Page 80 of Except You
Deserved that too.
Doggo bounds toward him without warning and jumps up on him, lapping at his hand and barking excitedly. With a muttered apology, I try to pull him down, but Sem just reaches out and gently pets him.
“It’s fine.”
“You sure?”
“Yep, sure am.”
So I let Doggo’s collar go and keep the front door open, letting Sem follow me in minute later. His eyes scan the living room and kitchen, his huge frame taking up far too much space.
“Um, do you want something to drink?” I ask nervously, not sure why he’s here and honestly, not sure how to act.
“Water,” he grunts, and I nod, tripping toward the kitchen, still a little discombobulated from my nap and from my panic attack earlier. This is probably not the best time for Sem to show up. I feel a bit frantic and overly tired. Wrenching the fridge open, I grab a water bottle and hand it to Sem. He twists the cap off and gulps half of it down, wiping his wet lips off with the back of his hand.
Then our eyes meet, and I feel myself shrink back slightly.
“I’m gonna get straight to the point. I don’t like messing around.”
I nod and fold my arms across my chest before letting them flop to my sides.
“I came here with a warning. You only get one. You hurt Maggie, you hurt my kids, you’re dead.”
I nod and swallow, my throat clicking. “I know. I won’t.”
“Don’t say shit if you don’t mean it.”
“I mean it. I promise I do.”
He eyes me sternly, his blue eyes stormy, and then nods. “Fine.”
He takes a breath, his hands unclenching at his sides, and then his gaze narrowing on my face. “Now, what the hell happened to your face?”
My shoulders sag, and I sigh. “I don’t want Magnus to know.”
“Well, I can’t promise it won’t get back to him. I tell Maggie everything. There are no secrets between us.”
I nod, understanding that. I couldn’t imagine not telling Beau something. I’m sure the minute I saw him, I’d blurt it out.
“It was just a family argument.”
Sem’s eyebrow arches. “Seems more than that. Seems like a full-on brawl.”
I huff a laugh and nod. “Yeah, I guess it was.”
He finishes off his bottle of water and crushes it in his hand, making me jump slightly. “How about we go out for a beer and you can spill?”
I wave at my face. “I don’t know if I should go out looking like this.”
He shrugs. “I’ve seen you worse.”
He has, but still. I don’t want to answer questions to anyone outside of this house. And I really don’t want to have another panic attack with just Sem to contend with.
“How about we just have a beer outside on the porch?” I suggest, and Sem nods.
“Fine.”
I grab us each a beer, handing one to him, and then when I hear his stomach grumble, I pull out some leftovers as well.