There’s too much testiness in my tone, but my temper is growing shorter and shorter with him. He’s not even trying—he barely spoke to her at dinner, and he’s still interrupting every potential moment for me to be alone with her. I’m starting to wonder if I’m wishing on a star here. Maybe it was a pipe dream, this idea of us staying close and making a family together with the right girl. Something born of teenage hormones and a friendship that hadn’t really been tested yet.
Dom doesn’t respond, leaning down to pick up his shirt. He sniffs it, then grimaces and sighs.
“Why don’t I have any clean clothes?” he asks the group instead, changing the subject.
I narrow my eyes. “Because Eden took over the washing and Jayk still hasn’t fixed the machine. And because there are six of us in the house now and somebody keeps chasing her off, making it so she wants to hide in her room instead of being around us.”
“I’ll tell Jayk to make the washing machine a priority,” he says, ignoring the rest.
“I hope you plan to apologize first, for your assumptions the other day,” Jasper cuts in sharply.
Cocking a brow, Dom asks, “Have you?”
“I have.” Jasper grimaces. “It didn’t go well.”
“Were you nice, though?” Lucky mutters.
I run a hand over my hair, frustrated by them, by Dom, by Jayk and all of it, when I see the curtains in Eden’s room twitch.
A small, pale face peeks between them.
And just like that, sweet heat slides like syrup through my veins.
“We should do one more set,” I blurt.
Beside me, Lucky frowns, then follows my glance. He sneaks me a grin where the others can’t see, then wipes the smile and turns. “I agree. One more to finish.”
Dom and Jasper stare at us.
“I’m going to shower,” Dom finally says, forehead crinkling. “But knock yourselves out.”
Jasper shakes his head, then follows him as he heads inside.
“Bet I can embarrass you in front of our girl,” Lucky teases.
Our girl.
After Dom’s rejection, the phrase is like cool water on a livid burn. Our girl. Not just mine and Dom’s. Mine and Lucky’s.
Jayk’s. Jasper’s.
I never pictured the three of them when I thought of The Plan . . . but I could be okay with some modifications.
If that’s what Eden wants.
If they treat her right.
“Eden’s going to be embarrassed for you once I show her what I can do.” I step back and whip off my shirt. “I’ve got moves you can only dream of.”
“I’ll let you know, since your moves usually put me to sleep,” Lucky quips, tearing his own shirt off.
We’re both damp with sweat, and daylight has finally soaked in through the forest enough that it gleams off our skin.
Lucky darts forward quickly, feinting up, then sweeping low in the next instant to try to take my legs out. I’m familiar enough with his fighting style to anticipate the tricky move, and I swerve to the side so he slides past me. I aim a quick kick to his ribs while he’s low, but he’s already spinning away from me, coming up with a right hook that I block and follow with an uppercut. Back and forth we fight, pushing and pulling, straining and slamming into one another until we’re sweat-slick and showing off and snorting with laughter.
Finally, Lucky makes the mistake of glancing over at the distant face still peeking down at us through the curtains, and I manage to kick out the back of his knees and knock him, face first, into the earth.
“Fuck,” he groans.
I crouch beside him. “It’s just like Dom said,” I tell him smugly. “Got to work on those evasive maneuvers.”
Brushing my hands on my pants, I step on Lucky’s bare back and saunter over to say hello to the pretty girl I’ve been missing since we met.
Chapter 19
Beau
SURVIVAL TIP #111
Trust your doctor.
They know what’s best for your body.
A s soon as I turn toward the house, the face disappears and her curtains are yanked back into place. A slow, stupid smile works its way across my face.
Nice try, little subbie.
I let myself into the sitting room, planning on hunting her down . . . only I don’t need to.
“Oh. Good morning, Beau.”
Eden looks down on me from the top of the stairs, haloed by the lights behind her. The sight of her slides into me like a needle, and I’m not sure if I’m being infected with the cure or some terminal disease. Eden’s in a cute little dress today—a pink one that sets off her mahogany hair and brings out the flustered color in her cheeks. Her hair is out of its usual bun, and I’m surprised to see it flows almost to her waist.
I want to see it spread out beneath her as she comes apart.
“Mornin’， darlin’，” I finally say, remembering I have a voice.
Her mouth swings up on one side in a sweet smile, even while her eyes dip down and linger over my bare chest. Seeming to remember herself, she snaps them back up.
“Were you working out?” Eden asks, pure and innocent as her namesake.
And a filthy little liar, apparently.
I bite my lower lip, then release it with an amused smack. “You just finish cleaning up?”
She smooths out invisible crinkles in her dress. “Mm-hmm.”
Like she wasn’t just staring at us like she wants me to pocket her eyes just so she can keep them on my ass.
Crossing my arms, I lean against the wall. “Come on down here, then.”
She casts her eyes around the room, lingering on the partly open curtains behind me.
“Is, um, Dom around?” she asks.
Dom.
Jealousy cuts through my amusement in a way that never used to happen before. Before, we always shared. Before, having a subbie ask me about Dom would have filled me with satisfaction. Now I’m just wondering if she’s asking because she likes him more.
God damn Heather.
“He’s gone upstairs for a bit.”
Eden darts a startled glance behind her, then starts down the stairs, a definite haste to her steps. When she reaches me, she looks back at the top floor with a frown between her brows, anxiously adjusting her glasses. “Will, um . . . will he be out soon, do you think?”
My annoyance turns to confusion. She’s not asking because she wants to see him. She’s asking because she doesn’t.
I sigh. Why doesn’t that make me feel any better?
“Not sure, darlin’。 I’m not his keeper.”
Casually, I stretch my arm up on the wall so I’m leaning over her, then flex my pecs. Just a bit.
Eden blinks and then focuses her attention back on me fully. She looks down, then jolts as she notices how close we’re standing. The delicate line of her throat works as she swallows. Her eyes lift until she’s peering up at me through her lashes, and her fists tangle in her pink skirt.
“Hi,” she says again, softly.
My heart melts in my chest with one tiny splash. It’s as natural as breathing to press a light kiss against her rosy lips.
“Hi,” I murmur back.
I win that small, shy smile from her again, and I’m about to steal another kiss when Lucky bursts through the door, whistling obnoxiously. Eden jumps a foot in the air, pressing a searing, steadying hand against my chest.