"Dammit, Tarek, let me go before they destroy the house," Lyra yelled at his ear. "They'll tear it apart. "
"Better the house than me," he grunted, holding her in place as the black-clad figures halted at the table, followed by a set of legs clad in jeans.
The father.
Hell.
"Look, I like this house better than mine. " She smacked his shoulder before putting her knees into his back and pushing.
"And they're going to ruin it. "
"Dammit, stay in place, woman," he snarled. "I can rebuild the house, and as I can't kill the bastards because of you, I'd really prefer to stay out of harm's way. If it's all the same to you," he snarled mockingly.
"Moron. "
"Brat. "
"Well, at least she's alive," a mocking voice drawled as three Navy SEALs hunkered down to stare beneath the table. Eyes amazingly similar to Lyra's stared back at him. They quickly took in the fact that he wasn't about to let her move just yet, and she was fairly content to be where she was, insults notwithstanding.
"You can't shoot my future husband. " She finally managed to wiggle past him.
Heaving a sigh, Tarek glanced across the floor as Braden came slowly to his feet.
"Are those assholes bleeding on my kitchen floor?" Lyra was out from under the table just ahead of him, facing her brothers, hands on her hips. "Why are they bleeding on my floor?"
"Blame your boyfriend under there. " The broadest of the four men faced her squarely, his black head lowered to snarl back at her, anger lighting his eyes. "He shot them. We didn't. And since when the hell is this your house?"
"Since I said it was. " Tarek pulled her back, his instincts flaring at the other man's fury toward his mate. This was not acceptable.
"And who the hell are you?" Violence raged in the brother's expression. A violence he could damned well direct somewhere other than toward Lyra.
"Her mate…" His cold smile didn't go over any better than his announcement.
Pandemonium ensued.
Chapter Ten
"I can't believe you actually got into a fist fight with my brother. " Lyra's expression was none too pleased later that night as she stood before him, inspecting the black eye and split lip he had gained from the effort.
"Neither can I," he grunted, wincing as she pressed the alcohol pad she held to the abrasion on his cheek. "It was wasted effort. You, Lyra, are a troublemaker. I've seen this tonight. "
"Me?" She drew back, her eyes innocently wide as she stared back at him in surprise. "What did I do?"
"You antagonize your brothers. " He caught her hips as she attempted to move from the bed where he sat. "You deliberately challenge their authority and continually keep them in a state of combat-readiness. That fight was your fault. Had you been a bit more forthcoming, as I encouraged you to be on the phone, they would not have charged in, determined to protect your honor. " Her lips twitched. The little hellion.
"If you had stayed out of it, there wouldn't have been a fight. " She braced her hands on his shoulders to hold him back from licking once again at the scratch she had somehow gained from the night's adventures.
The red mark extended from her shoulder, past her
collarbone, and although the sting was irritating, it was nothing compared to the fires burning in the rest of her body.
"No man gives you orders but me," he grunted at being denied access to her sweet flesh. He deserved something in reward for the aches and pains echoing beneath his flesh.
"You don't give me orders, either," she informed him imperiously. "What is it with you guys that you think you can?" He sighed wearily, seeing his life stretching out ahead of him, constantly amazed or exasperated at one small woman. Not that he wasn't looking forward to it. But Lyra had a habit of antagonizing her brothers where perhaps she should be less confrontational.
He was definitely going to have to talk to them alone in regards to this. She seemed to enjoy keeping them upset.
"The fact that you can so easily get into trouble?" He arched his brow mockingly. "Lyra, sweetheart, after discussing this with your brothers, I'm certain you are a trouble magnet. " The fight had been a damned good one. Clean, brutal, fists flying, and curses raging as he and Grant, her oldest brother, proceeded to destroy the kitchen.