“Stay away from my brother before you break up the pack,” he said through clenched teeth, leaning forward with both hands gripping either side of the table. “You hear me? Being with someone like you is nothing but bad news for him all the way around.”
Naya’s chair scraped back and she stood up as straight as an arrow, throwing her shoulders back. “Don’t you talk to her that way,” she snapped, lifting a defiant chin.
I stared in shock between the both of them. Wheeler cannibalized me with his gaze, and then I noticed a fresh bruise on his eye.
“You may be fucking him, but you’re not welcome on our property.”
Wheeler hissed and recoiled when Naya swiped her hand and sliced him on the arm with her nails. He stood up and peeled his lips back angrily.
Without warning, Naya slapped him in the face.
Hard.
The crack snagged the attention of several people and they stopped to watch.
She wagged her finger angrily at him. “Didn’t your mother teach you to treat a woman with respect?”
“And who the fuck are you?”
“Naya James,” she said in the most badass way a woman could say her name. She looked like a heroine with her brown curls spilling across her broad shoulders and her fists resting against her shapely hips.
“You’re Lexi’s friend,” he muttered, rubbing his cheek.
Naya stepped forward and before Wheeler could flinch, she gripped the back of his neck. I waited for her fist to smash into his nose. Instead, she kissed him softly on the mouth. As she did, her body moved until it was flush with his. Her tongue swept out in a subtle motion as her fingers tenderly caressed his neck. When she leaned in once more with an even softer kiss, his body went lax and his expression altered. Wheeler stood catatonic, looking down at her and not reciprocating. Naya casually stepped back and my eyes were wide and unbelieving at what just happened.
Wheeler turned as bright red as the lipstick stain on his mouth. A few people nearby chuckled and went back to eating.
“What did you do that for?” he asked in scattered words, his voice cracking mid-sentence.
Naya’s full lips turned up in a smile and she snatched her shopping bag off the table, batting her curled lashes. “Because it’s the only time you’ll ever feel my lips on your body. I like my enemies to know two things about me: what they’re up against and what they’ll never have.” She winked at me and pulled the strap of her purse over her shoulder. “I’ll be sure to tell Lexi how you’re treating her friend.”
“By all means.” He attempted to sound pissed off but failed miserably.
“Yes. By all means,” she said with a purr, swinging her hips like a pendulum as she strutted off.
Wheeler watched until she disappeared around the corner. He licked his lips and sliced me with his gaze as if he wanted to let me have it. Instead, he pivoted around and stalked off, leaving a one-footed trail of green juice. His exit wasn’t near as sultry as Naya’s because his hands were curled into tight fists, and he looked ready to pummel the stuffing out of a punching bag.
I wanted to give that woman a high five for standing up to him. Wheeler had every right to be upset with me about the money, but my personal relationship with Reno was none of his business.
Which also planted another seed in my head: Reno must have said something to give him the impression that we were an item.
And that made my toes curl in my sneakers, just a little bit.
Chapter 19
“You’re talking nonsense, Reno.” Austin shifted on his barstool and rubbed his jaw pensively. “April is a human and our worlds collide. She doesn’t know anything about our lifestyle any more than you do about hers.”
An hour ago, Reno had dropped April off at her trailer after a night of passion that had seared into him like a brand. When he arrived back home, he called the boys upstairs and broke the news to the pack that he was claiming April. That was a big fucking deal among Shifters. Human or not, he wanted every man in that house to know that April Frost was off-limits. When the discussion became heated, Austin told Lexi to take the women out of the house. Sometimes when arguments got out of hand, Shifters would change into their animal, and that could be problematic.
Reno looked around their game room with distant eyes.
“Mom, let’s go,” Lexi coaxed from the hall.
“I don’t see why I can’t just stay in my room,” Lynn protested, their voices growing distant.
Reno folded his arms and leaned against the pool table, his brothers scattered in various spots in the room.
“That woman you want to claim is a thief,” Wheeler spat. “A conniving little human thief.”
Reno unstrapped the gun from his holster and placed it on the pool table. “Say that again.”