Shameful by May Dawson
57
Killian
West crossedhis arms as he leaned back against the shitty wire railing, which I wasn’t sure would hold the weight of his tall, muscled build. Rhett grinned, which made me want to push him into the railing and hope it wouldn’thold.
I would never ask Rhett’s advice if I weren’t truly desperate.
“Do you really think I should bring her a bagel?” I demanded.
“I’d do what the lady wants,” Rhett drawled. “That’s what West and I did all night last night, and it worked out prettywell.”
“Yeah, I know.” I growled. “You’d think you guys might remember we’re in a hell of a fight here. There’s not a lot of timefor—”
“You know?” Rhett’s brows jerked up, then he hooted with laughter. “You were watching us, you sick fuck! Oh my god, I love it. Did you die of jealousy? Is this actually your ghost rightnow?”
“I just fucked Legacy too,” I said. “And I markedher.”
I regretted the word fucked even as my mouth formed the word. It seemed small.
I’d just claimed Legacy.
Rhett still had that delighted look he got on his face whenever there was drama, but West seemed disgusted with me. He shoved past me and headed toward the room they’d all shared the night before.
Rhett watched him go, but he didn’t seem as amused anymore. He turned to me. “You know, she’s not any more yours just because you marked her. You don’t get to claim her. Not if you think she’ll be yours alone.”
His voice was casual, light. He wasn’t fooling me, and I wondered if he was fooling himself.
“She is mine,” I said. “Since I saw her arrive at the island... I’ve known she wasmine.”
“Don’t make us fight you for her,” Rhettsaid.
“I can take you in a fight, Rhett. I’ve proven that before.”
“Can you? West and I fight dirty.” He headed toward the room, then said over his shoulder, “And you’re the one who pisses heroff.”
“Not always.”
“Mm-hmm. I’ll take a vanilla cold brew too, if you get the chance.” He stuffed his hands in his pockets and swaggered in the same direction West hadgone.
“You don’t get to be a hipster, Rhett. You’re supposed to be a fucking werewolf.”
Rhett just called over his shoulder, “Maybe a muffin? I’m thinking blueberry.”
Then he disappeared into Legacy’s room and let the door slam shut behindhim.
I was fucking pissed.
I stood there on the walkway for a moment, feeling uncertain about what to do next. I wasn’t used to feeling thatway.
Legacy walked back out of the room, her long, dark hair swinging around her shoulders. She was dressed in jeans that showed her long legs and the hoodie that hid her curves. She was so gorgeous.
Mine, mine, mine.I was sorry that I’d marked her and made her angry and yet when I looked at her, everything in my body thrummed for her. It seemed ridiculous she rebelled against the mark when it was obvious in the way she looked at me, the way she touched me, that she felt the same way. Every moment we were together felt electric.
I should tell her how I felt, how much I loved her already.
Instead, when she crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows at me, I demanded, “Yes?”
I knew I sounded like a prick and I couldn’t help myself.
“Tobias is on the move,” she said. “I think we have about two hours, so I’m going to get myself that iced coffee, and then I’m going to shower off every bit of scent of you guys, and you’re going to stay away fromme.”
“You can’t go up against Tobias on your own, Legacy.”
“Say it’s never worked before one more time and I will walk out of your life and you’ll never see me again, asshole.” Her eyes flashed. She crossed the distance between us and jabbed her finger into my chest.
“I’m not planning to face him alone. I’m planning on you and Rhett and West helping me take him down. But I am also done done done with you thinking you can tell me what to do. Tobias, Cyrus, Lucas—they destroyed my life. And I’m going to fix this. And if you’re real nice, I’ll let you come along for theride.”
I stared down at her, trying to find the right words. “I want to be there, Legacy. I’ve never been good at real nicethough.”
“Mm. I recognize your social skills are a little rusty.”
She rubbed her hand across my mark on her throat, which—despite the angry look on her face—still made me feel a throb of satisfaction every time I saw it. Mine. I’d marked her as mine and everyone who saw her would knowit.
“And I’ve got to get some new clothes in case the vamp can smell you all on me. Someone’s got to clean my room while I’m gone because well, Tobias can probably scent West and Rhett all over thatroom.”
I recoiled. I was not cleaning up after West, Rhett and Legacy’s epic sex-session the night before. Sexssion?
She smiled at me sweetly then turned back toward her doorway and called, “Rhett?”
He swaggered out of the room, looking more self-satisfied than I’d ever seen him, and that was really saying something. He threw his arm over Legacy’s shoulders, and the two of them swaggered off down the walkway. Rhett leaned in close to Legacy and whispered something into his ear, and she threw back her head and laughed, gazing up at him with affection in her brighteyes.
He’d probably just told her to look like she was having fun to piss meoff.
I turned just in time for West to nail me in the face with a sheet. I knocked it onto the ground like he’d just thrown something dangerous atme.
“Here,” he called. “Definitely need to get those out of here and replace them with freshones.”
“Jesus Christ, West.”
He did not seem sorry.
Together, the two of us went to work, breaking into the housekeeper’s closet and spreading new sheets on the beds, vacuuming the floor, soaking everything in Lysol. Enough bleach and Lysol would obscure our scents.
I abruptly stopped. “We could’ve just gotten a new room for Legacy.”
“That doesn’t hold the same entertainment value forher.”
“You asshole.”
West shrugged. “You deserveit.”
“You had to help me clean, did you deserveit?”
“I didn’t mind it.” He pulled out his cell phone and snapped a quick photo of me in my yellow cleaning gloves.
“I don’t like any of you,” I said, picking up the trash bag to dispose of it in the dumpster. Every trace of West and Rhett had been obliterated from thatroom.
“Why did you mark her?” West demanded suddenly.
“She’s mymate.”
“She’s Lucas’s mate.” West’s voice was harsh. “Not that he deserves her. But she hasn’t even totally broken the bond between themyet.”
“She feels the bond between her and me too. Maybe it’ll be easier to break the bond now with Lucas.”
“She feels the bond?” West’s voice was mocking. “She feels the desire to punch you in theface.”
“Yeah,” I said. There was no denying that. “But she feels the pull of the bond too. I saw the way she looks atme.”
West’s lips pressed together tightly.
He hated the thought there was something between me and Legacy that he didn’thave.
When I came to the island, these two had been my closest friends. I still cared about them, no matter what they thought.
But I didn’t care about anyone like I cared about Legacy.