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DK’s shoulders straighten. “Careful.”

“Or what?”

The question hangs between us for a beat, but DK takes it a step further, his shoulder bumping mine hard enough to make the point. I don't move. Neither does he.

For a second, we're just standing there, staring each other down, two fucking idiots too stubborn to give an inch. One minute I had my dick in my hand, a hair's breadth from entering Ari’s sweet pussy, and now I’m in a standoff with the guy I thought was my best friend.

“Are you kidding me?” I ask, rolling my eyes at his aggression, but then his hand lands against my chest and shoves me back a step.

“I'm not playing a game with you, man. You knew what you were getting into by coming here tonight, and we’re not leaving until you work through your issues.”

I look down at his hand, then back at his face.

“Neither am I.”

“Bullshit.”

That pisses me off and I crowd into him, forcing him to either step back or let me into his space. He doesn't move. His gray eyes stay locked on mine.

“This isn't about whether I trust you,” I say.

“Then what is it about?”

I glance toward Ari.

Her head is twisted so that her eyes are on me, and whatever answer I was about to give dies somewhere behind my teeth.

DK sees it. Of course he fucking sees it. “You’re scared.”

“I’m not scared.”

The way he looks at me is too fucking close to pity, and it pisses me off even more. I’ve made a conscious decision not to hurt Arianette, even though I know she’d let me. I’m trying hard not to let that darkness in me win.

But because DK’s riding high on his fucking power trip, he can’t seem to turn it off. “You’re scared of what happens if you stop fighting yourself. You’re scared of wanting her this much. So you keep finding reasons to hesitate.”

“That doesn't give you the right to make the decision for me.”

“No.” His eyes sharpen. “Being King does, because it’s my job to unify us, and you’re not letting me do my job.”

Jesus Christ, he's right. I fucking hate that he's right.

For months, Timothy was the one we followed. His word carried weight because everyone knew he would make the call when nobody else could. Now that weight belongs to DK, and I’m standing here challenging him because some part of me still thinks of DK as my brother, not my leader.

But that's not the whole truth. The ugly part is that I'm not only afraid of losing control of my body. I'm afraid of losing control of everything.

Because Ari isn't just some woman I want to fuck. She is the one person who can get past every wall I've spent my entire life building. Wanting her is easy. Wanting her badly enough to stop holding something back is the hard part. Because if I let myself have her—really have her—there's nowhere left to hide. I would have to trust her with the parts of me I don't even know how to name.

And that scares the hell out of me.

DK watches my face, and I know he sees more than I want him to.

“You want to challenge me?” he asks quietly. “Fine. But understand what you're challenging. You’re not just pushing against me, Hunter. You’re pushing against the authority you agreed to follow.”

Shit.

I look at Ari again, then back at him. “And if I don't?”

His gray eyes darken.