From the doorway, Rack closed the front door with a soft click and deadpanned, “You’re exhausting.”
“Yes,” Via immediately answered while yanking the shirt over her head in record time. “I would prefer clothes.” Then she pointed accusingly at me. “You’re wearing some.”
Wiggling my brows at her, my fingers hooked beneath the hem of my shirt. “I can fix that.”
Her laugh burst out before she could stop it, bright and helpless. She pointed firmly at the couch. “Sit down. Right now.”
Still grinning, I obeyed and dropped beside her. Everything inside me felt strangely buoyant. Loose. Happy.
“So,” she said carefully, looking between us, “explain what you meant by mates.”
Rack finally sat beside her, calm as ever, though I caught the tiny curve threatening at the corner of his mouth. He pulled a mirror from the table and held it up to her neck.
She looked down, and the second she saw the mark on her neck, she gasped softly and grabbed the mirror from him. Her fingertips carefully traced over the crown.
A tiny pulse tugged through the bond the moment she touched it, and her eyes flew straight to me.
I smiled slowly. “Yeah. That one’s mine.” Before I could explain further, she pointed sharply at my neck.
“When didthathappen?” Her eyes narrowed. “That rose tattoo definitely wasn’t there before the race.”
A laugh slipped out before I could stop it. I’d completely forgotten the mark had taken the shape of a rose. A vicious one too, wrapped in thorns thick enough to draw blood. Fitting for my mate, really.
“That tattoo?” I absently rubbed at the marking on my neck, feeling the faint pulse of magic beneath my fingertips. “I got it when we first became bosses.”
Via’s attention stayed fixed on it while I continued.
“It’s a mate-blocker tattoo. I had it done after what happened with Valentina. You remember what I told you?”
Recognition flickered across her face instantly. Her jaw tightened just slightly before she gave a short nod. I couldn’t tell if she hated hearing my ex’s name or hated the woman herself more, but either way, the reaction sent a sharp pulse of satisfaction through me.
“In that moment of weakness, I convinced myself I didn’t need a mate. Deep down, I didn’t think my mate even existed…” My voice lowered as I looked directly at her. “Not yet, I guess.”
Rack’s calm voice cut through the room. “Show her your back.”
Via immediately turned toward me with fresh curiosity burning across her face, so I tugged my shirt off and tossed it aside. The second I did, I felt her stare drag slowly down my body. I could feel the blood rushing down to my dick, so I turned before I did something about it.
A soft gasp escaped her.
Behind me, Rack’s voice stayed maddeningly composed. “That rose mark is yours, Olivia. It appeared after the mate-blocker broke.”
I could hear her moving before I felt her. Slow, hesitant footsteps crossed the room until she stopped right behind me, her finger hovering faintly near my skin.
Smirking, I deliberately leaned backward until her fingertips brushed the mark and we both inhaled sharply at the same time.
Pleasure shot through the bond like lightning striking exposed nerves. It ricocheted between us so fast I couldn’t tell what feelings belonged to me and what belonged to her anymore.
“Oh my god…” Her voice came out breathless. “I can feel you… inside me.”
I turned my head just enough to shoot her a wicked grin. “And that definitely won’t be the last time, little Via.”
Her eyes widened before her palm smacked against my back. “That’s not what I meant, and you know it.”
I laughed under my breath, still feeling weirdly content.
She really was a mix of both of us. My chaos. Rack’s steadiness. Somehow perfectly balanced in a way that made everything inside me settle.
“I showed her mine,” I said, nodding toward Rack. “Now you show her yours.”
