Her hand lifts, tracing down Darius's chest. He doesn't blink. The tension in his jaw is the only sign of strain.
I flick my gaze to Kayden. His expression is stone, but I can feel the heat under it.
I stay still.
"Hello, fiancé. Missed me?" Sage leans into Darius, her smile edged with cruelty.
"I did," he answers, voice even. "But the real you, Sage."
"This is as real as it gets," she says, rising on her toes. "Still, for old times' sake…"
She kisses him slowly. He meets her halfway, the contact soft.
I glance at Kayden. Still calm.
Sage steps back, eyes glinting with mischief. "I hope my dear husbands don't mind me reconnecting with an old lover."
"Go ahead," I say, folding my arms.
Darius's expression hardens. "That's not enough to make an impression, my nymph."
He catches her by the waist, slamming her back against the wall. She gasps, startled, and he's on her, mouth crushing hers, a violent storm of a kiss. His hand closes around her throat, the other pins her wrists high. It's not affection, but a reminder of power, raw and unfiltered.
She trembles beneath him. Fighting it, yielding to it. Both at once. Something twists in my chest, but I hold my ground. This is strategy. This is what I signed up for. We all did.
Kayden's low chuckle cuts through the air. "Guess the goat man's got moves."
Darius pulls back, composure restored, smile thin and cold.
Sage stares at him, eyes wide, pulse visible in her throat. "So that's how it's going to be?"
"Yes." His voice is steady. Then, without hesitation, he turns her and pushes her straight into Kayden's waiting arms. "She's yours, vampire."
Kayden's grin is sharp, feral. "Don't mind if I do."
Kayden
I lock my arms around her from behind like a steel trap. "Caught you,wife."
She writhes half-heartedly. Tired or just too far gone to see the point.
"Even if this isn't an act, why would I care?" Her voice drips with disdain.
"Do you think whatyoucare about is even part of this?" Asher cuts in. "Not today."
She laughs, but I hear the fracture in it.
"I know a bluff when I see one. Besides, you three? A pathetic trio of boring, self-flagellating, brooding old relics."
I lean in, lips to her ear, tightening my hold until her spine arches.
"You've got to give us more credit than that, sweetheart. The Kayden–Asher–Darius disaster combo? Anything but boring. Brooding, maybe, but that's the spice. Adds flavor."
I won't mention what it felt like watching her in Darius's arms. On the one hand, I wanted to rip his throat out. On the other… something primal stirred. For her, for the chaos of it, the raw heat of watching my wife this overwhelmed. Imagining more…
No. That part of me must stay buried.
This moment's about her.
