“That tiara is my property. A family heirloom. You’d better give it back, Doug.”
“I believe I have a receipt that says it’s currently my property.”
I almost stomped my foot. “Don’t be an asshole. I’m not going to stay with you because you are trying to blackmail me, okay? That tiara…” My voice gave out, succumbing to unexpected emotion. It was no use. The more upset I got, the smugger Doug looked.
He would not see me cry. If it were in my power, I wouldn’t let him make me cry. The last man to ever make me cry was Brock, and then my very soul had poured out into the ocean of tears I’d shed for him. Only him. I could never let myself get that way again.
“Fuck you, Doug. You haven’t heard the last of me. I’ll take it to the clan council.”
“Drama queen, much?” He rolled his eyes, and I burned with so much hatred that I wanted to slap him. “I’m sure the clan council will think you’re as heartless as I do for selling some priceless inheritance your daddy gave to you.”
I took a threatening step toward him, and for a split second there was fear in his eyes. But I couldn’t say anything and the tears were clogging and blurring everything.
He’d pay. I’d so make him pay.
I scooped up my bag and, spinning on my heel, I stormed out of the tent and raced toward the edge of the encampment. The tears were coming fast and I couldn’t let anyone see them. With my head down, my bag slung over my shoulder, I sped up, fists tightened at my sides. I was so close to escape—
Only to slam into a solid body as I rounded the very last tent in the row. I’d been moving so fast that I couldn’t stop my momentum and thus landed flat on my ass.
I sat back in shock, taking a few seconds to gather my wits. When I looked up, it was straight into the face of Doug’s nemesis. Despite my best efforts, there were tears on my cheeks and I was sure the expression on my face screamed helplessness.
For his part, he looked stunned, then bent immediately to help me up. My eyes fixed on the thick column of his throat rising up from his open tunic, which also exposed the very top of his chest. There was a thin patch of dark hair over solid muscle.
Doug was right. William had been working out for months—and it showed.
He looked…amazing. Especially with so few clothes on. William had always been a handsome guy, but his preparations for the fight had honed him. Now he was tall, dark, handsome and muscular. And where Doug had appeared small and tired, William looked vibrant and powerful.
He extended a hand, his bulging forearm peeking out from the cuff of his rolled-up sleeve. Damn. Even through my tears it was hard to ignore.
“Mistress Kovac. Pardon.” He addressed me as most did while we were still roleplaying among our clan. Yeah, it was geeky as hell, but it was also fun. At least I thought so most of the time—like when I wasn’t ragingly pissed off.
I quickly ducked my head to hide my face. “It’s fine, William. You’re fine.” I grabbed his hand and let him pull me to my feet. Then I bent to get my bag, but he was faster, snatching it up for me. “I’ll carry this for you.”
As was his custom, he avoided looking directly at me. This suited my purposes, for I had no wish for anyone to see me like this. I reached to take the bag from him and kept my face down. “No need. Thanks. I’m very sorry for your defeat. You didn’t deserve to lose.” He handed me the bag slowly, reluctantly, and I hooked it over my shoulder.
With a big sniff, I turned to go, but his big hand landed on the top of my arm, just below my shoulder, and the warmth I felt through the thin fabric of my shirt did something to me. I swallowed, resisting the urge to shrug him off. I resolved not to be rude to him just because I was pissed off at another man.
“I beg your pardon,” he said in that same stilted roleplaying mode. “But why would you say that?”
I shook my head, irritation gnawing at the edge of my mood. “What? Why would I say what?”
“That I deserved to win. I violated the rules…”
“You were tense.”
His hand fell away from my arm. I chanced a glance at his face. He was staring at my shoulder—likely the closest he’d come to looking at my face—and frowning.
“How did you know?”
I shrugged. “Just an educated guess. You’ve been working hard. For months. I can tell…” My nose was starting to run from the tears I’d shed, so I sniffed—louder than I would have liked. Annoyed with myself again, I swiped my sleeve over my face like a preschooler.
“I gotta go.” The hand was back on my arm again in a split second. “What?” I hissed.
“You’re crying.”
I suppressed a sigh and an eye roll. “Thank you, Captain Obvious,” I huffed.
He frowned and ignored the snark—another habit of his. “Why?”
I wondered how much to tell him. “Um. Someone has something that belongs to me and won’t give it back.”
“Who stole from you?”
I sighed. “It’s not stealing...exactly. Look, I know it’s only late morning, but my day has already gotten off to a bad start and it’s a really long story.”
“So shorten it.”
I gritted my teeth, considering. The clan elders liked William. He had sway with them, from what I could see. He was a stalwart member of the group, and with his handy blacksmithing skills, he commanded respect. Maybe telling him would be a good place to start. He could get them to make that jerk give me my tiara back.
“Doug has something of mine.”
He stiffened, and I only belatedly remembered Ann’s observation that William liked me. I still didn’t believe it, but…in case he was going to take this personally, I needed to tread carefully. I bit my lip. What to do?
“What did Doug take from you?” His handsome face darkened.
“Well, he didn’t take it from me. He…he bought it from a broker.”
“But it belongs to you?”
“Yes.” I coughed. “I needed some money quickly, and it was the only thing I owned that was valuable enough to secure a loan.”
“He bought it from the broker…” he repeated, his voice lowering. I couldn’t tell what he was implying. Maybe he was about to back up Doug’s assertion that since Doug had bought it, it belonged to him.