Again, she could’ve been talking to either of them, but he suspected the “her” in question was Leah.
“It’s not—”
“Shh,” she hissed sharply.
The sound caused Jäger to bark, drawing all their attention.
“Hey, little guy,” Stevie crooned. “It’s all good. You’re the only boy here right now who’s not on my shit list.” She cocked an eyebrow. “Keep it that way.”
Jäger sat, his tail thumping on the floor.
When Stevie looked at him, Stone opened his mouth.
“No. You don’t get to talk right now.”
He probably shouldn’t get turned on by the fierceness of her tone, but his dick thickened as though her lips were wrapped around it.
“And you,” she glanced at Nico. “You’re done with Melanie.”
“I—”
“Shut it,” she snapped, cutting him off. “From this point forward, I don’t want excuses from either of you. No more ghosts from the past sneaking up on us.”
“That goes for Oscar, too,” Nico stated.
“Who’s Oscar again?” Stone asked, glancing between them.
“No one,” Stevie said at the same time Nico said, “her pain in the ass ex-boyfriend.”
“Oh, right.” Stone nodded. “I remember now.”
“Why bring him up?” Stevie huffed, rolling her eyes.
If he wasn’t seeing things, there was the hint of a smile on her mouth.
Her question was clearly rhetorical, but Nico answered anyway. “Only so you know the rules apply to you, too.”
“No,” she said firmly, walking toward them. “I’m beyond the rules at this point.”
“Is that right?”
“From here on out, I get to make them.”
Stone grinned. This was the feisty girl he’d fallen in love with all those years ago. The girl who took shit from no one. He could see the fire burning in her eyes, the flames licking at everything in the room.
“No more ex-girlfriends, and—”
“Or ex-boyfriends,” Stone and Nico said at the same time.
“Or ex-boyfriends,” Stevie amended, although she wasn’t happy about it. “We’re leavin’ it all behind us. Starting anew. Everything that was before isn’t.”
Stone leaned toward Nico, speaking out the side of his mouth. “Is it me, or does she sound like Yoda?”
Nico snorted.
Stevie marched forward, ignoring them. She stopped directly in front of him, tilting her chin up and meeting his eyes. “I will fight for what’s mine, Stone Jameson.” She stepped to the side and looked up at Nico. “That goes for you, too, Nico Daugherty.”
“Did she just last name us?” Stone asked, glancing at Nico.
