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CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Royal

“These are really, really good,” Jade says, finishing off her second Gamebreaker.

Her cheeks are flushed and her lips are swollen. My dick twitches, reminding me of how she looks after I’ve made her come.

It doesn’t help that she’s leaning against me, her tits pressed into my arm, her scent in my nose. I want her— always want her. But this is good for her. The last week on a whole has been good for her—getting her away from the assholes on her team, setting her up with Maddie, with Kate Martensson, my crisis control publicist, and with Dash, who’s taken control of her security.

My house is safe.

Her place in Nashville is getting an overhaul, so it will be safe soon enough.

Maddie and Kate are dealing with Farrah and the record company and the media.

And I’m on Jade duty.

So, we’ve been spending a lot of time working on her album, fucking like jackrabbits, and hanging with Frankie, Briar, and whatever mix of the guys are around.

Tonight that’s all of them.

Aspen had an early shift and the Vipers aren’t playing tonight, so they’re both here, Aspen cuddled up next to Banks in our booth, sipping on a glass of Sprite and looking far better than I’ve seen her in the last couple of months. Maybe the medicine is helping.

She wrinkles her nose and sets down her glass, rubbing at her belly.

Or maybe not.

Atlas slipped out of the noisy bar to take a call in the manager’s office. He seems stressed and on edge tonight, as though he’s managing more than his normal workload, and as a result, the rest of us have been tiptoeing around him.

Well, the rest of us being the guys.

The girls continue to be themselves, not worried about the brooding bastard in the least.

Banks, Dash, and I, on the other hand, recognize his mood and are walking on eggshells.

Funny, it’s usually me that they’re worried about.

Funny not funny, I guess, considering the pit in my stomach and the concern gnawing at my gut.

Is this what I’ve put my family through?

My temple throbs, and I rub at the ache, focusing back on this moment and shoving down all of the fucked up shit. I’m getting my head together, figuring out a way to be better. I’m a long fucking way away from perfect, but…

Jade.

I’m different with her.

Maybe I can be a good enough man for her yet.

“Do you want me to get you another?” I ask her, taking the drained glass and setting it on the table next to the abandoned Sprite.

She shakes her head and leans more heavily against me. “No, thanks though, honey. I’ll stick with water for a bit.”

“You got it.”

Her sigh is contented, and I tune out as she, Briar, and Aspen start talking about the shade of lipstick she’s wearing, some fancy product from some celebrity’s new makeup line. Apparently, it stays on all day.

I plan on testing that later.

Because that shade of red on her lips conjures all sorts of fantasies—stretched wide as I fuck her mouth, parting as she sucks me deep, smeared on my skin as?—

My dick twitches again, and I grit my teeth.

This is about family, not fucking.

I exhale silently, see that Dash has gotten bored with the conversation about lipstick and made his way to the bar. He’s talking with a woman, his smile wide and his laugh loud, though it doesn’t seem as though she’s giving him the time of day as he tries to chat her up.

Something the girls have noticed too.

Jade winces as he’s obviously turned down, even from a distance.

Briar is rolling with laughter at the sight of her brother striking out, and Aspen is nudging at Banks’s side, teasing him, “What is it with all of The Gamebreakers striking out in the bar you guys own?”

“For one thing,” Banks says, brushing back her hair and studying her face like he’s trying to memorize every facet of it, “it’s not a bar .”

“No, it isn’t,” Dash says, scowling as he drops down into the booth next to me, his long legs sprawled out in front of him.

“For another,” Banks says dryly, drawing Aspen even closer, “I don’t think winning over the woman I love can be considered striking out .”

“And I don’t think that one”—Briar nods at the woman Dash was hitting on and we all turn to see her sling her arm around another woman’s shoulders then kiss her deeply—“is for my brother.”

Jade’s mouth falls open. “Holy baloney, that’s a kiss.”

I nip at the top of her ear, my next words for her ears only. “Okay, Shortcake, now I’m insulted.”

Her cheeks go pink, and she turns to me, settling her hand on my chest. “I didn’t mean that you—I mean, we —” Pink turning to red, her mouth opening and closing a few times, like an adorable fish. “I mean, you— ” Then her eyes sharpen and she swats me lightly on the chest as she clues in that I’m teasing her. “Royal-pain-in-the-butt! How dare you?”

The table freezes.

Then breaks out into laughter.

Briar is almost bent in half, nearly spilling the one drink she allows herself before she has to go and relieve Mrs. X from her babysitting duties.

Banks and Aspen hold on to each other as they cackle.

Dash’s big guffaw makes it clear he’s not worried about striking out, especially as he shrugs and slings his arm across the back of the booth. “Who knows?” he says. “They could be open to a third.”

I roll my eyes and unleash my strongest, most powerful glare on all of them.

“That nickname better not see the light of day,” I threaten.

Briar straightens, leaning over and clapping me on the shoulder. “Give it up, Royal-pain-in-the-butt. We’re immune to your glares, and that nickname is here to stay.”

I stifle my groan, turn my glare to Jade. “This is your fault.”

Her hand on my chest slides up to cup my jaw, and a sliver of pride slides through me when she leans up and slants her mouth over mine, kissing the fuck out of me.

This isn’t a woman who’s ashamed to be seen with me.

“Woo, mama,” I hear distantly, and realize that Briar has stopped laughing at me and is now fanning herself. “Talk about a kiss.”

“I think we should go home,” Aspen says, trailing her hand down Banks’s chest. “Like right now.”

“Jesus, brother,” Dash mutters. “Get a fucking room.”

“Going home works for me,” Banks says, dragging Aspen even closer.

“Oh, my God,” Jade murmurs, her blush growing to astronomical proportions. But before I can remind her that I fucking love it when she’s a siren between the sheets, Atlas reappears, and one look at his face has cold gripping my insides and squeezing tightly.

“What is it?” I rasp.

“You two need to come with me.”

He doesn’t give me a chance to ask for an explanation—he’s spinning on his heel and marching across the floor, the crowd parting for him as he disappears down the hallway.

“What’s going on?” Briar asks.

I shake my head, flicking my gaze to hers for a heartbeat. “I don’t know.” I stand up, reach down and take Jade’s hand, drawing her to her feet. “But we’re going to find out.”

Jade and I hurry after him, finding him standing in the open door of the manager’s office.

“Sit down,” he orders, closing it behind us then moving to the desk, perching on the edge of it. “First, know that there is no fucking way that I’m going to let this stand. I’ve already got my legal team working on it, and they’ll coordinate with your team on best steps forward.”

Jade begins trembling as she settles in one of the open chairs. “P-please just tell me what’s happening.”

Atlas exhales. “It’s not going to be pretty, Jade. You’ll need to brace yourself.”

That trembling becomes shaking, and I drag her chair closer, take her hand. “Breathe,” I order softly then glance up at Atlas, silently telling him to stop fucking around.

I don’t say it out loud though.

Because the look in his eyes…

Fuck, this is going to be really bad, isn’t it?

He pushes off the desk and crouches in front of us. Then pulls out his phone, taps at the screen, and holds it up as the last notes of “Midnight Snow” begin to play.

Show me the moon and I’ll give you the stars

Baby, you know me, and this night is ours…

My brows drag together.

Okay, so the song leaked. That sucks, but it’s not the end of the world.

Then I hear it.

The really bad part.

There’s a rustle, a moan, and…

“Fuck, Jade,” I hear myself whisper on the recording. “You are so fucking beautiful.”

She moans. “ Please . I need you, Royal. I?—”

Atlas taps at his screen again and the recording cuts off.

There’s a long, tense moment of quiet…

And then Jade bursts into tears.