Page 116 of Between Never and Forever

Irritated that he’d ruined my fun, I got out but didn’t take the towel he offered me. Instead, I made sure to squeeze my hair out on the pool deck before I took my time sliding my cover-up on. Then I proceeded to walk to the elevators with him following me in silence.

When we got back to the penthouse, the others were already there so that the girls could grab their clothes. It only took the door closing behind Dex for him to start in. “You all realize that you have a private body of waterright there!” Dex waved his arm toward the back patio at the hot tub while he bellowed at all of us.

Okay, he was mad. Madder than I had expected. But I think he forgot that I didn’t care anymore. These men couldn’t keep us cooped up here all week.

“I told her it was a bad idea,” Pink said as she rearranged her top. Bane muttered for her to get her ass moving toward the door.

“Don’t get all territorial, Bane. I’m just your silly makeup artist anyway. And nothing happened.”

“There’s a literal threat on her life,” Bane pointed out.

“Okay, but I’ve had threats on my life before,” I explained.

“Yeah.” Pink was quick to jump to my defense. “All that happened was a few guys saw a little bit of skin.”

Bane growled, his muscles bunching.

“Oh stop.” She rolled her eyes. “Plus, I have way less of a rack than Keelani. Most everyone was looking at her.”

Evie had the audacity to agree with her. “It’s true.”

“Mine? Are you kidding?” I blurted out. “Evie yours are way bigger.”

“Only because I just quit breastfeeding, but my one-piece is covering them up.”

Dimitri chose that moment to add, “Why cover them up, Evie? You can feed me anytime.”

“I’m going to fucking kill you.” Declan lunged for him while Dimitri laughed hysterically just as Dom hooked his arm around Declan’s neck.

Most everyone was fighting with everyone, but Dex’s eyes were on me as I pushed my wet hair out of my face. There we both were, looking at each other, him trying to control everything and me spiraling so fast out of control he’d never be able to catch me.

His eyes hardened, like he knew I was pushing him the wrong direction, like he sensed I was testing how far I could go. Then he barked out, “Everyone. Time to go. I’ll talk to you all later.”

And although they all kept arguing and Evie gave me a hug before heading to the door, they all filed out of the penthouse to give us some space.

“I’m supposed to be having a meeting with my brothers in five minutes. How should I go about doing that when you can’t seem to keep your ass in line for an hour while I’m gone?”

“You deserved that after telling me I shouldn’t leave the hotel room…for days.”

“The paps came at you, Kee. You had Ezekiel… And you had a damn letter sent with pictures in it. I need to—”

“You don’t need to do anything. It’s part of the job.”

“It’s not normal! And it’s not going to be a part of my wife’s job!”

“Well, it’s a good thing I’m not your wife then.” I threw the words at him, and his eyes widened before he walked up to me and tossed me over his shoulder to walk me down the hallway. “Are you joking me? Manhandling me isn’t going to get you what you want. Where are we going?”

He set me on the bed without a word then opened the nightstand drawer. Before I knew what he was doing, he’d thrown a handcuff on my wrist and clamped the other to the headboard. My eyes widened. I’d thrown the handcuffs away along with his other toys. “Where did those come from? You have backup handcuffs?”

“Just this one. And good thing. It’s all I need for you.”

“Are you—” I glanced down at myself. “I’m in a bikini and cold and…”

He ripped the comforter down the bed and then wrapped it around me before he handed me the remote. “I’ll be back in an hour. Watch a show while I meet with my brothers to confirm there weren’t damn drones out filming you guys. Jesus Christ.”

“Okay, honestly, though, who cares?” I giggled and then hiccupped. “So, what? I’m just supposed to sit here like I’m in a time-out?”

He wiggled my ring on my finger as if to make sure it was clearly on there before he kissed me hard. “You will and you are because you’re acting like a child so I’m going to treat you like one.”