Page 34 of Briar

They both stare at me, slack-jawed. Kai recovers first, the frustration from earlier replaced with something else.You spoke to her?

“She turned up at the club tonight.”

Looking fucking edible.

“What?” River’s head tips back. “Why?”

“Curiosity, I think.” My lips tilt up. “I took her to the office, and we talked through some of the details. She has a copy of the full agreement to go through. But… she wants to do it.”

“Shit.” River runs a hand over his face, still disbelieving. “I really thought we weren’t going to hear from her again.”

Which reminds me. I slide the envelope from my jacket and toss it to him. “She wanted you to have this. Said it’s your change. She was very insistent that she didn’t want anything more.”

He flicks through it, brows drawing down. “I meant to speak to her. It was to cover the rest of the clothes too.”

My thoughts shift to the shabby-looking building she’s based in, and the discussion I had over the phone on my way back from the graveyard. “We’ll need to be mindful of how we approach her building. Briar was very clear that she wants this to feel equal. If she feels that we’re throwing money at her, it tips the scales to us.”

River presses his lips together as Kai glances at him. We all know that he’s the one with a tendency to go over the top.

I study him before crossing my arms. “What have you bought her?”

Sighing, he tosses the envelope down. “A tablet. Her phone is practically a brick. She wants to advertise, and she’ll need one.”

“Hold onto it. At least for now.” Leaning against the counter, I take another sip, feeling tiredness start to pull. It’s been days since I slept more than a few broken hours.

Did anything happen?Kai is watching me closely, a small furrow between his eyes.

I meet his gaze. “I didn’t touch her.”

That’s not what I asked.

Sneaky fucker. I press my lips together. The image of Briar, shy and nervous as she stood there and lifted her dress for me to show me her underwear, soaked through with need… I straighten. “I’m heading up.”

Kai looks sceptical, but he doesn’t say anything else. I move past them, heading up to my own room. I’m already yanking offmy clothes before my door even closes, stalking past my bed and into the bathroom.

Stepping into the shower, I slam one hand against the wall, the other finding my rock-solid cock and pumping it in hard strokes.

Flushed cheeks and parted lips. That growing, incriminating patch of arousal, spreading as I watched her.

“Fuck,” I hiss. My cock feels like steel, hot and heavy as the images continue. Change.

Briar, on her knees, staring up at me. My hand in her hair, tugging her forward as I lift the head of my cock to those plump lips, rubbing myself over her. Marking her, her breathing growing heavier, her eyes lidded with desire.

Her hands, reaching for my cock. Warm, soft fingers wrapping around me as her lips seal around my length.

Touchingme.

My bellow fills the room as I almost stagger from the strength of my release. It spurts out, hitting the wall of the shower in never-ending pulses until I sag forward, pressing my forehead into my arm.

Shit.

Briar

Smiling, I press the phone against my ear. “Did you know that your doctor thinks you’re all psychopaths?”

River’s warm, deep laugh fills my ear. “How did it go?”

I bite down on my lip, guilt snaking through me. “It was fine.”