by L. A. Casey
Ash nodded. “Ah, I see. Nice to meet you.”
“I wish I could say likewise, but I can’t.” Dominic quipped. “Take a couple of steps back from my brother’s fiancée.”
Oh, for the love of God.
“Stop it, Dominic.” I chastised. “You’re being rude.”
Dominic’s eyes never left Ash’s. “I’m about to get real rude if this guy doesn’t back up away from you.”
Ash held his hands up in front of his chest and took a hesitant step away from me. “We were only joking around, man.”
Dominic’s eyes blazed with anger. “You don’t ‘joke around’ with another man’s woman. Ever.”
Ash lifted his hand and scratched his neck. “We’re friends.”
Dominic took a threatening step forward. “Let’s see how long that lasts, shall we?”
I stared at him. “What the hell does that mean?”
Dominic flicked his eyes to me. “It means he might have trouble breathing when Ryder finds out he was touching you like that.”
“Touching her like what, man?” Ash asked, his tone firm, as he grew impatient. “We’ve been on shift the last eight hours and for once we have ten minutes where a woman isn’t giving birth. We were just joking around. I was tickling her, not dry humping her.”
I nodded in agreement. “He’s tellin’ the truth and I don’t appreciate you insinuatin’ somethin’ other than harmless fun was goin’ on because I would never betray Ryder.” I frowned then. “He probably won’t even care anyway, he never does.”
I felt Ash take a step closer to me and Dominic quickly closed the distance between us, putting his body in the way of us.
“What?” Ash taunted. “Are you gonna hit me for seeing if my friend is okay?”
“I’ll see to her,” Dominic growled. “You go stare at a massacred pussy.”
He did not!
“Dominic!” I growled.
He held up his hand to shut me up. “I was there when Jax was born, don’t you try to convince me all births aren’t as horror filled as that. Bronagh makes me watch One Born Every Minute. I know what I’m talking about.”
“And the trained midwives don’t?” I questioned.
Ash shook his head and turned to me and asked, “Is he always this pigheaded?”
“Hey!” Dominic snapped, clearly offended.
“Yeah,” I replied to Ash. “He is.”
Dominic turned to face me and stared down at me, his expression displeased.
“Can we leave?” he asked me. “I don’t want to hurt your friend, but I will.”
I held his gaze. “You wouldn’t dare.”
He turned to his side and with his eyes on me, he lifted his arm and in the blink of an eye, he reached out and jabbed Ash in the shoulder with his left hand.
“Ow!” Ash gasped and grabbed hold of his shoulder. “That hurt, you arsehole.”
I blinked at Dominic as he shifted his gaze to Ash. “You bastard.”
“You challenged me,” he said to me without looking away from my friend.
I wanted to smack Dominic who leisurely dropped his hand to his side and laughed at Ash who was behaving like he was shot in his arm, instead of just being punched.
“It’s on fire!” He hissed and gripped it tightly, furiously rubbing the aching spot. “What the fuck is your hand made of? Steel?”
Dominic looked at Ash with distaste. “I barely touched you.”
“Barely…” Ash repeated, his eye-wide. “My future fucking grandchildren felt it.”
Dominic snorted, but said nothing further.
I shook my head in annoyance. “You’re being very immature and irrational right now, Dominic.”
He blinked. “I’ll apologize later.”
He was as stubborn as Ryder, if not worse.
“Get your stuff,” he continued. “It’s four, your shift here is over.”
I think what he meant to say was my time with Ash was over.
“Okay, I’ll get me coat and bag.” I pointed my index finger at Dominic and gestured to Ash with my head. “Leave him alone.”
“No promises,” he muttered.
I rolled my eyes and quickly scurried into the break room where I got my coat and bag from my locker. I put my coat on, hooked my bag over my shoulder and rushed back out front where I found Dominic and Ash staring at one another. Well, Ash was staring while Dominic was glaring.
“Stop it,” I hissed to Dominic and pinched his arm.
He grunted and rubbed the spot once before taking my arm and tugging me to his side. I resisted fighting him because I was in my place of work, I’d save the arse whooping I had in mind for him when I got home.
“I’ll see you tomorrow, Bran,” Ash said as he backed away, his eyes on Dominic.
I sighed. “Bye, sweetie. I’m sorry about him.”
Ash waved me off like it was no big deal, and I hoped it was no big deal because I didn’t want Dominic’s rudeness to make him uncomfortable around me. I thought this over as I left the hospital and power walked ahead of Dominic all the way to his car.
“Why’re you running away from me?” he asked when he unlocked his car and we climbed inside.
I punched him on the shoulder when he was settled. “Because I can’t bash you outside, but in here I can.” I spat and punched him again.
“Are you supposed to be hurting me?” Dominic asked, grinning as he easily dodged my swinging hands. “Because you aren’t.”
I growled in frustration as I buckled my seatbelt and folded my arms across my chest.
“You’re bloody maddenin’!”
“Bronagh tells me that all the time,” he mused, not seeming bothered one bit.
“She’s not lyin’, you can be a real prick. How dare you behave like that on me ward? That’s me job, and co-worker, Dominic!”
He backed out of the hospital car park and pulled onto the main road.
“I didn’t like what I saw, so I acted on an impulse. Sue me.”
“I’d never cheat on Ryder.” I bit out. “Never fuckin’ ever.”
“I’m sorry if I implied you would.” He frowned. “I know you wouldn’t do that. I don’t know Ash but I do know that he likes you. It’s obvious.”
I widened my eyes. “We were jokin’ around! Ash is me friend. He flirts with everyone. Literally everyone.”
“If he knows you have a man, he shouldn’t flirt with you. Period.”
“You can’t just treat people like that though, Dominic. He was only messin’ around,” I scowled.
He grunted. “Sorry for making sure some stranger wasn’t groping you.”
I scoffed. “You could tell that we were jokin’ around. I was laughin’!”
“You can laugh without him touching you,” Dominic countered.
I glared at him then looked out the window of his Jeep, contemplating on whether or not to murder him.
“You might want to square shit with Ash because when I tell Ryder about this, he might end up in a body bag.”
I exploded.
“What the fuck are you goin’ to tell ‘im?” I angrily asked. “That me friend was ticklin’ me. Really?”
“Yeah,” Dominic countered. “Really.”
He was un-fucking-believable.
“I can’t talk to you anymore, I’ll go crazy!”
With that said, I focused my attention out of the car window until we pulled up outside my house some twenty minutes later.
“Thanks for the lift,” I said politely as I unbuckled my seatbelt and grabbed my bag, making sure not to look at Dominic for fear I’d bite his over-reacting head off his shoulders.
He grunted. “Remember what I said, tell Ash to back off.”
I set my jaw as I exited his Jeep and slammed the door behind me.
“Rude little bastard,” I muttered as I walked up the driveway of my garden.
I didn’t look back as I unlocked my front door and stepped inside my house, closing it firmly behind me. I hooked my keys up on
the key rack and then headed into the kitchen, turning on the hallway light along the way. I hated the winter months; it got dark out way too bloody early. It was only nearing four pm and the sun was already set.
“Damien?” I called out; making sure my voice was loud enough to carry up the never-ending staircase.
I heard movement from upstairs then, “Yeah, Bran?”
“I’m makin’ cottage pie for dinner, do you want some?”
“Yeah, please.”
“Okay, hon.”
I took off my jacket, hung it up under the stairs along with my bag. I grabbed my phone from my bag then headed into the kitchen and got a start on dinner. Twenty minutes later I was mid-way through my prep when the front door of my house opened and slammed shut.
“Branna?” Ryder’s voice roared and echoed throughout the house.
Uh-oh.
“I’m in the kitchen,” I called out.
I heard his footsteps pound against the floorboards as he stormed down the hallway and into the kitchen, shoving the door open in the process.
“Who the fuck is Ash Wade?”
I was going to murder Dominic Slater.
Present day…
I glanced away from peeling potatoes and looked over my shoulder to Ryder when he stormed into the kitchen, dropping his coat and keys on the kitchen counter. I stared at his coat until he growled and snatched it from the counter and hung it up in the hallway under the stairs where all of the other coats and jackets went.
“Ash is me co-worker, he works the delivery ward with me.” I replied calmly and went back to peeling potatoes.
Things were silent for a moment until I felt a firm hand take hold of my upper arm. The surprise of him touching me caused me to drop the potato and peeler from my hands and into the sink. When I was spun around I gasped to find how close Ryder was to me.
His body was a hair away from pressing against me and his face was dangerously close to mine. I licked my dry lips and looked up at him; momentarily staring at the face and eyes I’ve come to miss so dearly.
Instead of saying something emotionally stupid, I said, “I don’t have time for games, Ryder. I’m preparin’ dinner. Damien is hungry.”
His lip curled a little, and I could feel his anger radiate from his body as I frowned at him.
“Why’re you so mad at me?” I questioned.
“Are you cheatin’ on me?” He asked, his voice shockingly low.
I blinked with surprise, shock… and hurt.
“I… what?” I asked when nothing else would come out.
“Are. You. Cheating. On. Me?” he snarled.
He unknowingly just stabbed me in the heart with a knife.
I swallowed down the lump that formed in my throat and blinked back the tears that wanted to be shed. “If you have to even ask me that, then you’re truly lost to me.” I whispered, my heart pounding against my chest as pain surged through it.
“Answer the fucking question,” he bit out.
I shook my head. “No, I’m not cheatin’ on you.”
The muscles in his jaw rolled back and forth. “Do you want to cheat on me?”
Cue the twisting of said knife in my heart.
“No,” I answered. “I don’t want to cheat on you.”
“Then why,” he rumbled, “are you fooling around with a co-worker of yours? Who, by the way, will have one of his limbs broken by morning.”
Panic filled me.
“Don’t you dare hurt Ash!” I warned. “He is me friend, just me friend, and fuck Dominic for tellin’ you otherwise.”
“How do you know Dominic—”
“Because he picked me up from work and saw Ash ticklin’ me and, as usual, he jumped to conclusions!”
Ryder got in my face and pressed his body against mine using his hips to pin me against the kitchen counter. I knew he wouldn’t physically hurt me, even if I ever did cheat on him I knew he would never raise his hand to me, but that knowledge didn’t calm my spiked nerves.
“He had his hands on you?” he asked, his voice dangerously low.
I cleared my throat. “It was playful, Ryder. Harmless. Ash is me friend, and nothin’ more. He flirts with everyone on the ward—”
“Everyone on the ward isn’t my fianceé, are they?” he cut me off, his voice a growl.
My shoulders sagged. “No, they aren’t.”
“They why would you think it’d ever be okay to playfully mess around with some guy?”
I sent my jaw. “I do it with the girls all the time, but just because Ash has a dick you’re gettin’ bent out of shape.”
I gasped when Ryder lowered his face to mine. “The only dick that should ever be near you in any way is mine, do you understand me?”
I turned my head to the side. “You don’t own me, and you certainly don’t tell me who I can and cannot be friends with. Do you understand me?”
Ryder’s entire body tensed. He pushed away from the counter and began to pace back in forth in front of me like a caged lion.
“What do I have to do?” he hissed. “Piss on you to mark my territory?”
I clutched my chest. “How romantic.”
My sarcasm was met with Ryder’s rage.
“Cut the bullshit, Branna.”
“Says the man who constantly spews it.”
We stared at each other for a long moment until his beeping phone broke the silence. He angrily dug the device out of his pocket, pressed on the screen, read whatever message he received and set his jaw.
“Put the fuckin’ phone down for one second and focus on me!” I snapped.
“I am focused on you, and this isn’t over.” He growled at me whilst shoving his phone back in his pocket. “We’ll continue this later.”
With that said he turned around and stormed out of the kitchen, his heavy footsteps echoing throughout the house.
“Where are you goin’ now?” I bellowed, throwing my hands up in the air.
“You don’t need to fucking worry about it!” He shouted back.
When the front door slammed shut I screamed with frustration. Without thinking I turned, picked up the plate containing the potatoes I already peeled for dinner and threw it against the cupboards. I watched as it smashed into pieces and flew in all directions.
I stood staring at the mess I just caused and crumbled to my knees. Everything was a mess. My kitchen. My relationship. My fucking life. I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to regulate my breathing, but it was no use, I was close to my breaking point.
“Bran,” I heard a voice murmur.
I looked up, and when I saw the grey eyes of Damien, I burst into tears.
“He’s being a dick, Bran,” Damien said as he bent down and put his arms around me. “I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but you both weren’t exactly being quiet. I heard what was said, and Dominic clearly fed Ry some bullshit and he just lost it.”
I hugged Damien back and let all my built up sorrow come out.
“Branna,” Damien sighed and swayed me from side to side. “Don’t cry, Mama Bear. It’ll be okay.”
That only caused me to cry harder because I knew how false that statement truly was.
“It won’t, Dame,” I sniffled.
He pulled back from our hug and frowned at me. “What do you mean?”
“I’m breakin’ up with him,” I whispered.
Telling another person, especially Ryder’s brother, about my plan made it feel much more real, and much more harrowing.
Damien swallowed. “You both just had a stupid fight, you don’t need to jump to—”
“I’ve been plannin’ on breakin’ up with him,” I cut Damien off. “I just haven’t found the right moment to do it.”
Damien stared at me with wide eyes.
I nodded. “You look how I feel.”
He blinked his eyes a couple of times, opened his mouth then snapped it shut. I felt like another dam was about to break within me when an expression of pain flashed across Damien’s eyes.
“Don’t look at me like that,” I pleaded.
He cleared his throat. “Like what?”
“Like I’m goin’ to take your entire world away.”
The muscles in Damien’s jaw rolled back and forth.
“You’re my big sister, Branna,” he murmured. “Not having you here, or by Ryder’s side, will change everything… just everything.”
My heart hurt.
“I know, sweetie, and trust me,” I whispered, “I didn’t want it to turn out like this, but I’ve been puttin’ up with Ryder’s shite for a long time. He has pushed me to this, and left me no choice.”
“I’ll help fix whatever he has done. Just tell me what he did and I’ll make it better, I promise.” Damien said in an almost desperate attempt to try and change my mind.
“Honey, I won’t leave your life, not when I’ve just gotten you back. I love you to death, you’re me family and that will never change whether I’m with Ryder or not.”
“Tell me what he did,” Damien bit out, ignoring me. “I can’t help if I don’t know what he did. Just tell me, please.”
“He’s done a lot of things,” I replied, my shoulders sagging. “While you’ve been away, things changed between us and they’re just goin’ from bad to worse.”
“But… why?”
I managed a snort. “Sweetie, I’ve been askin’ meself that question for months.”
“I don’t understand, Branna,” Damien grunted, furrowing his brows. “I need to understand, help me to. Please.”
He took my hands in his and carefully pulled me to my feet then we sat at the kitchen table across from one another.
“It started off small,” I began. “He’d go out for a late night run or to grab some food, but instead of being gone only a little while, he’d be gone most of the night. Honestly, I didn’t notice a pattern until a few months after it first occurred. Workin’ at the hospital wipes me out so I paid no mind to when he left the room at night because I’d fall into a dead sleep, but when I started to mention it, that’s when the fightin’ started. He refused to tell me anythin’ when I asked so he resorted to blockin’ me out and ignorin’ me. It got worse when nothin’ was resolved so we’ve just been growin’ apart from one another ever since, and I’m at a point now where I want to detach meself completely from ‘im so I can start to move on from ‘im.”