“Hey,” Xander calls, stopping me in my tracks.
“Yeah?”
He cocks his head, motioning for me to come closer. With a sigh, I step toward him. He places a hand on my cheek and says in a soft voice, “Thanks.”
“I hope we don’t regret it, Fitch.” With that, I leave them to it and go to bed alone with a raging hard on and thoughts of Lily swimming in my head.
Staring out the kitchen window, I look down at Central Park and watch the morning joggers and the dog walkers with a pang of something that I can’t quite identify. The soft pad of footsteps comes from behind me, and a few seconds later, the heat from his hard chest warms the bare skin of my back. He plants his hands beside mine on the counter.
“You okay?” he asks in his gruff voice, still heavy with sleep.
“I’m good.”
“I’m sorry if I’ve been monopolizing Fitch’s time.”
“It’s fine,” I say with a sigh.
“Is it?”
“I just fucking said it was, Zeke.” I instantly regret snapping at him.
His warm breath dusts over my neck, and I close my eyes. A second later he puts his hot mouth on the side of my throat, trailing his teeth across my skin. When his hand slides across my abs, I stifle a groan. He pulls me back as he rocks his hips and presses the hard length of his cock against my ass.
I hiss out his name, my aching cock leaking precum. It’s been too fucking long since I had any sort of release.
“You always pull back from us when you’re stressed. It’s not good for you.”
I pinch the bridge of my nose. “This merger is fucking exhausting, Z.”
“I know,” he says softly, teeth and lips teasing my skin and pushing me closer to the edge. “But this is our merger. You don’t have to carry the weight of everything alone.”
“I know that.” The truth is I do have to carry it all though. I’m the one who’s responsible for every t being crossed and every i being dotted. If I fuck up one single thing, the whole deal could fall to pieces. Of course, the other truth is that I thrive on the pressure. I always have, and I don’t see that ever changing.
His hand skates lower, dipping into the waistband of my sweatpants. “Is there anything I can do?”
I groan. “You can stop doing that for a start.” I don’t have time for whatever he has in mind, no matter how tempting he may be.
His teeth clamp down my neck for a second before letting go. “Masochist,” he grumbles. But he does as I asked, and soon the warmth of him is gone and I’m standing alone in the kitchen.
Chapter
Ten
LILY
My head throbbing, I blink my eyes open. Sunlight streams through the gap in the curtains in Jen’s bedroom and blinds me. She sent me a text at 3:00 a.m. to tell me she was spending the night at Trey’s hotel suite, so I slept in her bed instead of the sofa. My back already thanks me for it as I stretch out beneath the duvet.
My phone pings, signaling a text. I roll onto my side and grab it from my nightstand.
Hey shorty. Be ready at seven. No need to dress fancy, we’re eating in. Bring an overnight bag too. But don’t worry, we have a guest room. Your virtue will be safe with us. Xander x
I try to swallow, but my mouth is too dry. Xander? How did he even get my number? Did I give it to him? A vague memory of drawing it on his arm with my black eyeliner in the car returns. God, I made such a fool of myself. I invited him in. I kissed him.
But oh, what a kiss. Butterflies swirl in my stomach as I remember his lips. His tongue licking mine. His hands on my ass. Dear lord, how will I have dinner with all three of them?
Throwing the covers over my head, I kick myself for getting so drunk last night. Why on earth do they want me to come for dinner? What the hell is that even about? And taking an overnight bag? Like that’s ever going to happen.
I shake my curls, watching as they fall over my shoulder. “Do I look okay?”
Jen comes up behind me and wrinkles her nose at my reflection in the full-length mirror in her bedroom.
Lips pressed together, she assesses my outfit. “You look cute.”
I glance down at my knee-high boots, skinny jeans, and tight turtleneck.
“You couldn’t be just a little more covered up though?” she says sarcastically.
“It’s cold out and it’s only dinner.”
She pulls a face in the mirror. “Yeah, right.”
“It is just dinner,” I insist, even as nervous excitement and trepidation curl in my gut. I glance at my overnight bag. The one I swore to myself that I wouldn’t take. But it’s just a precaution, right? It never hurts to be prepared. I can still leave after dinner if things get weird. “Do you think I’m crazy going to this thing? I mean, I don’t even know them.”