“That room?” she says. “That’s yours.”
I blink, knitting my brows, and staring between her beaming face and the off-limits tape.
“For your lab,” she continues. “So that MedBay crap has a home, if you ever choose to keep it going, ’kay? But onlyifyou decide to. You got that, you pretty genius?”
A subtle warmth spreads under my sternum, my breath stalling before I consciously draw it in.
“You shouldn’t have,” I whisper. “But I’m grateful.”
Kaye beams at me much more brightly, as if my acceptance wasassumed.
She claps her hands together. “Upstairs is spa day. So be ready in a few hours.” She reaches back and hooks her arm through Elle’s. “Monthly tradition, my besties. No excuses.”
Elle laughs softly, letting herself be tugged along.
Kaye glances back at me over her shoulder. “You’re joining, Em,” she says. “Non-negotiable.”
Then they’re gone, footsteps fading up the stairs, their voices overlapping as Kaye prepares spa day. She asks Elle what color they should paint their nails, and Elle suggests they match or complement each other’s colors, much to Kaye’s squealing delight.
Stan finally releases Sterling, who adjusts his jacket and snorts sharply before rushing over to catch up to his wife.
Damon meets my gaze from up the stairs and nods. It’s all I need to know that Idris is safe and that Damon will discreetly relay the recent news of Idris’ child.
One moment I’m simply standing here—absorbing the banner above us and reflecting on how my life keeps surprising me—then the next moment, I’m airborne.
Stan’s scooping me up with an excited laugh and starts taking the stairs two at a time.
“Stan!” I shout in shock, gripping his shoulder out of reflex.
Behind us, Lix yelps. “Stan! Wait,oh god, be careful.”
“Zero faith in me. C’mon, Ocean Eyes, I got our girl,” Stan says, tone buoyant. “I always got her.”
Lix grumbles something angrily but hurries after us as Stan brings us to our bedroom.
I’m deposited onto the bed in what Stan would probably describe as a necessarily dramatic flourish. The mattress rebounds beneath me, and I bounce slightly before settling down into the sheets and pillows.
Stan grins, staring down at me with his gleaming gray eyes.
Lix groans. “What iswrongwith you? You can’t just throw her around like that.”
“I didn’tthrowher,” Stan protests. “I placed her withenthusiasm. It’s an incredibly necessary dramatic entrance for our woman! C’mon, Lix, she’s glowing for us! She’s begging to be gobbled up and pampered like a princess!”
I sit up on my elbows, rather aware of the warmth spreading low in my body at the sight of them squaring off like this. “I’m fine,” I say. “The mattress absorbed the drop.”
Lix sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. “That’s not the point, Em. Stan needs to understand we need to be careful.”
Stan tilts his head, scoffing. “Well, what’s the fun in being careful all the time, babe?”
Lix opens his mouth to argue. Stan takes his shirt off instead. It’s a blatant distraction tactic, and it works.
Before Lix can recover, Stan closes the distance and kisses him—slow at first, then deeper and faster—murmuring against his mouth. “Save the lectures for Em to say to us, Ocean Eyes.”
Lix makes a strangled sound that might have meant to be indignant and fails halfway through.
I watch them from the bed, wet heat pooling more and more between my thighs, my body reacting to the pleasure it associates with these two men before me.
It’s clear Stan’s kiss derails Lix completely. The latter’s hands catch in Stan’s hair, frustration dissolving into breathless compliance while Stan grins like he’s won a game against the other.
