Page 93 of Disobedient Pawn

He shoved a piece of bun in his mouth like he was trying to shut himself up.

It drove me crazy that my attraction to him was still just as strong even after everything. It was annoying, and I wished there was a switch that would allow me to shut the feelings off. As our eyes met, my heart sped up, and I had to force myself to look away from his tempting amber stare.

“Everyone, may I have your attention, please.” Lawrence stood at the head of the table and held up his glass of wine. “The food is about to be served, but I wanted to make a toast. At this time of year, we take account of our blessings and have more to be thankful for this year than ever. Our businesses are doing well, and we have a new family added to the fold. Welcome, Neal and Ren Davies.”

That was the worst toast I’d ever heard. What happened to health, love, and being happy to share this time with those that mean the most?

I lifted my glass of water to toast, but Lawrence caught my eye and grabbed a bottle of wine off the table as he walked toward me. I didn’t like the look of this. Sure enough, he leaned over me, his chest pressing into my shoulder, forcing me to move away as he grabbed the empty wine glass. He held both in front of my face as he poured.

I sucked in a surprised breath as some wine splashed out of the glass and landed on my bare leg.

“Sorry about that.”

Lawrence sat the wine glass down and grabbed my napkin. Before I could react, he was wiping at the spill on my leg, his finger running along the inside of my thigh. I jerked my leg away from his touch and ended up leaning into Nash.

Myles was glaring at Lawrence, his eyes murderous as he turned the knife in his hand like he planned on using it. For just a moment, I could picture him shoving the knife in Lawrence’s eye and continuing to eat as if nothing had happened.

“I can do that, thanks,” I said, grabbing the napkin in his hand. There was a distinct shift in the energy around us as he glared at me and held on to the material.

I felt Nash stand up behind me.

“I’ll take the wine and fill everyone else’s glasses. The servers are coming in with the food.”

He held out his hand, and Lawrence’s lips twitched like he was holding himself back from saying something.

The dark gleam in his eyes told me I never wanted to find myself alone with him. The fact that it was Nash standing up to defend me instead of my father pissed me off. If he could sit there with all these people and let this man openly grope his daughter, he was not the father I wanted.

Lawrence’s mouth slowly turned up in the fakest smile I’d ever seen. It never reached his eyes, and all I saw was a maliciousness that promised pain.

Myles held his knife so hard that his knuckles turned white as he stared at Lawrence. I caught his eye and, not even sure why, subtly shook my head no. The room felt like a helium balloon filling, just waiting for a spark to make it explode.

“Yes, of course. It is Thanksgiving, after all. Servers, you may bring in the dishes,” Lawrence growled and sauntered away.

The tension balloon popped, and I sucked in a deep breath. My eyes found Myles, but he was looking up at Nash, who was still standing behind me. It was as if Myles was willing Nash to sit down with his eyes, and my respect for Nash grew a tiny bit. I thought dealing with my father was an issue, but I could honestly say that I would never want to call that man my flesh and blood. I was positive that the only thing comparable to being related to him was walking hand in hand with Satan through the bowels of hell.

If the last few minutes were any indication of what was to come, then the night would not get any better.

NOVEMBER 24 – THURSDAY 7:11 PM

Ren

I shook my head in total disbelief at Theo.

“Are you kidding me? This is not even a debate. A quokka is far cuter than a bilby, I don’t know how you can even say that. They look like someone got drunk and mushed a rat and a rabbit together into one body.”

Theo laughed.

“Fine, I’ll give you that one, but nothing beats the axolotl. They always look like they’re smiling and waddle when they run underwater,” Theo argued.

I screwed up my face, thinking about what he said and picturing them in my head.

“Okay, they’re pretty cute, but not the cutest. I’m still ahead by one point.”

Theo leaned his arms on the table, his stare intense.

“Fine…” One of his eyebrows arched above his glasses. This was the first time I’d seen him with glasses on, but I had to admit they looked sexy. “The fennec fox,” he said, then sat back and smiled.

My mind whirred as the image of the adorable fox popped into my head. He had a point. Their little faces and great big ears were so darn cute. And that was before they curled into a tiny ball and peeked over their bushy tails. It was one of my favorite slide show screensaver images, but I couldn’t let Theo win.