of us.

“Never be embarrassed for giving all of yourself for the people you love,” Ryker says from next to her.

Her chin notches up and her spine stiffens. “Thank you for that.”

He meets my eye again as he stops to let Honeyeh and myself in the house.

By the time we reach the stairs to the second floor, I lift her into my arms once again and carry her up. I don’t set her down until we’ve made it to my bedroom.

As I gently set her on her feet, I whisper, “I’ll be right back. Go lay down and close your eyes.”

She nods and I kiss her one more time before I force myself to turn and head back down the stairs.

Much as I’d like to stay with her, I’m also a man who sacrifices for his family.

My brothers are coming up the stairs as I exit the bedroom, and I lead them silently into my office.

We’ve barely made it through the door when Rush asks, “What happened last night?”

“That’s your question, of all the questions?” I cross to the window, staring out at the front yard.

“Mine too,” Ryker adds, taking one of the chairs by the desk.

I let out a long breath. “I got carried away before she told me that she hadn’t ever…” They already know she’s a virgin. It was part of her auction.

“And?” Rush prompts.

“I stopped,” I bite back.

“But you were really pissy about it,” Ryker finishes, not asking a question but stating a fact.

“Wouldn’t you be?”

“For sure,” he chuckles. “Honeyeh is other-level hot.”

I turn to glare, my lips thinning enough to expose my teeth. “Touch her and I will?—”

His hands go up. “Off limits. Got it.” He puts his hands down to lean forward, his elbows resting on his knees. “But when I said you were really pissy, I meant it more as like a general state of being.”

“I thought we came up here to talk about Dimitri and the threat he poses. Not stage an intervention about my mood.”

Rush sits on the top of my desk. “Ryker is right. You have been getting increasingly agitated, Triston. Over the last year. Two. Until last night…”

I open my mouth to speak, but then close it again. When I think of last night, right up until I drove Honeyeh home, that was the happiest I’ve been for a long time. “Fuck.”

“Now you’re a guy who saves other people’s asses,” Ryker continues. “But if you’re not serious about Honeyeh, we should not have rushed in there like that. If you are, though, serious about her, then I’ll be happy for you, and I’ll be by your side to tear Dimitri to the ground.”