“We can make it work, Les. Trust me.”
“I do trust you, Ryder. With my life,” she sighs. “It has nothing to do with trust.”
I pull my head back. “What does it have to do with then?”
“There’s Leo.” She swallows. “And Gage. I feel it with them, too.”
I step back and let her feet touch the ground. “You kissed Gage?” I growl. What the fuck? Did I imagine everything I just felt between us? Why the fuck would she kiss me like that?
She reaches out to me, but I jerk back. She drops her hand with hurt in her eyes. I yank the patio door open and slam it shut behind me. Where is that motherfucker?
The motherfucker in question is at the kitchen island. He turns when he hears me storming toward him and jumps up. He smoothly slides across the island, landing on his feet on the other side, putting it between us. I go to round it.
“Wait!” he yells, but I swear the little asshole is trying not to laugh. “Why do you look like you’re going to kill me?”
“You kissed Alessa,” I hiss.
He rolls his eyes. “So did you.”
I round to one side, and he moves the other way, keeping the island between us. “This isn’t a game, Gage.”
All teasing drops from his face. “This isn’t a fucking game to me, asshole, and if you opened your eyes, you would see what’s happening.”
“All I see is you pushing in on Les now that Leo is about to be out of the picture.”
He laughs loudly. “Bro, are you blind? He’s not going anywhere.”
I narrow my eyes. “Then why the fuck would you kiss her? I know why I did.”
“Because I fucking can.” He braces his hands on the island. “Just like you can, or Leo. As long as she wants it.”
I fake going one way but move the other; he anticipates it and is still firmly across the island from me.Fucker is fast. “She doesn’t know what she wants.” Why else would she be kissing all of us?
“Yes, she does. She just has to admit it to herself.”
“Would you stop talking in riddles?” I grit out. Sometimes he’s the most complicated person to talk to, his mind always going fifty different directions.
“Would you stop being a fucking idiot?” he retorts. I bare my teeth, and he just grins. “You’ll figure it out. I’m not spelling it out for you.”
He steps out to walk away, and I take my chance. I hook my arm around his neck in a chokehold. “Watch it, big boy. I like it rough,” he wheezes out.
“What the hell are you two doing?” Dex asks, walking into the kitchen.
“He’s trying to kill me,” Gage laughs weakly.
“You want to tell him why?” I ask, then squeeze harder.
He moves so fast I don’t see him before he slams an elbow into my gut, using my pain to spin out of the chokehold.Asshole.
He takes a step backward, away from me. “I kissed Les,” Gageanswers, causing Dex to raise both brows. Gage points at me. “So did he.”
Dex frowns and crosses his arms across his chest. “Let me get this straight. You kissed her too, but he is going to die for it?”
“It’s not the same thing,” I argue.
“Why?” Dex asks, genuinely confused. “I’ve kissed her before. You going to kill me?”
“That was a long time ago.” I wave that away. I remember their brief fling; it was eight years ago.
