Page 63 of Vicious Desire (Fallen Royals 4)

Riley is sitting with her back pressed against the wall, her arms locked around her legs. She’s small. Eyes wide.

I pause in front of her and contemplate offering my hand. I could be nice and pull her to her feet, guide her out like a saint.

But as it is, I’m still feeling a bit murderous.

So I grab her wrists and yank her up, then up higher. Over my shoulder in a fireman’s carry. My arm is hooked around her leg, and I hold her wrist, and she only squirms for a second, then goes quiet.

Everyone is quiet.

Theo holds the door open for me, but it’s Caleb who steps out of the shadows and holds out his hand for Theo’s keys.

I follow my brother—pseudo-brother, what-fucking-ever—out the door.

We’re halfway to Theo’s car when the music starts back up again.

“Put me down,” Riley says. Her free hand slides down the back of my arm, latching on to my wrist.

I sigh. “No.”

“Everyone can see my ass, Eli.”

“No one is fucking looking at your ass,” I snap.

Caleb chuckles ahead of us.

She releases my wrist.

I shake off the sensation and move it out of her reach.

And then she pinches the back of my arm, just above my elbow. It feels more like she’s stabbing me with pliers and twisting, because damn.

I growl, whirling around, but she doesn’t release my skin.

So I give her what she wanted. I duck forward and tip her over my head, onto the ground.

She hits hard, rolling, and then she pops back up. She shoves me away, her face a beautiful sort of angry. Her hair is a mess, and so is her outfit. Shirt askew, and she lost a shoe.

Whoops.

Her shove isn’t very strong. I barely sway. But she raises her fists and hits me again in the chest, and she keeps slapping me until I get control of her. I pull her close, pinning her arms between our chests, and wrap her in a bear hug.

“Stop,” I order. “Just stop.”

“You—”

“Yeah, I know.” I can fill in the blanks. I let him touch her. I put an end to it. I embarrassed her, maybe.

I saved her ass, is what I did.

It’s hard not to focus on how slight she feels. She barely weighs anything. She’s shaking.

“Let’s get you home, okay?”

She sighs and sags against me. “What’s the point? No one is there, anyway.”

I squint. “What?”

“No one is there.”