Lucky Stars (Ghosts and Reincarnation #5)(20)
Author: Kristen Ashley

“Thank you,” Belle whispered, only the relief evident in her voice then she touched the screen to end the call.

She threw her mobile on top of her purse and shook out the jeans, still ignoring Miles.

“So, you think you can come to my home, meet my mother, spend the night f**king my brother while I’m at the party searching for you, half mad with worry and then just go home?” Miles’s dangerous voice asked.

“Go away, Miles.” Belle sounded exactly as frightened as she felt and she didn’t care. She yanked up the jeans, fastened the button fly and then dashed around the room, gathering her things and running back to the bag, shoving it in.

“Go away?” Miles asked quietly as she did this.

“Yes. Go away,” Belle repeated, rushing around the room, blindly grabbing her belongings, not looking at him.

“Go away,” Miles whispered and it was a sinister whisper. A whisper that sent shivers of fear up her spine.

Belle didn’t respond, she pushed her hand into her bag, found her flip-flops and pulled them out, dropping them to the floor.

She felt him get close when she shoved her feet into the shoes.

“Look at me,” he demanded.

“Go away,” she whispered, thrusting her stuff into the bag so she could do the zip.

She felt fingers tighten brutally around her upper arm and with an instinct borne of experience, she braced minutes before he shook her by her arm savagely so she turned to him.

His face was frighteningly red with clearly evident wrath and Belle sucked in a terrified breath at the sight right before he roared, “You f**king whore!”

She flinched then belatedly tried to jerk her arm out of his grip.

This didn’t work.

Fear spiralled through her belly as he took her other arm in his grasp and shook her so hard her head snapped back.

He was shouting loudly when he said, “A month I’ve been taking you to the finest restaurants, feeding you the best food, dancing f**king attendance on you like an absolute jackass and you barely let me put my tongue in that sweet mouth of yours. Yet, in one f**king night you open your legs for my f**king brother when I’m under the same goddamned roof.” He shook her roughly again and yelled, “You f**king whore!”

“Let her go, Miles.”

Belle and Miles’s eyes swung to the voice that came from door.

There stood James wearing faded jeans and a black t-shirt that fit snug on his chest and stomach. His black hair was tousled. His feet were bare. His powerful body was held stiff and the expression on his face was downright scary.

At the sight of James in all his angry beauty, Belle forgot her current physical predicament and tears crawled up her throat, stung her eyes and she didn’t have the strength to hold them back.

They spilled down her cheeks.

James’s angry gaze swung to her face, he took one look at her and the obvious anger turned to even more obvious fury and he strode purposefully into the room.

“Take your hands off her,” he demanded.

“Fuck you,” Miles returned viciously.

James got close, his eyes locked on his brother and he warned softly, “I’m not going to ask again.”

James and Miles glared at each other and Belle stood frozen watching them as the white-hot current of what seemed to be hatred crackled between them.

Suddenly Miles moved. He tossed Belle toward James with great force, sending her flying across the short expanse and colliding into James’s body.

James’s arms immediately folded around her to hold her close.

“Have her,” Miles snapped, sounding like she wasn’t a she but an it. A toy, a plaything, something you could blithely toss around and throw away.

“We’ll talk later,” James said in a way it was clear anyone in their right mind wouldn’t want to be present at that particular chat and Miles’s ugly expression turned uglier.

“No, Jack, we won’t. Fuck that,” Miles clipped.

“We’re going to have words,” James demanded.

“We’re done talking,” Miles retorted.

“What’s going on?” Joy asked, her concerned voice coming from the door and Belle had had enough.

She yanked out of James’s arms and ran to her bag.

There was stuff in the bathroom but she didn’t care. She’d buy more. She was leaving, immediately, even if she had to walk halfway to town to meet the taxi.

She started to zip her bag but felt the hot touch of James’s hand at the small of her back.

“What’s going on?” Joy repeated in a motherly demand at the exact same moment James murmured, “Poppet.”

At that word, Belle zipped her bag with a sharp movement and whirled around, dislodging his hand, her eyes shooting up to lock on his.

“Don’t touch me,” she whispered, her voice thick with tears.

His hand came up and toward her face as he said gently, “Belle.”

She lifted her own hand, knocking his aside. It registered somewhere that her action made his body jerk and his brows drew together.

“I said, don’t touch me,” she repeated and turned away. Grabbing her suitcase by the handles, she moved to get her purse. “I never want to see you again.” She turned, her gaze sweeping the room to see Miles was still there, Joy was at the door and Yasmin had joined her.

The women looked pale, Miles looked furious, James looked concerned.

All of them were watching her.

“Any of you,” Belle declared then grabbed her purse, hitched it on her shoulder and started to march to the door but James brought her up short with a hand at her wrist.

She stopped and looked up at him.

“Poppet –” he started and at his repeated endearment, something fundamental inside her that was holding together by a miracle broke apart.

“Don’t you dare,” she hissed, the tears clearing from her voice and eyes. “Don’t you dare. You wanted a crack at me?” she asked and James flinched, his eyes shot to his brother in what Belle read as guilt causing her heart to flutter in an altogether too painful way before they came back to her on her next words. “You got it. Three of them if I’m counting right. You won, James,” she told him and his eyes narrowed when she used his real name. “You can stop playing the game. Just note your hash mark on the board, move onto your next victim and leave me alone.”

She yanked from his hold and started to walk away but he caught her by the wrist again.

“Belle, listen to me –” he began when her eyes moved to his.