THEIR_VIRGIN_PRINCESS by Shayla Black Lexi Blake Page B

right fist flew out, catching Lan’s jaw. There was a
     thud, and a nasty, happy little smile crept across Lan’s face because he was a
     man who appreciated violence, and Coop had just made the enormous mistake of
     giving it to him.
    Lan’s fist popped up almost faster than Dane could see it,
     and a nice splash of blood came from Coop’s face. His lip, it looked like. He’d
     shifted just enough that Lan hadn’t broken his nose.
    They started to wail on each other, but Dane had lost the
     desire to fight.
    Because he was pretty sure they had just lost Alea. Or maybe
     she’d already been lost, and tonight had simply forced him to face facts. The
     woman spitting the cruel barbs just wasn’t his princess.
    He heaved a long sigh. She needed him, but she would never
     acknowledge it, never give him the chance to prove it to her. And, hell, maybe
     he was wrong. It wouldn’t be the first time. Maybe he should just join a
     fucking club and spend his time with the subs there who came out for a good
     time. He’d wrecked his marriage. He’d fucked up his career.
    “I should have expected this.” Tal stood beside him,
     watching the fight and shaking his head.
    Dane turned, and it looked like Tal had brought out the
     whole fucking gang. Rafe and Kade were with him, along with the three James
     brothers—Gavin, Slade, and Dex—as well as the Lennox twins, Cole and Burke.
    “Brothers shouldn’t fight like that, man,” Dex said, shaking
     his head.
    Gavin James sent his youngest brother a scorching look.
     “Really? My nose is crooked because of you two fuckers.”
    Slade shook his head. “That was all on you, brother. Ouch,
     that’s going to hurt. They’re not big believers in rules, are they?”
    Dane winced because Coop had just landed a kidney shot. “He
     was my team’s medic. I don’t think he takes the Hippocratic Oath very
     seriously. And we’re not really brothers.”
    “That’s where you’re making your mistake,” Rafe said. “If
     you want Alea, you better behave like brothers. Blood or no, be a cohesive
     unit. You have to take care of each other and work together.”
    “Yeah, you’ve got to do that if you’re going to survive your
     wife. Trust me, Cole’s the dumbass. He’s always hiding behind me when he says
     something stupid.” The Lennox twin on the right pointed to his other half.
    Yeah, Dane would like a word with Cole. “He might want to
     hide behind you now.”
    A single eyebrow arched on Cole’s face. “You’re pissed that
     I talked to Landon? Well, someone had to. You guys are fucking this up and
     hard.”
    The urge to kill flared up again. “Is that right?”
    Tal held up a hand. “Before you kill Mr. Lennox, perhaps you
     should understand a few things.”
    “Like he could kill me.” Cole rolled his eyes.
    Burke shrugged. “Dude, we’ve spent the last year hauling our
     son around, not training for battle. He would probably take you down.”
    “Please. I could take him down with Caleb strapped into his
     baby Snugli across my chest.”
    “The fact that you just used the word Snugli proves how out
     of the game we are.”
    The Lennox brothers continued to argue, but Dane looked to
     Tal. “What do you mean?”
    “I mean what you’ve tried hasn’t worked. You’ve all come at
     her in different ways, and she is going to require a coordinated assault where
     you leave her absolutely no way out. It’s imperative the three of you work
     together. And be smart for a fucking change. I believe she’ll respond to how
     gentle Landon can be, to Cooper’s playfulness, and I absolutely believe she
     needs you most of all.” Tal looked pointedly at Dane. “But you’re the one who’s
     holding back the most.”
    Tal could accuse him of a lot of things, but not that he’d
     been holding back. Something crashed in the background, and Dane looked over
     his shoulder. Landon had Cooper pinned to the ground, getting ready to bash his
     head in with what was