Forever You're Mine (MINE #4)(22)

We were treading on dangerous water and I was terrified of drowning. Hell, I was already drowning. After all, I was taking her home to meet my family. Even if I was taking her for my own selfish reasons, I was still taking her and that was definitely a huge step for me.

Maybe I was drowning, but for some crazy reason, I could finally breathe.

I was on my way to the bar to find out who or what had put that smile on her face when he walked in. Shit, why didn’t I think of it to begin with? He must be why she’s so happy.

Fuck.

By the time he made it to the foot of the bar, she was there, talking a mile a minute. I caught only a few words…

“Winston… Christmas… happy”

His hands moved to her face with a wide grin, cupping her jaw the way I liked to before I kissed her, turning my blood ice cold. Those were my lips now.

Mine.

I got there in time to see a look of guilt staining her cheeks, but it didn’t do shit for my anger. My hand connected with his chest, twisting him by the collar of his shirt and shoving him against the bar.

“Oh shit, Cannon NO!” Cora yelled, but I ignored her, shutting out everything around me.

“You ever put your hands on her again, I’ll kill you. Understand?”

He tried to play it cool, but I watched him swallow more than once before he finally spoke, a slight tremble in his voice. “Get your f*ckin’ hands off me bro.”

I twisted my hand tighter, lifting him higher, rage loud in my head. “I’m not your f*ckin’ bro.”

He looked to Cora, who had now taken her place next to me. “Wanna call off your dog?”

I wanted to break him into a million tiny little pieces for many reasons, the least of all being his insult.

What the hell did she see in this guy anyway?

“Cannon, let him go now!” Cora ordered, tugging on the hem of my shirt. I didn’t move anything but my chin, dipping it toward my chest to look down into her eyes.

She was pissed.

At me?

“Fucking fine,” I said with a hard shove, his ass skidding across the floor. Then I turned around to face Cora. “You have exactly five minutes to get rid of this * and get back to work.”

She gave me a hard glare, her eyes firing with rebellion as she walked towards the exit.

I stalked off, heading straight to the office, putting as much distance between me and him as possible. Otherwise, I was going to lose it. I immediately pulled up the parking lot cameras to find him parked right out front. Their conversation looked calm at first but then quickly turned heated, with Cora throwing her arms in the air and him slamming his hands on the hood. I was on the verge of going back out when he got into his car and sped off. Cora’s head fell into her hands and I knew she was out there crying.

Over him.

Jealousy was a new thing for me and I didn’t like it. Not one goddamn bit. Nor did I care for all these other f*cking feelings I had swirling around inside. Things I didn’t want to feel. Things I did. I wasn’t sure what to do with any of it. Before, I was able to f*ck or drink through just about anything. Now, I was being forced to deal with it all, head on.

It was more than a little overwhelming for me.

We didn’t speak the rest of our shift and the ride home was filled with nothing but awkward, pissed off silence. As soon as we were inside, Cora went to take a shower while I let Hope out, thinking about how I wanted to handle this. I was at the point where I would do anything to have her, but knowing damn well I didn’t deserve her.

I was none the wiser when I came back inside. I made myself a drink, a big one, then took a seat on the couch, tossing Hope’s stuffed bunny across the room. She eagerly fetched the fluffy, pink toy and obediently brought it back to me. I bent forward, stroking her soft coat and patting her behind. “Good girl,” I praised, tossing the bunny again.

The whiskey was beginning to warm my blood and numb my mind by the time Cora emerged from the hall. But there was no amount of alcohol that could numb the effect she had on me. Wet from a shower, her eyes swollen and red, she walked around the front of the couch and knelt to scoop up Hope, but I snagged her wrist before she could, pulling her down next to me.

Finally, after a while, she spoke. “I went to see Maddie at lunch today. We finally got a court date for Winston.”

“So is that why you were so happy when you got back from lunch? Or was it because of him?”

“I had no idea he was even coming by, Cannon. I haven’t talked to him at all.” She lifted her head, tears swimming in her soft green eyes. “He wants me back.”

A wave of anger surged through my veins, but thankfully the whiskey kept it in check. “Is that what you want?”

“No. That’s not what I want.”

“I’m happy about your brother,” I said then took another drink. I was going to need it to ask my next question. I swallowed hard, the alcohol doing nothing to settle the thrumming of my blood. “Do you still love him?”

I’d never experienced such fear. Not when I was in the war. Not when my best friend was killed. Not even when I thought about taking my own life.

I blinked as Cora reached for my glass and watched, fascinated by the curvy line of her throat. My dick twitched with appreciation because yeah…it was already hard as a rock anyway. She threw back the remainder of my drink, which was a damn good bit, and she set the empty glass on the table before dropping a knee to the other side of me. Her eyes were clear but I could see the whiskey dancing along the edges, turning her beautiful eyes hazel instead of green. Or were they always hazel and this was the first time I’d noticed?