She inhaled nice and slow, filling her lungs as my stomach dropped. Then she unleashed at full volume. “What the hell do you think you were doing confronting him like that? He’s only here in town as a way to pay me back, which means it’s for me to handle. Not you. Stay out of the way from now on and you won’t get hurt. He’s not someone to fuck around with, T. You don’t just threaten a guy like that and expect him to walk away. You’re just asking for trouble.”
I couldn’t believe my ears. Was she pissed that I defended her? Mad that I’d stood up to the bully from out of town? My stomach quit its drop and got in on the fight.
Taking a step toward her, I fired back. “There is no way in hell I’m gonna sit quiet while that asshole terrorizes you or anyone else in the town I grew up in. You’re right. He is a bully. And you only stop a bully by standing up to him and coming together as a group to set him straight. You may think this is only about him getting back at you, but you mess with one Hellion, you mess with them all. That’s just how this town works, Amelia.”
She shook her head, dark hair flying all around. “No. Nope. I’m not going to let anyone else get harmed. This is about me and Daire.”
I took a huge step forward, her face only a few inches from my chest. “No. There is no you and Daire. There’s you and me and this town we love against Daire.”
Her cheeks went pink and I could have sworn I saw flames dancing in her brown eyes. “I don’t need your help, Titus!”
I nodded once, my heart taking a beating with her simple statement. “You always say that. You’ve got the tough-girl act down so well you can’t even put it aside and ask for help when you really need it. This is more than about you, Amelia. This is about the whole town now.”
Amelia lifted her arms and put her hands on my chest, giving me a huge shove. It didn’t do much, but I took a step back anyway, astounded she’d tried to push me.
“I don’t need your help!” she shouted again.
I shouted back, probably for the first time ever. I wasn’t a shouter by nature. I talked calmly or used my fists. But dammit, she made me so angry.
“I will keep you safe, whether you want me to or not, come hell or high water!”
Amelia’s eyes went round, and the air froze around us. Her swallow was audible in the quiet room. After a long minute of us just staring at each other and breathing heavy, she glanced out the window, a furrow between her brows.
I couldn’t take this anymore. I never could handle Amelia and me being out of sorts. She yelled, I talked quietly, gave her space, and then we made up. Shouting at each other? That was just dumb.
“What are you doing?” I asked, exasperated.
Amelia still didn’t look away from the window. “Looking for the high water since Hell’s already here.”
That mouth of hers drove me absolutely crazy. Here we were in our first official fight as a couple and she was cracking jokes. She took a page out of my book. Using comedy to simmer the other person down.
I put a hand on her shoulder, stepping up behind her and pulling her close.
“We’ll get through this,” I whispered in her hair. “Together.”
20
Amelia
I’ve been angry a time or twenty in my life. I’ve even felt so angry that my vision turned a bit red around the edges and I’ve delivered a verbal blistering the other person wasn’t soon to forget. Mad and Amelia got along like chocolate and peanut butter. We were good by ourselves, but divinely inspired when mixed together.
Yesterday, though, I reached a new level of emotion: blind rage.
I saw Daire’s face and the bottom of my world dropped out. I heard his words about building a new hotel in town and the very essence of me grew to proportions not contained by the flimsy roof of Coffee. I grew so big and powerful in my rage I knew I could slay mere men and dragons with a simple glance. Justice would be mine or I’d die trying. I would bring revenge raining down on Daire’s unfairly gorgeous head before I left this earth and went to the real hell waiting for me beyond the curtain. It would become my new motivation for getting up in the morning. I’d change my name to Spite and live my life in its service. I’d burn shit down before Daire got away with snatching my dream out from under me. Hell, I’d already vandalized the town welcome sign. You really think I’d blink an eye at throwing some gasoline around and accidentally lighting a match? Watch it all burn, motherfucker.
And then Titus had gotten in my business and taken the punch I would have gladly shouldered if only to enrage me further and fan the flames of my revenge plan. Titus was going to protect me?
Oh, sweet child of my youth. What a lovely thing to do, but absolutely no need. I could take care of myself. I’d proven over and over that I could do just fine on my own. Did sleeping with me mean I suddenly needed help from a man? I’d been handed some shit by males in my lifetime. I wasn’t going to take help from one now, no matter how much I loved him. This was my fight. Period.
Titus left last night with an unspoken and flimsy truce stretched between us. He wasn’t happy with me and I wasn’t happy with him. So there. We were even. He might have plans for swooping in on his white horse and protecting my honor, but he really shouldn’t. Because I had plans that didn’t include any honor, that’s for
