“They’re good picks,” he murmurs. His lips hover just above my skin, his voice purring now. “But don’t forget, little fire…”
His hands tighten at my waist for just a second before he releases me.
“I’ll always be watching. From here—until we work out how to have me right there in the room.”
My stomach flips. His meaning is clear. If I need him, he’ll be here. If I want him, all I have to do is sneak away and find him again. And if I fall into bed with one of my bodyguards again, his eyes will follow every move of our bodies.
And God help me—I might do all of that.
I step back on shaky legs, my pulse racing, my body fighting against my mind. He watches me the whole time, his hands in his pockets, his lips curved just slightly.
“Go on, then,” he drawls, nodding toward the door. “Before your alphas break it down following the trace of your scent.”
I turn away, pressing my lips together, inhaling deeply as I grip the handle.
I shouldn’t look back.
But I do.
He winks.
And that’s the last thing I see before I step outside and head back toward my apartment—toward the three men who think they own me.
I makeit out the back door of Finn’s apartment building without a hitch. The morning sun filters through the city streets, warm against my skin, but it does nothing to chase away the heat still simmering beneath the surface.
Finn is under my skin. His lips, his hands, the way he whispered, You’ll come back to me. It lingers, winding through my thoughts, curling around my bones.
I still feel the ghost of his mouth on my skin as I walk. Ishould be focusing on getting back into my apartment undetected. But my mind? It’s locked in that dimly lit space with him, pressed against the window, his breath hot on my neck.
I round the corner of my building and stop dead.
Fuck.
They’re waiting. Stepping out of the front doors, energy rolling off them in a wave that slams into me, fury barely leashed.
Hunter’s the first to see me. His nostrils flare, catching exactly where I’ve been. Graham’s next—jaw tight, storm-gray eyes sparking with the promise of thunder. Carson just stares, the pissed-off edge in his gaze saying he knew I’d pull something reckless, but he’s still furious I actually did it.
I freeze.
And then, in the same breath, they move.
Hunter closes in, every step predatory, deceptively controlled, but his eyes burn.
“Where the fuck were you?” he growls.
I lift my chin. “Out.”
Carson makes a sound, somewhere between a growl and a laugh. “Oh, she’s in a mood.”
“Really? And you just happened to use your fire escape to do that?” Graham growls.
“I can go where I want.” I cross my arms, standing my ground, but my pulse betrays me. It’s racing as if I’m running for my life, not standing in the middle of a New York City street facing three overbearing alphas. The second Hunter stops in front of me, I feel it deep in my gut—I’m not getting out of this.
Graham steps forward. “Do you have any idea how much danger you just put yourself in?”
“I wasn’t in danger.”
Hunter’s hand curls around my wrist. My skin sizzles where he touches me.
