Claim - Page 80

He inclined his head. “Thanks.”

I looked over at Bell again. She and Macy were laughing at something. I was glad she was having fun.

The others moved on, leaving me, Colt, Reath, and Dante cradling our whiskey glasses.

“So, Bell looks…rumpled,” Dante murmured.

I grunted.

“You’re head over heels for her,” he said. “When are you going to admit it?”

My fingers tightened on my glass. “I told you, it’s short-term.”

“Does she know that?”

Anger felt like a hard knock to my gut. It made me feel like punching something. “Yes. When I get her free of Carr, she’ll go back to Texas.”

“She’s falling in love with you, Beau,” Reath said. “As a man who’s just been through it, I know the look.”

Now, I felt… Hell, I didn’t know what I felt. “I…can’t.”

“Can’t what?” Dante said. “Keep her? Claim her? Love her?”

“Goddammit.” My arm snapped out and I gripped the front of Dante’s shirt.

My brother didn’t react, his gaze trained on my face. “You’re already in love with her.”

“I’mnotinflicting my history on her.”

Dante made an angry sound. “Not this again. Fuck your parents. You’re a good man. Hell, Beau, if we go with your logic, none of us deserve the women we’ve claimed.”

I shook my head.

“You can’t have it both ways,” Colt said. “Either we’re trash with bad bloodlines, or we’re the men we made ourselves into.”

For a second, I let myself imagine my life with Bell in it.

Imagined my seed between her legs taking root, and imagined her round with our child.

Shit. Fuck.

Then across the room, I saw Bell stiffen. She was looking through the crowd, frowning. What was she looking at?

Then she set her glass down, and started shoving her way through the throng of people.

“Something’s wrong.” I shoved my glass at Dante, and charged after her.

I lost sight of her, and my chest squeezed.Where the hell was she?

Had she seen Carr? I knew security was tight. PSS was running it, and Reath only hired the best. Carr couldn’t be here.

“Beau?” Ro Langston materialized next to me, his brow creased. “Is everything all right?”

“I’m looking for Bell.”

“I saw her before. Maybe she went through that doorway?”

Without a word, I wrenched the door open. I was barely aware of Ro following me down the long corridor. There were some offices and storage rooms, but no sign of Bell.