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her, showing her what she was missing by marrying Travis, but now…
    Was Pax still as interested in her as she was in him?
    Not that it mattered.
    Down, girl .
    Brooke nibbled her lower lip and stared down at her left hand, under the shifting hot tub water. Hand perched on her knee, she could see the sparkling engagement ring glinting on her finger.
    Yeah. You need to behave. You just have… jitters, or whatever.
    Brooke took a deep breath and forced herself to act normal. Penny and Harlan perked up and joined the conversation, and Brooke was able to focus on that for a bit. Every time she attempted to truly relax, though, Pax’s fingers would brush her hip or her ribs, making her breath catch in her chest.
    It didn’t help that Travis hadn’t touched her in months. Not since the engagement, really, and even that night she’d felt more that he’d been doing it out of a sense of duty.
    That just made it all the harder when Pax winked at her or wiped a water droplet from her shoulder, flirting in a way that screamed this could be your life . The party progressed, the hot tub and beer combination getting everyone tipsy pretty quickly.
    And Pax was there, all that hard, warm muscle only inches from Brooke’s fingertips, tempting her with his sexy body and gorgeous grin…
    Before she knew it, Brooke’s head was resting on Paxton’s shoulder, her thoughts drifting dreamily as she considered just how good it would feel to tell him everything. All about her parents’ mistakes, about the Marchands and what amounted to a blackmail-driven shotgun wedding, about how much she wanted to leave it all behind and just curl up in Pax’s arms, let him take care of her…
    “BROOKE! What in the FUCK!”
    Brooke shot up in the water, twisting around. Travis was barreling toward her, his face contorted with rage.
    “Travis!” she squeaked.
    “Get out of there,” Travis snarled.
    Brooke grabbed the side of the hot tub and pushed herself up on shaky legs. Pax rose beside her, all humor gone from his face.
    “Stay back,” Pax warned Travis quietly. Pax’s arm came out to block Brooke from moving forward.
    Somehow that small gesture on Pax’s part seemed to be the straw that broke Travis’s back. He launched himself at Brooke with a throaty growl, his eyes flashing like green fire. Something clicked in Brooke’s brain, something about Travis and Pax’s and Chase’s green eyes, but it vanished just as quickly.
    Travis came at her hard, his expression deadly. His hand raised, Brooke ducked, and then everything went sideways.

Chapter Five
    P ax’s wolf rose and ripped its way out of him, desperate for a taste his enemy’s blood. No one raised a hand to Brooke. No one. Pax and his wolf could agree on that much, at least. Still, the wolf took the reins and Pax let it, unleashing his beast.
    Just as Travis was doing. The other man shifted into a small, sleek mountain lion as Pax hit the ground on all fours, shaking out his long black fur. He heard Brooke’s scream and saw her draw back, seeing refuge with Chase. Her brother pushed Brooke behind him and faced off against Travis. Harlan was doing the same thing with Penny, his face set in a grim line.
    That expression on Harlan’s face did not bode well for Travis Marchand.
    “You’re an idiot if you think you can take all three of us,” Chase boomed.
    Pax sucked in a breath and gave a deep growl, letting Travis know he agreed with Chase. The wildcat eyed them all speculatively, then made the wise choice. Backing up a few steps, he crouched and shifted back to his human form.
    When Travis was totally human again, Pax followed, forcing his wolf down. Knowing he’d already probably terrified Brooke, possibly driving yet another wedge between them. Not that he’d had much of a choice. She’d been under threat, and his wolf regarded her as his true mate.
    At the moment, though, Brooke only had eyes for Travis. Her expression was halfway between incredulous and furious, and Pax