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I catch his wrist and guide his hand higher along my thigh, but just as his fingers brush me, he's pulled out of my reach. One second I’m almost to the promised land, and the next I’m reaching through empty steam as he’s hauled backward.

“What the fuck?” He barely gets the words out before Elias has him against the wall. One hand closes around Jace’s throat, grip firm enough to wipe the outrage right off his face.

“Control yourself,” Elias says quietly.

Jace’s chest heaves hard beneath Elias’s hand, water running down his face as he looks past him at me, like he’s already trying to find a way to get back to me.

Then I notice Nate in the doorway.

He doesn’t say anything at first. His gaze moves from Jace, then over to me. And suddenly I’m acutely aware I’m only standing there in a soaked white shirt that has long since stopped pretending to cover anything.

Nate reaches for a towel and walks toward me. Wrapping it around my shoulders, he pulls the edges together across my chest before his attention returns to Jace. “I see that someone can’t be trusted to even take a shower without letting his impulses take over.”

Jace groans. “Oh, come on.”

Nate lifts a brow.

“She walked in on me.” Jace jerks his chin in my direction, well… as much as Elias’s grip allows. “What was I supposed to do? Ignore the fact that she looks like that? Or that she’s apparently been hiding piercings under those pristine clothes?”

His grin returns.

“I was gathering intel. You’re welcome.”

“What you were doing was indulging yourself,” Nate counters. “We agreed that Sloane would have the opportunity to make an informed decision about us. All three of us. Not that you'd get impatient and make the decision for her.”

“I wasn't making any decisions for her,” Jace argues. “She knew exactly what she wanted, Nate. She wasn't exactly shy about showing me.”

“And you couldn't wait long enough for us to have the conversation we agreed on?” Jace opens his mouth, then closes it, clearly irritated that he has a point. Nate continues, “You know better than to let your impulses make decisions for you. And we’ll deal with that accordingly.”

Deal with that.

My brain supplies the translation immediately, and I clutch the towel tighter before stepping forward. “Wait. Nate, it wasn’t his fault. I’m the one who walked in here.”

Behind him, Jace has the audacity to look pleased that I’m defending him. Nate catches it too and shakes his head in mock disappointment.

“Sola, no need to worry about him. The little brat knew exactly what he was doing. He enjoys testing my patience nearly as much as you do. And I have reason to believe he enjoys the consequences even more.”

Jace gives me a tiny, completely unapologetic shrug and suddenly, my mind flashes back to Jace on the cross, grinning through the pain as Nate reminded him exactly who was in charge.

My skin prickles, and under the clean linen of the towel, I am more awake than I have ever been in my life.

Elias’s hand fists in Jace’s wet curls. He yanks, tipping his head back with a rough snap that makes him groan, low and dirty, like the act itself is a gift. He leans down to whisper something in his ear before his teeth sink into Jace’s neck so hard he shudders.

I can’t stop watching as Elias drags his tongue up the length of Jace’s throat and his free hand closes around his dick, making him whimper.

My breath catches as Jace’s eyes flutter closed, his lips parting around a strangled sound. Elias works him with a slow, deliberate grip, his thumb circling the head with each stroke. The water still cascades over them both, steam thick around their bodies.

That’s all I get to see as the room tilts when Nate bends, palms spanning my thighs, and lifts me like I weigh nothing. The towel loosens with the motion, barely clinging as he lifts me higher, forcing my legs to wrap around his waist or risk falling. I hang on to him on instinct, and I can feel the unforgiving line straining under his slacks as he moves right against my core.

"Elias," he says, "once you're done, get him dressed and meet us in the study."

Elias just grunts as Nate carries me out of the bathroom, leaving the two of them behind. The sound of Jace’s moan follows us down the hallway, fading as Nate turns the corner.

My heart hammers against my ribs as I'm carried through the penthouse, his steps measured and unhurried despite the way my body trembles against his. Every stride creates a friction that has me biting my lip to keep from making a sound.

“If you keep moving like that, Sola, I’m going to bend you over my desk.” His grip tightens on my thighs.

Heat rushes to my cheeks as I realize what I’m doing. My hips have been rocking against him with every step, chasing the pressure of his body against the throbbing heat between my legs.