She had the feeling it wasn’t just Lowe hiding something from her either.
Everyone here had a secret.
And she was going to find out what it was.
Chapter 10
The heat of Cameo’s gaze still seared him, the way she had been staring at him stamping her name on his soul, rousing feelings inside him that had startled him when they had come over him. It wasn’t just desire and need her eyes on him had stirred—it had been a powerful need to possess her, a dark need to defend her, and a terrible urge to attack Knox.
Lowe had the feeling it wasn’t just because she was beautiful and he was attracted to her either.
These feelings felt more like instincts to him, mastered him in a way he didn’t like, easily ripping control from him.
He had felt a powerful need to look at her when she had been staring at him, as if her gaze had commanded him, issuing a silent order he hadn’t been able to resist, and his bear side had gone crazy.
Absolutely fucking wild.
The hunger to launch at Knox and take him down, to drive him away from Cameo and ensure the male couldn’t steal her from him had startled him and he hadn’t been able to stop himself from clinging to what his brother had said.
The fact he had called Cameo pretty.
Knox wanted her for himself.
He growled as he slid a look at his brother.
Knox’s fair eyebrows rose high on his forehead as he looked at Lowe. “What’s got you so tetchy?”
Lowe had the feeling he knew the answer to that question, but he couldn’t bring himself to tell Knox about his suspicions. His brother would only think he was reading into things or looking for an excuse to keep Cameo around, or give in to the desire he felt.
When the answer was all of those things and none of them at the same time.
He had the feeling Cameo was his fated mate.
The one female in this world he could have a mate bond with to form the deepest of connections, one that would allow her to live as long as he did.
He needed to be sure though, feared that he was reading into things and seeing what he wanted to see because he was attracted to Cameo, fiercely wanted her and was looking for a reason to give in to that desire. There was no better excuse than a potential mate bond. He could easily blame succumbing to desire on the fact he had thought they were true mates, using the excuse that he had wanted to determine whether they really were fated.
“Something’s up with you.” Knox slid him a hard look this time, one that Lowe didn’t like because it felt as if his brother was trying to peel back his layers, was hunting for the truth and Lowe feared he might find it. “I get that she’s pretty, Lowe, but she’s human, and we all know how that ends.”
Lowe bit back the growl that rumbled up his throat, denying it as the desire to lash out at his brother rode him, compelling him to surrender to it because Knox had called her pretty again. His bear side groaned and battered his will, trying to force a shift, and it was a struggle to hold it back, to stop himself from giving in to it and attacking his brother.
“I know.” He bit out instead.
Knox looked at him out of the corner of his eye again. “For a moment there, I felt sure you’d deny wanting her or feeling anything for her, or some bullshit like it. I can read the room, Lowe. The two of you were panting like horny newly awakened cubs.”
Lowe scowled at him, because when he had hit maturity at a little over a century old and his sexual instincts and desires had awakened, he hadn’t been the one panting and horny, wanting to jump anything that moved.
Knox had.
His steps slowed as he stared at Knox, for the first time really feeling as if he was looking at a darker reflection of himself. Same face. Same blue eyes. Same build. If Cameo looked at him with desire in her eyes, would she look at Knox in the same way? If his brother made a move on her, would she succumb to him?
“I don’t like that look in your eyes.” Knox’s lips flattened, the corners of his mouth turning downwards as his eyebrows knitted hard. “You’ve got aggression rolling off you like crazy and you look ready to kill me… and I’ve done nothing wrong. You might want to remember that.”
Lowe tried to dial it back, but the urge to strike his brother was strong, the need to alter his face so they no longer resembled each other, so Cameo wouldn’t be attracted to him, bringing out his claws.
His brother took a slow step backwards, placing more distance between them, the snow crunching beneath his black boots. “This isn’t like you, Lowe. She’s got you too worked up. Just take a moment to breathe.”
“I can’t.” He pushed those two words out as fear swelled inside him, the thought he might not be strong enough to tamp down and vanquish the urges surging through him making them sound as desperate as he felt. “Knox…”
His brother closed the distance between them as something dawned in his eyes, brightening them a shade, and clutched Lowe’s shoulders, gripping them tightly.
“I’m not interested in the female, Lowe. Whatever crazy ideas are flying around that head of yours, they’re wrong.” Knox palmed his shoulders, his gaze clear and open, honest. “I’m not interested in Cameo. I’m not a threat to her. I’m not a threat to you. You want to get your heart broken, fine. You want me to stay the hell away from her, I’m good with that. Whatever it takes to fix this.”
Lowe stared at his brother, desperately trying to make what he had said sink in. His bear side continued to push for freedom and he continued to fight it, unwilling to surrender to the dark needs running rampant inside him. He didn’t want to hurt Knox. Knox had said he wasn’t interested in Cameo.
What if that didn’t change how Cameo felt about Knox?
“Yeah, I know where this is going.” Knox shook him hard enough to rattle his brain in his skull. “Did that work?”
Lowe glared at him and bit out, “Did what work?”
“Just trying to shake that thought loose.” His brother slowly smiled. “I’d tease you about the fact you know I’m the better looking of the two of us, but I think you’d rip my head off. I don’t like seeing you like this, so I’m going to say a few things and I’m going to say them straight, and you’re probably not going to like them.”
Lowe growled and bared emerging fangs at him. He did want Cameo.
Knox rolled his eyes, as if he had heard that thought. “Number one. I do not, under any circumstances, want that female you have in your cabin. She isn’t my type. She looks like the sort of female who has her whole life planned out right down to the white picket fence and number of kids, and all their damned names. That is not my style.”
Lowe snarled at his brother. He liked that about Cameo. He liked that she was cautious and planned things, didn’t leap before she looked.
Hell, he liked that she struck him as the sort who didn’t leap before she did full recon of the entire area and charted every possible problem, had five contingencies in place, and was fully prepared for anything.
Knox shuddered. “You look like you’re going to drool, so I’m going to move on. Number two. She does not, under any circumstances, want me. She wants you. The way she looks at you, Lowe… a blind man could see she wants you. Apparently, you’re both attracted to the cautious, let’s suck the fun out of life by planning everything type.”