"Take your eyes away from my mate or I'll gouge them out!" Kieran snarled.

Instead of getting scared, Ryder merely grinned and dragged his gaze away from Gwendolyn's retreating form.

"So the rumours are true." He said. "You've grown a soft spot for her."

Kieran scoffed in annoyance. "Soft spot?" He spat. "Never in a thousand years. She's the spawn of satan! A serpent with a sharp tongue. A bloody thorn on my side!"

"Yet you haven't rejected her." Ryder remarked smugly. "It's almost ...