Total pages in book: 155
Estimated words: 146392 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 732(@200wpm)___ 586(@250wpm)___ 488(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 146392 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 732(@200wpm)___ 586(@250wpm)___ 488(@300wpm)
“But only with her,” Parker argued. “I buy it from the rest of you. You’re really Cooper and he’s TJ and Lou is Lou. So that makes me think you’re the support team.”
“You can think whatever you like, man,” Cooper shot back. “And if you’re here to ask if I have a problem with you playing with Kara, I told you. I don’t. What you saw in Australia was nothing but a front for the op. You think you caught us together, but we knew you were there.”
Oh, he didn’t know this story.
Cooper turned like he’d read TJ’s mind. “Kara and I might have presented as a couple when we were in the club in Sydney. Dare saw us and apparently mentioned it to his friend.”
“He didn’t,” Parker countered. “He’s barely talked to me since the minute he figured out I was an operative.”
“Since I found out you’d lied to me for months,” Dare corrected.
“Tasha did that, too, and she’s now your fiancé.” Parker’s expression tightened as though he wished he hadn’t said anything. “No, I saw you two together, and I doubt that kind of chemistry is all for an op. I won’t lie. I can’t stop thinking about her. I’m not going to do anything tonight. It would be the height of idiocy to fuck around in the middle of an op.”
He didn’t think it was the height. Maybe like the middle of idiocy. It was obvious to him that Parker wasn’t a fan of true freaking love.
“I am not Kara’s lover.” Cooper said the words with a gravity that kind of kicked TJ in the guts. He wasn’t, and he was pretty sure he never would be. Cooper loved Kala and she wouldn’t give him more than the occasional glance, a touch here or there. Just enough to keep him coming back.
Fuck.
Had he done that to Lou? He hadn’t meant to. He’d never meant to hurt her.
“I wanted to make sure I’m not stepping on any toes if I spend some time with her,” Parker said. “Though I wonder if she’s merely looking for some intel.”
Kala would be. Kenzie, not so much. He kind of hoped Kenzie remembered there was a mission.
“Hey, baby,” a feminine voice said, and TJ realized Tasha was walking in from the dungeon. “I didn’t realize you guys would take so long making yourselves pretty. I thought that was our job.”
Kenzie was right behind her sister, and Zach stood at the end of the hallway, his massive body cutting off most of the blue lights coming from the lounge area of the dungeon. So that was their play. Parker and Kenzie were getting a babysitter for the night. Maybe more than one set since Zach looked like he wasn’t about to take his eyes off them.
The poor subs who tried to kneel at that man’s feet would be disappointed tonight since it looked like he was working.
Dare’s expression lit up as he saw Tasha walking toward him. He held out a hand, which she took. “You know I want to be pretty for you, baby. Hey, I missed you.”
Tasha’s lips turned up in a soft smile. “I’ve only been gone for an hour.”
“Too long,” Dare said before pulling her in for a kiss.
Parker and Kenzie were staring like they were going to devour the other, but Parker held back.
“Kara, Parker here still thinks we’re involved.” Cooper seemed to force the words out.
“We’re friendly but nothing more,” she reiterated. “Come on, Ben. Let me show you our little slice of perverted paradise. If it’s not your cup of tea, we can sit in the lounge and get a beer.”
The door to the women’s locker room started to open, and absolute disaster was sitting behind it because Kala was right there in the doorway following Lou.
TJ jumped into action, hauling Lou out and into his arms even as he slammed the door on a frowning Kala, who better have the good sense to not open it again.
He had Lou in his arms, backed against the wall in a heartbeat.
“Hey, baby. You look gorgeous,” he said.
Her eyes widened as she took in the crowd and likely figured out how close they’d come to disaster. She tilted her head up. “You’ve barely seen me. How would you know?”
He shook his head. “Don’t need to. You’re always gorgeous, and tonight you’re all mine.”
He lowered his head and felt a deep sense of gratitude when she softened beneath him and let him kiss her. Her hands went under his leather vest to brush up his sides as he stroked inside her mouth with his tongue. Fuck, she felt good. She felt perfect and right, and he was going to show her tonight that they were good together.
“So I guess I’ll be seeing more of that,” Parker said.
“Don’t go to sex clubs unless you want to see some sex,” Kenzie countered. “And if you’d like to slut shame me, I can show you the sparring ring. It’s upstairs, though we don’t normally talk about fight club. Rules and all. There’s no shame allowed here.”