Page 36 of The Price of Forever

“Do you need a doctor recommendation?” Damian asked.

“I’m fine,” I reassured them. “She’s just…”

“Watch your words,” Jordan warned from the kitchen.

“Sassy,” I finished. “She thinks I’m geriatric because I’m in my thirties.”

“Hey, we’re in our thirties.” Damian tipped his head back to look toward Jordan.

“You’re all extremely old and brittle,” she informed us. “At death’s door. No amount of exercise will save you.” She flashed a plastic smile as she headed toward her bedroom.

“At your age, your brain isn’t even fully developed yet,” Axel shot back.

She stopped just as her hand hit the doorknob. “My brain is fully functional, thank you very much. And it can recognize an old man when it sees one. Time to get ready for the coffee shop, boys.”

“I’m not old, I’m distinguished,” Axel called out as her door swung shut behind her. Then he laughed. “It’s nice to be harassed by my little sister.”

“How did it…go?” I kept my voice low, looking between them.

Damian tipped his head back and forth, and Axel lobbed a sigh. “We’ll talk another time.” He clapped my back before coming to his feet. “We’re gonna head out, since the workday is starting.”

“Thanks for the food. Stop by anytime.” I stood too, trailing them to the front door. They were both over six feet tall, but I towered over them.

“We plan on coming by as often as we can,” Axel said in a low voice, his gaze drifting toward Jordan’s door. “With breakfast or lunch, just to see if we can… you know.” He shrugged. “Baby steps.”

“Appreciate you, Seven,” Damian said, giving me a meaningful look as he opened the door. “Oh, and we’ll let you know when the uh—”

“Fuck, we didn’t tell him,” Axel interjected.

Damian grimaced, looking over at me. “Shit, that’s right. You were in the bedroom.”

I blinked. “What did I miss?”

“We asked Jordan what she wanted for the apartment here,” Damian said. “If there was anything we could send or provide. And she said she wants a pole, for practice.”

“You’re cool with that, right?” Axel asked.

Every last organ inside my body was groaning at the news. But I had to be cool with it. This place was on their dime. I had no right to refuse something they wanted to gift their little sister.

“I’m sure she’ll love it,” I said, unable to make my lips curl upward, so I resorted to making my eyes smile. Or at least trying.

“Awesome. We’ll handle the details. You just let the guys in when they come to install it,” Axel said, squeezing my shoulder. “See ya later, Seven.”

When the door shut behind them, I pinched the bridge of my nose. Fuck. Just what I needed. Private exotic dancer performances in my own fucking home. As if seeing her on the stage several nights a week wasn’t tantalizing enough. Now I had to potentially start my day watching her toned and limber body slide down a pole?

I wouldn’t last a week. But I tried to swallow the panic. To focus on something else. I spotted the leftovers of their breakfast spread. Food was a good idea. Feed the beast of hunger, so that the beast of sexual desire might shut the fuck up for a second.

I grabbed a sausage link, checking my watch. We needed to be out of here in three minutes to make Jordan’s shift on time if she planned to use public transportation. I was her bodyguard, but I wasn’t her mom, so I didn’t plan on reminding her. I snagged my laptop from my bedroom, shoved it into its case, and loaded it into a satchel I slung across my chest. Today’s goal was to make more progress on the hiring front. Handing off Jordan’s care to a trusted new hire was the only way I’d stand a chance of making it through this assignment without doing something I deeply regretted.

Once I reentered the kitchen, the door to her bedroom opened and she breezed out. She had winged eyeliner on, a simple lip gloss, and the Black & Brewtiful ballcap covering her dark blonde ponytail.

“Ready?” she asked.

I swallowed the rest of my sausage link. “Born ready.”

“I bet you just tremble in anticipation waiting to use that phrase, don’t you?”

“Born to use it.”

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