He does not like being kept in the dark.
He studies me long enough to make the silence press on my lungs. “They’ll tell me either way,” he says, tilting his head, still leaning in, lips too close to my temple.
“In that case,” I murmur, drawing out the words, “you’ll just have to wait, pretty boy.”
His jaw ticks. His tongue rolls across the inside of his cheek like he’s biting back a grin. A flicker of heat flashes in his eyes. It’s not anger, not quite amusement either. It’s something in between.
All I know is this man could end me in a thousand ways. He has enough power to turn my social image to dust, to sabotage everything I’ve been working for,and make me wish I’d never met him. He doesn’t look like a man who lets things slide.
And yet I can’t stop.
Because the way he’s looking at me now makes me want to poke the bear again.
And again.
And again.
Until it pounces.
Chapter four
~DOMINIC~
My kitchen’s already busy when I walk in. Morning sunlight spills across the marble countertop while Jace manhandles my stainless-steel pans. Not that I don’t enjoy their company, but they have their own house, so I’m not sure what they’re doing in mine so often.
He flips something with one hand and grabs Melody’s waist with the other. He’s gone into complete lovesick puppy mode. He can’t stay away from her for ten seconds whenever she’s around. The only thing he hasn’t done is hang a framed picture of them hugging in the locker room.
Melody pokes him and giggles like she’s twelve. When he leans in and kisses her on the lips, she melts like something you can smear on toast.
I look away and grab a glass of water before I say something that ruins the morning.
“Morning,” Jace says without looking at me. “Hungry?”
“Not for whatever the hell you’re contaminating my cookware with.”
He snorts, and Melody shakes her head at me.
I’ve gotten used to a lot of shit since those two got together, but waking up to them playing house is still… a process. I’m not pissed. I’m adjusting. There’s a difference.
Just because I accepted their relationship doesn’t mean I want to watch Jace’s lips on my little sister from the front row.
I’ve seen Jace at his worst—fucked up, drunk out of his mind, buried in women whose names he doesn’t know, knuckles bloody from bar fights, one wrong word away from a career-ending scandal. I’ve seen him raw-dog his way through Miami, and no matterhow many green smoothies or self-help books Melody feeds him, I’ll never fully unsee that shit.
Just because Melody fixed him doesn’t mean I’ve forgotten what needed fixing in the first place.
But she’s the happiest I’ve seen her. And if Jace ever goes back to who he used to be, I’ll put him in the ground myself. Slowly. Thoroughly. I’ve already got the blueprint in my head.
But the part of me that wants to choke him out every time he touches her is quieter these days.
“Want some eggs?” he asks, glancing over his shoulder.
“You gonna feed them to me too?” I can’t keep the crankiness from my voice. “Wanna sit on my lap while we braid each other’s hair?”
“And hold your dick while you piss,” Jace says, laughing.
“Stop being in a mood, Dom.” Melody gives me a look.
“I just need coffee, Mel,” I lie, trying to put on a more digestible expression.
