Her soft laugh eased some of the tension making my muscles twitch. “There’s that term again.”
West bit his lower lip and nodded. “What can I say? It fits you. Now.” He clapped his hands together before pointing at me. “Answer the question. Are you good, or do I need to kick my friend’s ass?” He arched a dark brow my way when I huffed out a laugh. “I was going to offer to let her watch.”
“Fucking hell,” Juno groaned with a slight whimper.
“Is that a yes?” West asked, moving to my side, shifting to angle his crotch right in front of my face. The knowing smirk he shot down at me said he was well aware he was being a fucking tease. “I see you already got him all riled up. He might take that out on me.” Running the tip of his thumb along his lower lip, he looked between us. “But don’t worry, Juno. That’s how I like it.”
“Fuck,” I snapped and shoved off the ground to stand. West’s heated gaze stayed locked on my tented shorts. “Fucking watch it, West.”
“Oh, I am,” he joked.
“Help me up before you two attack each other,” Juno grumbled.
I extended a hand, and when her tiny one slid into mine, I carefully lifted her off the floor. We eyed each other for a second before she carefully weaved between me and West for the exit.
“Juno,” I said, making her stop with a hand on the door. She didn’t turn, but I knew she was listening. “I’m serious about taking your safety more seriously, and that includes that fucking date of yours. You’re not going out with a stranger tonight, or any night, until we catch the sick bastard.”
“Oh, fuck,” West muttered under his breath, looking to the ceiling like he might find more patience there.
Juno whirled around, the tip of her ponytail smacking her in the face with the violent move, and pointed at my chest.
“You can’t tell me what to do, Langston. I will go out with who I want, when I want.”
I studied her flushed cheeks and heaving chest. “Fine.” I shrugged as if it didn’t matter to me. “It’s his fucking funeral.”
Her high-pitched screech of pure exasperation echoed off the lockers, making me wince. The door slammed shut behind her, cutting off her detailing all the ways she wanted to murder me.
“Well, that went well,” West snapped. He smacked his good hand between my shoulder blades. “Way to prove to her that we are, in fact, just a couple of overprotective assholes.”
“We are,” I muttered indignantly. “Why hide it?”
“Um, so we don’t piss her off like you just did.” He turned, running a hand over his head. “I know you’re still lying to yourself that you aren’t utterly obsessed with that woman, but I’m not.” He turned and stabbed a finger in my chest. “And since we’re a package fucking deal, I need you to calm the caveman shit down, get your shit together, and help me convince her she’s ours.”
“Oh, we’re a package deal, are we?”
Mischief sparked in his dark eyes, and I knew I was going to fucking love and hate whatever he said next.
“If you don’t think so, maybe I’ll take a play out of Juno’s book and find a date tonight and?—”
In a swift move, I pinned him against the lockers with his chest and cheek pressed to the metal. After a few half-assed attempts to buck me off him, he relaxed with a deep, guttural groan.
“You are not going out with anyone, not without me,” I snarled in his ear. Unable to stop, I ground my painfully hardcock against his firm ass, making us both suck in a hissed breath. “But you want Juno, that’s fine. I’ll be the levelheaded one and stay the fuck away from her until we know she’s not trouble.”
“Oh, she’s trouble,” he said over his shoulder. “The best kind.”
“That woman is hiding something, and until I know what it is, she’s all yours to fuck around with. And about that date—wearegoing tonight.”
He strained to look over his shoulder, eyes wide with surprise. “What?”
I nodded, easing up on my hold. “Recon only. We hang back to see if she reveals anything and to make sure she’s safe.”
“Safe, right,” West laughed, his entire body trembling against me. “And if she goes home with this guy or he goes back to her place? What then?”
I thought for a moment before responding. I was a stubborn idiot for not admitting what everyone else knew. Hell, even I did too, deep down. The truth was, I didn’t trust her not to hurt my best friend, my Uplift family, or me. What West didn’t realize was that when I said “safe,” I meant safe for us, not just Juno’s safety.
“Then I guess you’ll have to step up your game if you want her to come home with you instead.”
West flipped around to lean back against the lockers. “Really?”
