Page 147 of Crash

BLAKE

“Surely, you can hire movers for this,” Jace argued, his CEO status practically oozing from every pore as he struggled with a chair.

“What fun would that be?” I grinned. “Besides, Tessa has spoken.”

For someone still adjusting to the whole wealthy lifestyle, Tessa had some interesting rules. Four sweaty men hauling her belongings? Totally fine as long as she knew at least two of them. But professional movers? God forbid.

So, here we were. Sinners and Saints, reduced to common laborers, all because she batted those big green eyes at us.

Okay, fine, she batted her eyes at me, and I strong-armed the guys into helping. The things we do for love. Or in my case, the things we make our friends do for love.

In a swift move that widened Tessa’s eyes in surprise, I captured her waist and drew her body to mine. Her breath caught, and I felt that familiar surge of satisfaction. At least I could still throw her off-balance as much as she did me.

I grabbed her chin between my finger and thumb. “I expect to see more of that fire in our bedroom tonight.”

Our. The word soared through my soul.

Her green eyes darted from my left to my right, and then I claimed her mouth with my own. As always, kissing her made me lose track of everything. The guys, the moving van, all of it. It wasn’t until Axel stomped past us with a chair that we pulled apart.

“Jesus, Morrison. Seeing you in love is all sorts of unsettling.”

After wrapping my arm around Tessa’s shoulders, we followed him back inside.

“You’ll find love too, Axel,” Tessa assured him.

He glared at her. “I’d rather chew my arm off with no teeth.”

“Axel isn’t a relationship kind of guy,” Ryker explained. “His longest commitment was to a houseplant, and it died in record time.”

“That plant was defective,” Axel protested. “And I’m not afraid of commitment. I’m committed to avoiding it.”

Jace checked his phone again, his knuckles white around the edges.

“Everything okay?” I asked quietly.

Jace shoved his phone into his pocket like it burned. “Yeah.”

“Here, I can take that—” Tessa started.

“Touch that, and we’ll die,” Axel barked.

Tessa’s brows furrowed.

“He’s being dramatic,” Ryker assured her. “But Blake did threaten us if we let you lift a finger, so do us a solid and go sit down. I can’t have a black eye at my next court date. The judge already thinks I’m suspicious after the last one.”

“I’m not an invalid,” Tessa protested, reaching for a box.

All three men formed a wall between her and the boxes, arms crossed.

“Did you just—” She glanced between them. “Are you actually creating a human barrier?”

“Think of us as your personal Secret Service,” Axel said. “Except our mission is keeping our favorite doctor from going full drill sergeant on us. And trust me, if he does, he’ll hold a grudge that’ll ruin at least eight poker nights. Man’s a nightmare when he doesn’t get his way. Takes all our money and doesn’t even have the decency to pretend he’s not doing it on purpose.”

Later, when we finished moving Tessa’s stuff, Jace pulled me aside, pressing a paper into my hand.

“Current address confirmed.”

I’d had his guy check it; return addresses could be outdated.