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She slides her gaze across the table to Sloane, offering her a smile and tossing a coaster down in front of her as well. “What about you, honey?”
Sloane sinks her teeth into her lower lip, tilting her head in contemplation.
Shit, it’s cute.
I look away quickly, mentally bitch-slapping myself for even thinking that.
“Do you have Chardonnay?”
Ares snorts a laugh. “Really, Denver girl?” he teases.
Kelly gives a little shake of her head. “Sorry, hon. We do have white wine, but I wouldn’t recommend it,” she says with a grimace. “The red’s halfway decent, though.”
Sloane purses her lips, considering, then waves a hand. “Just a beer is fine.”
“You sure, Princess?” Ares goads, nudging her in the ribs with an elbow.
My eyes flicker back over to Sloane to gauge her reaction to Ares calling her ‘Princess’- a name I know she hates, or at least she used to.
“Not a princess,” she replies breezily, swinging her gaze over to me and meeting my eyes. Some of that familiar teenage mischief sparkles in her own as she clarifies, “aduchess.”
“Shit, I forgot about that!” Iver laughs as Sloane and I hold eye contact, neither willing to be the first to back down and look away.
“About what?” Ares asks.
“That’s what Madd and Sloane used to call each other when we were kids,” Iver says, waggling his brows. “The Duke and Duchess of mayhem.”
Kelly returns to set beers down in front of Sloane and me as we remain locked in a staring contest of epic proportions. Even as I reach out to pick up the bottle and take a sip, I hold her gaze, wondering what’s going on in that head of hers.
She raises her own bottle, and the way she slowly wraps her lips around the rim is fucking filthy. My cock jerks to attention and I can feel my wolf pushing forward, likely making himself known to her in my irises.
“I’ll be your duke, Sloane,” Ares drawls, slipping an arm around her waist.
My fist clenches atop the table.
She slowly arches a brow.
And I’m the first to crack.
I slam my beer bottle down as my gaze snaps to Ares, glaring daggers at him in warning.
Wisely, he heeds it immediately and yanks his arm back. Sloane just rolls her eyes, her delicate throat bobbing as she swallows down the gulp of beer.
What happened in the conference room was a moment of weakness on my part, but with the way I left things, I thought it’d at least knock her down a peg or two. Instead, it’s seemed to have the opposite effect. She’s more emboldened than ever, a wicked smirk curling her lips.
“Everything alright, Madd?” she asks coyly.
“Fucking great,” I grumble, lifting my beer again and chugging down half of it.
The others exchange uncomfortable glances, Avery quickly swooping in to change the subject. Because my twin’s always got my back.
She starts going on about Lo’s VR stuff again, but I’m barely listening. If Sloane intended to rattle me by showing up here and acting like nothing happened, then it’s fucking working. I just keep watching her out of the corner of my eye, wondering what her game is and hating that I can’t figure it out.
This whole no shifting after dark thing really blows. I could use a run to clear my head, especially since my wolf keeps relentlessly clawing at my insides in a bid to get free.
“You in, Madd?”
I jerk my head up at the sound of my name, eyes settling on Tristan. “Huh?”
