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West growled in my direction before swinging open the office door and leaving with Lucky still strapped to his chest. I hurried after him, angry I was having to jog to keep up with his long gait. I was just angry in general. I’d had such a fun time with their sisters and the other Dolls but coming back to them was a buzz kill.

West went straight upstairs to the room I was staying in. “I’m not jealous, kitten.”

I bristled at the name and put my hands on my hips as I watched him delicately undo Lucky’s wrap.

“Don’t call me that.”

He stepped closer.

“I’m not jealous because I know you didn’t touch another man tonight. Or if you did, he didn’t make you scream. I know what you look like after you’ve been fucked good and hard and made to come a dozen times. I know the way your skin stays flushedfor hours after and the way your mouth bruises. You look like you had a perfectly respectable night.”

My body betrayed me and reacted to his words as if he’d stroked my clit. I bit back a moan and took Lucky from him.

“You’re an asshole.”

He smirked. “Yep.”

CHAPTER 22

Reagan

Harley came back that Friday to visit and insisted we go into town to get away from the den of snakes, as she called the Hellstone’s house. She was in love with plants and flowers and it often led us to random hole-in-the-wall florist shops all around Dallas and the surrounding areas. Because of that, it was no surprise when she dragged me to the only florist shop in Devil’s Den.

With Lucky strapped to my chest and happily chewing away on his pacifier, we made our way into Petal. The shop was tiny but it was adorably decorated and smelled like heaven. A row of massive fridges took up the back wall of the shop and dozens of different types of flowers filled them. It was a dream, especially for Harley. I was happy to tag along until I saw the woman standing behind the counter.

All at once I remembered that Melanie Boyd, the woman who’d made it clear she had some sort of claim over the Hellstone men, owned Petal. I kicked myself for not remembering but, to be fair, I’d been more focused on her blatant display of ownership over West the day I’d met her. If seeing me bothered her as much as seeing her bothered me, she didn’t let it show.

“Well, hello again, Tegan. Welcome to my shop.” She smiled but I could see the spark of battle in her eyes.

“It’s Reagan.” I forced myself to smile and pointed to Harley. “This is my best friend, Harley. She’s visiting for the day from Dallas.”

Harley was a smart cookie and she instantly picked up on the weirdness. “I’d stay longer if you weren’t living with those neanderthals.”

I quietly cleared my throat and tried to tell Harley with my eyes she had to stop talking. It was useless, though, because I sensed Melanie sharpening her claws.

She stood up straighter and crossed her arms. “Neanderthals?”

“The Hellstone jerks. She’s living with them now.” Harley pointed to the refrigeration units. “Is it okay if I look around? I’m in school for horticulture and I’m working on—”

“You’re living with the Hellstones?”

I swallowed a little too loudly and looked around. “Yep.”

“Why?”

Harley finally realized what the weirdness was. She grimaced and turned to face me. “Actually. I think we should—”

“Why are you staying with them?”

“Because they asked me to.” I wasn’t giving her more than the bare minimum. I didn’t want to give her even that. I could tell she was taking every word I said and chewing it up to throw it back at me as soon as she needed to.

“They asked you to.” She repeated it and laughed. “Yeah, right.”

Harley put her hands on her hips. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means that Mills, West, and Tate, are mine and they’d have no use for your friend.” Melanie wasn’t pulling any punches, it seemed. She wasn’t even going to pretend to be civil anymore.

I was surprised the tiny town hadn’t spread the news fully yet that I’d had their child. Maybe she just didn’t absorb information she didn’t like.