Page 139 of Power

Axel: You wouldn’t dare.

Me: One text. That’s all it would take.

Blake: What just happened? Did someone actually find Axel’s off switch?

Ryker: I can feel his anxiety through my phone. What is your deal with Dakota, and how do we nominate her for a Nobel Prize?

Axel: She’s a soul-destroying she-devil in high heels. And NOT in the fun way.

Blake: I can feel your blood pressure spiking from here.

Me: The mere mention of her name made your throat close up at that hospital. You know why? Because unlike the rest of us who’ve developed immunity to your bullshit, Dakota would apparently dissect your soul and serve it back to you on a silver platter just for fun.

Ryker: Dakota sounds like my kind of woman. Does she offer lessons?

Axel: Gotta go. Working on the sequel—Corporate Cowboy Catastrophe: His Manhood Galloped Away When She Batted Her Eyelashes.

Blake: *skull emoji*

Ryker: I preordered.

Me: I hate all of you.

Axel: That’s not what the dedication in Douchebag Cowboy says. “To my friends, who supported my journey from uptight billionaire to whipped boyfriend.”

Blake: I’m framing this entire conversation. Featured prominently at our wedding reception.

Ryker: Speaking of which, the shortness of your engagement is what lawyers call “suspicious.” If I find out you knocked up my sister before the wedding, I’ll relocate your balls.

Me: I’m buying all your companies and firing every one of you.

Ryker: Worth it.

I put my phone back into my pocket but could still feel it buzzing with their messages, just as I could feel Scarlett watching me with those knowing eyes.

Because, damn it, I’m smiling.

72

SCARLETT

Jace and I returned to his penthouse.Our penthouse.We showered away the scent of hay and leather, letting hot water glide over us as our hands explored familiar territory with new appreciation.

We sipped wine by the fire, getting lost in lazy kisses that tasted of cabernet and contentment. But I had something up my sleeve tonight, something I’d never done before—a gesture to show Jace how much everything had changed between us. How much I had changed.

I led him into the dining room, my pulse quickening with each step.

“You hungry?” he asked.

“No.” I pulled my shirt off in one fluid motion.

“Oh.” His smile was slow and magnetic, eyes darkening as he followed my lead.

After we stripped out of our clothes, I grabbed the blue silk tie I’d placed on the chair earlier today. The same blue tie from our first weekend together.

“You want a repeat of the hotel room?” He arched an eyebrow, that half smile already launching hormones.

“Something like that.”