Page 37 of Scout

“So, how long until one of you makes a move?” I ask, voice light, like I’m just talking about the weather.

Xavier leans in first, his voice a whisper just behind my ear. “You trying to provoke us?”

I turn my head slightly, our lips barely apart. “Maybe.”

Kendrix brushes his knuckles over my thigh under the water. “Careful, baby. You poke a bear, you better be ready for claws.”

“Oh no,” I say, setting my wine on the tub’s edge. “Whatever will I do?”

I don’t get to finish the sass, Xavier’s lips are on mine before I can breathe. It’s slow and firm, his hand sliding along the back of my neck like he’s grounding me. I kiss him back hard, tilting toward him until my chest presses against his. Then I feel Kendrix’s hand on my jaw, turning my head. And suddenly it’s his lips replacing Xavier’s.

Hot. Demanding. Hungry.

His hand slides under the water and grips my waist as he deepens the kiss. Then Xavier’s mouth brushes over my neck, biting lightly, just enough to make me gasp into Kendrix’s mouth.

I can’t even think straight. Their lips, alternating, treating me like I’m at the center of a silent dare. But they don’t touch each other—only me. I’m the line they walk, back and forth, daring the other to go too far.

It’s… dizzying.

Their heat, the water, the way they devour me without a word.

Kendrix presses a slow kiss against my lips, his rhythm purposeful—as though he’s trying to tell me something through the gesture. I’m supposed to feel it.

And I do. I really do.

Xavier's thumb brushes over my bottom lip when the kiss breaks, his gaze softening.

“You okay?” he asks, low and rough.

“Yeah,” I breathe. “More than.”

And for a split second, everything goes quiet.

The kind of quiet that hums with meaning. That wraps around you and saysthis isn’tfake anymore. It feels real. The way they’re touching me. The way they’re looking at me. The way they’re not touching each other.

I wet my lips, nerves sparking in my chest. “Will you kiss?” I ask. “Each other, I mean.”

They both go still.

Kendrix looks at Xavier. Xavier looks at Kendrix.

Something sharp flickers in the space between them. History. Tension. Something unsaid.

But then—Xavier nods. And Kendrix leans in. They move across me, bodies pressing just slightly into mine as they meet in front of me. I can feel the shift of heat between them, the electricity, the slow push of breath as they close the space.

Their lips touch.

Tentative at first. Careful. Then something breaks. The kiss turns hungry. Rough. Two forces crashing together like they forgot they ever tried to stay apart. It’s all tongues and teeth and fingers digging into water-slicked skin. There’s a growl—maybe from Kendrix, maybe from Xavier—I honestly can’t tell, and I don’t care.

It’s raw. And primal. And so hot I could scream.

They kiss like they’re fighting for something. For me, maybe. For each other. For all the things they never said when they should’ve.

And all I can think as I sit between them, breath caught and body humming?—

What if I belong here?

Right between them.