When he finally kissed her, it was unhurried, his mouth moving with quiet intention, tasting of amaretto. As April kissed him back, Jiro’s hands slid to her jaw.
Her hips shifted, a slow roll against Arthur’s thigh. Arthur’s hands closed on her hips and lifted to meet the movement. She kept moving. Small, helpless rolls of her hips while Jiro kissed her and Arthur held her exactly where he wanted her, letting her feel every inch of what she was doing to him.
Jiro drew back enough for her to see the unguarded look in his eyes before her phone buzzed in her hand.
JAX:Attached: [Arthur Vance—full panel current as of this week] / [Jiro Sato—full panel current as of this week]
Arthur whispered against her ear, lips brushing her skin. “There’s a private room. If you want it.”
“Yes.”
With that, he stood and helped her to her feet. Beside them, Jiro smoothly rose too, and after a second of hesitation Jax followed.
Arthur raised an eyebrow in quiet assessment.
“I like to watch,” Jax said simply. A look of mutual recognition passed between them.
Arthur turned back to April, his brows lifting in a silent question. The weight of all of them registered at once, pressing in. Arthur steady beside her. Jax already calculating. Jiro watching her like she was the pull of a song he couldn’t stop following.
She took Arthur’s hand and started walking. He led, and she went with him, Jax and Jiro close behind as they slipped through the velvet curtain into the private lounge.
As the door clicked shut behind them, the club’s roar dropped to a low, rhythmic thrum. Same stocked bar, same low-slung couch, same one-way mirror. The lock turned. The sound felt final in a way it hadn’t before.
Already in motion, Jiro circled her with quiet focus. His eyes moved over her face, reading the changes in her expression, matching her breath until he stopped in front of her.
Slowly, his hand came up, cupping her jaw with a gentleness that made her forget the room had other people in it.
“You’re sure?”
She nodded.
The exhale that followed sounded like relief, and then he kissed her. Her hands curled into his shirt, and she kissed him back.
Arthur’s hand settled at the small of her back. “Words.”
She glanced over her shoulder and met his eyes. “Yes.”
Jax grinned. “Verbal consent. Love it. Very sexy. Very legal.”
Arthur cupped her face and kissed her. Everything below her waist clenched.
"I brought supplies," he said, and produced a small bottle from his jacket pocket.
Jax blinked; then reached into his own jacket and pulled out an identical bottle.
Their eyes met.
A tiny, solemn nod passed between them. Like engineers confirming redundant systems.
April laughed, the kind that comes with a lump in your throat, because somehow being prepared for was also being cherished.
“Prepared,” Jax said.
“Always,” Arthur replied.
“You’re both ridiculous,” she said fondly.
Arthur kissed her again, mouth brushing hers in measured strokes.Then his hands moved, sliding down her spine to findher zipper like he’d mapped it hours ago. His mouth moved from her lips to her neck, then her collar.
