Page 70 of Theirs to Tempt: The Marriage Claim

“You can like what happened between the three of you at the club and still be furious about the cameras.”

I look at her.

“Those aren’t the same thing, Soph. You chose what happened in that private room. They gave you a safe word. The cameras?” She shakes her head. “They made that decision for you. That’s not consent.”

I nod. She’s completely right.

“Look, Sophie. I know you have to marry them, but you need some boundaries. Spying on you is way over the line.”

I finish my drink and drop the cup into the trash can that’s next to us.

“But that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a good spanking if you want one.”

We keep walking.

For the first time since I woke, my thoughts aren’t quite as tangled.

By mutual consent, we end up at our favorite place to eat on the Bayou. It serves small plates, and it is ridiculously close to the Retreat, which Piper points out.

“Maybe I’ll see you there sometime.”

We wander into a few shops, mostly because I’m in no hurry to go home.

But all day, my phone has been stubbornly silent.

No Lucian.

No Caleb.

I should be relieved, but I know better. Experience has taught me that they’ll act. And that I won’t like it.

At the end of the day, I climb the stairs to my door, realizing how tired I am from the long day, lack of sleep, and always being on guard.

I slide the key into the lock, turn it, and…

Nothing happens.

The mechanism refuses to catch, even when I jiggle it.

What the…?

A shadow detaches from the deeper darkness near the stairwell, and my stomach plummets hard, a cold swoop that leaves me breathless. Caleb steps forward, his broad frame solid and unmistakable even in the dim hallway light. His dark eyes lock onto mine, calm and unreadable.

My keys slip in my suddenly damp palm. “Caleb⁠—”

He moves closer, his presence filling the narrow space, the familiar scent of him wrapping around me. His voice is low, matter-of-fact, carrying that steely edge that always seems to slide straight under my skin. “Lucian is waiting for you at home. Were you still wondering how we deal with brats?”

Chapter Twenty-Three

Sophie

His words send ripples spreading through my chest until my lungs feel tight and my stomach plummets in a sick, dizzying swoop.

Caleb’s broad shoulders fill the space in a way that feels both protective and impossibly threatening.

I swallow hard, searching for a bravado that I’m nowhere close to feeling. “He can wait till tomorrow. I’ve had a long day, and I need to process everything.”

His dark eyes hold mine, the faint scar along his jaw tightening just enough to remind me of the coiled power beneath his relaxed exterior.