“That’s thesweetest.”
Aiden winks at me and plucks a slice of cucumber out of the salad, tosses it in his mouth.
“Are we having meat loaf?” he asks.
“Yes,” Willow replies.
“Awesome.” He kisses her head and then turns to leave the room. “Gonna go wash up.”
He strides up the stairs, taking two at a time, and Willow blinks back tears.
“I miss that little jerk.”
“I know you do,” Ryker says as he pulls her in for a hug. “He’s doing great. Mac told me that no one’s giving him a hard time, he likes his roommates, and he’s kicking ass on the ice. Mac must not know about the girl.”
“Who’s Mac?” I ask Gideon, trying to get caught up on all the who’s who.
“Teammate,” Gideon says. “Played with Ry from day one.”
“It’s Mac’s last year,” Ryker adds. “He was holding out so he could play a season with Aiden. The two of them have been close for the past five years or so.”
“I love everything about this.” I sigh happily and lean against Gideon’s side. “Thanks for including me.”
“Of course. You’re one of us,” Willow says, tilting her head to the side. “We got drunk and talked about how much sex we’ve had. You’re my bestie now.”
I snort and feel Gideon stiffen next to me.
“Oh, lighten up.” I smack his chest with the back of my hand, and he’s so fast, he catches my hand and lifts it to his mouth.
“No more talking about sex with anyone but me,” Ryker says to Willow, but I decide to be a smart-ass.
“I have no experience with that, so—”
“And you fucking won’t,” Gideon adds, his voice hard as granite as he pins me in his angry stare. “Don’t push me, Rebel.”
“Wow,” Willow whispers as Ryker hides his smile behind his hand.
“Or what?” I tilt my head, enjoying myselfimmensely.
Gideon simply picks me up and carries me out of the kitchen.
“Hey! I don’t want to go home. I’m hungry.”
“Not going home,” he mutters and carries me into an office and closes the door behind us. “Talk about sex with another man again, and I’ll spank your ass until it glows. I’m a jealous man, Lena. You may think it’s funny, but I don’t.”
“You don’t have anything to be jealousover, big guy. I had no idea what all the fuss was about until you. I don’t even think about anyone else. Willow and I joke around and talk because we’re women, and when you get some alcohol in us, that’s what we do. But now that I know that it bothers you so much, I won’t do it when you’re around.”
He’s glaring at me, his hands in fists, and I drag my palm up his chest and cup his rough cheek.
“You weren’t a virgin when I met you, either, you know,” I remind him softly.
“No one in this world matters but you,” he says, wrapping his arms around my shoulders. “No one, Lena. It doesn’t matter if I fucked five women or five hundred—”
“I’m not one for sex shaming, butpleasetell me it wasn’t five hundred.”
“—it doesn’t matter because they weren’t you. No one has ever made me crave simply being in her presence like you do. Hell, I’m jealous that anyone else gets totalkto you.”
“Okay, that’s a little unhinged.”
