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“Oh, they’ll be fine,” she says breezily. Then, as if the standoff at the table doesn’t exist, she turns to me with a grin. “By the way, that Bliss Xtra of yours? Delivers more than it promises. I can tell you that much.”

I blink, startled. “You’ve tried it?”

Sophie’s grin spreads, pure wickedness dancing in her amber eyes. “Why do you think I tagged along all the way from Chicago? Fuck yeah, we did, and, to put it mildly, Nico liked it. A lot. Isn’t that right, babe?”

Nico’s eyes swing to his wife and heat in the most obscene way. His usually controlled features become completely unguarded—desire, challenge, retribution—all laid bare in one scorching look.

At the same time, a sound halfway between a growl and a choke escapes Cade’s throat. It takes me a second to process. He’s gagging.

“What, Cade?” Sophie teases, her voice all wide-eyed innocence. “You’re the one who suggested we try it. If only you didn’t insist I keep it a secret. Nico would’ve sent Luna flowers—hell, he’d gift-wrap you the fucking seat—if he’d known you were the genius behind that instrument of pleasure.”

A snicker bursts out of me before I can stop it, and Cade’s fingers drop from mine like I’ve caught fire.

Wow. Just . . . wow.

Although I shouldn’t be surprised. If anyone can disarm these two dangerous men with one single blow, it’d have to be Sophie Vitelli.

“Let’s go, Luna.” Sophie’s hand slides into mine as she helps me up. I don’t let go until we find an empty booth on the other side of the diner.

“I must say, I think I’m in love with you too, Sophie.”

“See? I knew you’d come around. And what you did right there—not letting Nico bully you?” She leans in slightly, her voice dropping. “Girl, you’ve got spunk.”

I shrug, trying to brush off the compliment, though warmth blooms in my chest. “When you’ve got nothing but a wall at your back, you get brave.”

“Well, he loved it.”

“Really?” I chance a glance back toward the table and almost laugh again. Both men are sitting rigid, locked in their silent standoff, looking like they’re deciding between laughing, throwing up, or killing each other.

That alone makes the last hour worth it.

41

Cade

The wooden boards of the back porch creak beneath us as Phoenix and I sprawl on deck chairs. The smell of motor oil and leather hangs thick in the evening air—smells that should feel like coming home, but I can’t appreciate any of it.

My mind is too full of her.

I knew Luna would fit in here, but nothing prepared me for what seeing her in my home would do to me. The welcome party is in full swing and there she sits in the middle of it all, soaking up the biker life like she was born to it.

Sophie’s dressed her in leather, and Christ—she looks like every dirty fantasy I’ve never let myself have, an innocent begging to be corrupted.

And I’m supposed to leave for Moscow tomorrow.

Phoenix stands and leans against the railing. His strong hands grip the wood like he’s bracing himself. “How’s the hunt coming along, son?”

I know what he’s really asking. The question I’ve been dreading: When is it going to be over?

Still, I play dumb, if only to buy time. “What hunt?”

“Don’t play dumb with me, Son.”

“Then don’t act like you understand what I feel, Phoenix.”

He turns to face me fully, those deep hazel eyes boring into mine. “Caden,” he reaches to pull out the rosary around my neck. “I don’t have to be a genius to know that you can’t stop.”

I meet his gaze head-on. “Maybe I should kill the person who introduced this to me in the first place, then.”