The Dom Who Loved Me (Masters and Mercenaries #1)(64)

She stopped briefly and turned to him. She looked strangely prim and proper in her skirt and gray buttoned up blouse. It would look better if she unbuttoned a few of those little pearls, but Sean wouldn’t complain. He didn’t want other men looking at her breasts, either. Her face was pale as she regarded him. “I’m going home. You aren’t the cops, so you don’t have any right to keep me here. I’ll call the police when I get home, and they will sort all of this out.”

A slow boil was starting in his veins. She was pushing him hard. He needed to calm down. “This is for your own protection. I’m not doing this to have fun.”

“It really is important, sweetheart. I’ll stay by your side,” Adam offered in a voice that rankled Sean’s every nerve. The other man’s pretty-boy face was entreating Grace sweetly. Sean wondered how Adam would look after his balls had been ripped off and shoved down his throat.

“Get the hell out of here, Adam.” Sean recognized he was invading the other man’s space, but then Adam didn’t seem to have a problem with boundaries. He’d been stepping all over Sean’s for days. “This is between me and my sub. I don’t see her wearing your collar, so step back.”

Grace’s hand immediately went to the gold heart around her neck. In one smooth move, she pulled the delicate chain off her body and tossed it in his face. “I don’t belong to you. Either one of you. And if either one of you follows me, I’ll call the cops as soon as I can flag down a passing car, and I will press charges for kidnapping.”

She turned and started walking again.

Sean reached out and grabbed her elbow. At the same time, Adam pushed his shoulder back, causing Sean to lose his balance. He and Grace went down in the mud. The umbrella tumbled away. Grace fell onto his body, the length of her pressing down into him. His cock responded immediately. Her face came up, so close to his he could kiss her without really trying. And then Adam was pulling her up, his hands circling her waist protectively.

“Grace, I’m so sorry.”

Not as sorry as he was about to be. Sean was done. Without a single sound, he moved from his place on the ground and pounced. There was no yell, no warning. One moment he was on the ground, and the next, Adam was the one in the mud.

Sean pulled his fist back and planted it squarely in his rival’s face. He could hear Jake yelling in the background. Let him come. He’d take that f*cker down, too. Adam kicked up, trying to roll Sean off him, but Sean had the advantage. One hand wrapped around Adam’s throat and squeezed. Adam gasped, abandoning his attempts to throw off his opponent. Both of his hands came up to try to pull Sean’s fingers from his throat. Rage was riding Sean. He’d been through too much. Loving Grace, losing her—first to her own betrayal and then to a killer—had his nerves on edge. She was alive, but somehow she seemed even further away from him than when he’d feared she was gone. He felt completely out of control when it came to Grace, but this…oh, this he could do.

And then his control was taken away when something hard smacked him brutally upside the head. He lost his grasp and toppled over onto the muddy ground. Adam leapt up, never one to miss an opportunity. Sean was holding his head when he realized Adam’s fist was coming toward his face. There was a flash of silver and black, and Adam went down, too, joining him on the wet ground, his previously pristine suit a mess of mud and blood.

Grace stood over them both, the umbrella folded now, and she wielded it like a club. She was a curvy, avenging angel looking down on them. Her hair was plastered to her head. Her blouse was soaked, and it was obvious she was cold. Her breasts heaved as she dragged air into her lungs. Sean suddenly knew what it felt like to be a barbarian. She was his mate, and she had defied him.

“Grace, I’ve had enough. I’m telling you to get your sweet ass into Ian’s house, or we’re going to have trouble. “

Adam was getting to his feet. He opened his mouth, but Jake had his hand around his best friend’s neck. “Not a word. I swear, Adam, if you pursue this, I am going to advise Ian to fire you. If that doesn’t work, I’ll convince Eve that you aren’t fit for duty.”

Adam’s jaw dropped open. “Some f*cking friend you are. I am doing this for us. She could be the one. You want her just as much as I do.”

“No, you’re doing it for you. You’re being a selfish little prick. I have been your best friend for years. We’ve been through some shit that most people wouldn’t have made it out of sane. We did because we were a team. We’re a part of this team, too. This team has been our family for years. You are being a traitor to this team. All feelings, wants, and desires are secondary to the team and the mission. So, Adam, the question is, are you still a member of this team or are you going to walk away now?”

Adam threw off Jake’s hand and stalked toward the house, his decision plain. Jake nodded to Sean and followed, leaving Sean alone with Grace. At least someone knew how to handle Adam. Grace’s eyes were wide as though she had finally realized just how much danger she was in. She shrank back, holding the umbrella across her chest. Like that little thing could stop him.

“Are you coming inside, Grace?” The question was even and calm. He stood very still, making no move toward her. He didn’t have to. When he wanted her, he would take her, and there would be nothing she could do to stop him.

“I told you, I’m going home. I took off that stupid collar, Sean. You can give it to the next idiot who’s dumb enough to trust you.”