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His shoulders slump after a moment. “Ugh, wonderful. We’re going to be getting into a fight today. I can just tell.”
My face scrunches up.
“Don’t believe me? You’ll see.” He waltzes toward me, taking every instance to run his heated gaze over me. “I know what guys think. You have easy prey written all over you. They think you have self-esteem issues if they even remember you at all. Some guys are too fucking dumb to look beyond what’s in front of them to see what’s really going on. You, Dakota Wilder, have always been a hot piece of ass. It didn’t matter if you had dirt brushed over your cheeks or your shirts had holes in them or that your hair looked like it was running you. Shitheads, though? Asshole shitheads who will only look surface deep are about to swarm you with their pathetic, tiny dicks. Judging by the way you screamed Lucas’s name last night, he’s not going to like that. And Stone? He’s always wanted to throttle anyone who ever looked at you. Even us.” He trails off. “Me?”
“You?” I ask, prompting him.
He grins, tipping his cowboy hat down so he shields part of his face. “I like fighting, so I’ll be more than happy to oblige any fucker who thinks he can get close to you today.”
We stand there staring at each other for a little while before he returns to the kitchen and starts to make something on the stove. I finally convince my feet to move when Lucas sounds behind me. “Oh fuck.”
“That’s what I said,” Wyatt pipes up as he grabs something out of the cupboards.
“Like we don’t have enough to worry about.”
I just smile and laugh. Everyone should have a Wyatt and Lucas around when they get a makeover. It’s good for the soul.
Lucas comes up behind me, his arm stretching around my middle. “Not that I’m complaining one bit,” he teases, his hot breath caressing my ear.
I feel like a million dollars today. My shoes fit perfectly, so no more tired, aching feet. No more wishing I could fade away into the background. I realize with a start that these guys have a lot to do with that. They came out of nowhere, pulling me into the real world, helping me slay dragons like fucking Meghan, putting her in her place for once.
Lucas dips to kiss the soft spot behind my ear, and my knees go weak. If it wasn’t for Wyatt at that moment dropping a plate onto the kitchen island that he says he made just for me, I might have even dropped all the way to the floor, hopefully taking Lucas with me. Instead, I move forward, recognizing right away that he’s made me French toast, but it isn’t the bland way we used to eat it. It’s coated in what smells like cinnamon icing.
“Someday, a girl’s going to lasso your heart, Wyatt Longhorn. When she does, she’s going to be one lucky lady,” I say, salivating over his breakfast.
Wyatt chuckles darkly, but he doesn’t say anything in return. The smell of his breakfast makes me dive right in, and it tastes just as good as it looks.
“I take it Stone and I are still fending for ourselves?”
“It’s still midweek, isn’t it? And before you say anything about Tits getting food, it’s because she has a pussy and you don’t.”
“What if I had her pussy, does that count?”
“No, it means I ain’t making you shit during the weekend either, you bastard.”
Lucas grins over at me, and my heart melts into a puddle. I swear there’s currently icing dripping from my lips, but he doesn’t seem to care.
Footsteps mark their way into the room. My back heats as Stone comes up behind me. He drops a stapled stack of papers in front of me. I eye it, reading the first few lines. I swallow the food in my mouth as Stone says, “This is a contract I had drawn up for you. I want you to read through it and see what you think, but in a nutshell, it says that whatever you tell us about the Superstition Mountain treasure stays between us. The information will only be used in conjunction with working with you as part of our team. And that myself, Wyatt, and Lucas will do everything in our power to conceal your family’s years of research and knowledge from any other parties.”
I turn in my chair after briefly running my gaze over the words on the first page which affirm what he’s just said. Yes, it’s all legalese, but I think he’s right. “You’re serious?”
“One hundred percent,” he says, sliding his cold blue-gray gaze to mine. “You always had my word. Now you can have it in writing, complete with a clause that says if we default on any part of this contract, you can sue me for a hefty sum of money.”
“It’s not about money,” I say, still sizing him up, almost disbelieving that we’re having this conversation.
“I know,” he growls. “It’s so much more than that, but I had to offer you something sizable in return so you can be assured that we’re all on your side. This is a contract between teammates with one common goal.”
I lick my lips, tasting the sugary sweet of the icing still there. “Thank you,” I tell him. “I’ll read it over today and have an answer for you by the end of the day.”
“If you want, I’ll pay for your own lawyer—a disinterested third party—that you can discuss it with, but I assure you everything in that contract is legal and binding.”
“That won’t be necessary,” I tell him, feeling a little breathless.
He nods at me and walks away, going to the cupboards to retrieve a bowl and an oatmeal packet. I watch as he works methodically, like he’s been doing this very thing his whole life. I bet I’m an anomaly to him. He dealt with me as he knew how, through lawyers and contracts. No matter how different it is from how I would deal with something, I can’t help but think that what he’s just done is monumental, showing his true colors.
Judging by the way Wyatt and Lucas are watching him too, I know I’m right. Stone Jacobs just relinquished control for once.
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