Page 58 of Succumbed

“Are you going to help, or try to get your dick wet again?” He only grins, and I glower. “Get out.”

Casting an amused glance at Linc as he laughs and heads for the door, Lex washes her hands then steps into the shower.

“Does he always listen?” she asks softly, stepping close and running her hands over my chest as she studies my tattoos.

“Fuck no,” I scoff, trailing my fingers along her sides. “But he knows I take this shit seriously.”

“Aftercare?” She looks up into my eyes as she presses her body flush to mine, her arms wrapping around my waist.

I return her embrace, touching my forehead to hers. She’s tall but I still have to bend down a bit.

“Scenes like that are intense, Lex. It’s important to me that I take care of you and check in.”

She smiles, her fingers tracing patterns along my spine. “I’m still very green, if that’s what you need to know.”

Chuckling, I press my lips to hers, reaching up to cradle her head in one hand. It’s a brief kiss, though far from chaste.

“I’m glad to hear it, but I’m still going to help you clean up then give you a rubdown.”

She pulls back a bit to meet my eyes, her eyebrows wagging suggestively. “A rubdown?”

I shake my head and laugh, reaching for the shampoo. “A massage, you greedy thing.”

She tips her head back into the water to soak her hair, then looks up at me after she clears her face with gentle hands. “I don’t know that I’ve ever been greedy before Linc…and you.”

Smirking, I massage the shampoo onto her scalp. “I don’t mind causing your greed as long as you let me sate it.”

After I rinse the last of the soap from her hair, she looks up at me, her gaze dark and thoughtful.

“You thanked me earlier, and I didn’t get a chance to ask you why.”

I cup her face, tracing the sharp line of her cheekbone with my thumb. “Being vulnerable is hard. And there’s no way to have an experience like we just did without it. Your vulnerability, your trust…it’s a gift, and I’m grateful.”

She grips my wrist, her thumb brushing the back of my hand as untold emotions swim in her eyes. “I get the sense you and your brothers could change my worldview, Shane Kelly.”

“Oh, Lex. You have no idea.”

It isn’t lost on me that she said brothers, plural. Baby, it’s you who could change everything.

Chapter 18

Lex

Walking into P&L Capital is an out-of-body experience. It’s my first time in the office of the VC firm my brother opened in direct challenge to my business. Though Nate could’ve taken the opportunity to design a space of his own, he’d mirrored the look and feel of our father’s firm (and P&L’s parent company) down to the dark color scheme and abundance of leather furniture.

A young woman in a crisp white blouse sits at the palatial front desk, her brows raised as I enter the lobby.

“Ms. Livingston, welcome,” she says, slowly rising to her feet. “Do you, um…do you have an appointment?”

I smile. “My brother’s expecting me.”

Her eyes widen. “Mr. Livingston, right. Let me ring his office.”

“No need.” I raise my phone and tip it back and forth. “I texted him from the parking garage. And, let me guess…his office is in the back left corner?”

“Yes, that’s right. I–”

“Thank you.” Stepping around her, I head toward the office that had always held pride of place in our family.

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