Free Dominion (Alpha Domain #1) by Arabella Abbing Page A

How much did you spend?”
    “That’s not important,” Allen dismissed with a wave of finality. “Let’s eat now, then I’ll carry these upstairs for you. You can pick through the bags and take the stuff you like.”
    “What about the stuff I don’t like?” I jokingly asked.
    Allen’s face remained passive while he searched through the containers on the coffee table and shrugged. “Just throw out anything you don’t want.”
    “You want me to throw out designer clothes? Are you high? ”
    “No, I want you to wear the clothes. But if you don’t like something, I’m not going to make you wear it,” he explained.
    I frowned. “So return them.”
    “It’s not worth the hassle. I don’t need the money.”
    “Murder and kidnapping must pay pretty well,” I commented dryly, earning a chuckle from John and an unamused glance from Allen.
    “You still hung up on that?”
    My eyes widened as I looked to Allen incredulously. “Um, yes . How the hell would I not be ‘hung up’ on the fact that my stepbrother gets paid to kill people?”
    Allen shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m certainly not losing any sleep over it.”
    “Maybe that’s because you’re a sadist.”
    “And here we are again, ladies and gentleman. Another sibling cat-fight. Is it going to be like this all week?” John asked with a chuckle.
    Despite the logical part of my brain’s protests, I still took offense to the comment. I didn’t particularly like being lumped with Allen as siblings because we weren’t . We never had been. We were steps, sure, but we didn’t grow up together and never felt a sibling-like bond with each other. At least I had never felt one for him.
    Considering how he felt about me all those years ago, I’m pretty sure the feeling was mutual.
    I couldn’t work out why I was so upset though. If I was honest with myself, it was likely because even though I spent years trying to convince myself that Allen’s feelings for me were total bullshit or just a teenage crush, I couldn’t deny that I had also felt something for him in return. Just a sliver of affection— something that went far beyond a familial feeling.
    Not that I had ever admitted that aloud.
    But the truth was— Allen scared the hell out of me. Ever since the time he beat my boyfriend to a bloody pulp, I had been afraid of him. It was a surprise to find out that he does far worse things than just beat people up, and yet, I felt nothing. No fear. Just a weird sense of acceptance.
    Maybe it was because I was certain that Allen would never hurt me or allow anyone else to do so, but I felt incredibly at ease here. At ease enough to jokingly argue with him even if my heart wasn’t really in it.
    Of course, John had to go and ruin our playful banter with the sibling crap again. I sighed and shoveled another forkful of food into my mouth, ignoring the concerned glances coming from both the men in the room.
    “I didn’t mean to offend you,” John said carefully, making me look up from the carton at his apologetic face. “I was just—”
    “It’s fine,” I said hurriedly, not wanting either of the men to look too hard into why I would be offended by his statement. “I’m not offended. Just a little stressed.”
    I forced a smile in an attempt to reassure them. John took it at face value and turned away, but one glance at Allen told me that he hadn’t bought it. I looked away from his intense stare, wondering how in the hell he could still read me so well after eight years apart.
    Regardless of whether he believed me or not, he let it slide, at least for the time being. The three of us ate in a slightly tense, but not totally uncomfortable silence and when John finished his meal, he stood up and dismissed himself with a wave.
    “It’s getting late and I assume you’ll be wanting to go to bed soon.”
    “Yeah, that sounds good. Are you guys going to be out all night doing your evil deeds?” I asked, trying to keep my voice light and jovial.
    John