Page 114 of By His Rule

It shows as read immediately and my heart lurches, but he doesn’t begin typing.

Taking a moment to save his contact, I wait patiently for what he might respond with.

I wait for so long that my cell goes to sleep, and when it goes off again, it startles me.

Lifting it in a rush, I don’t bother reading it before opening the notification.

My eyes almost bug out of my head when I find a dick pic staring back at me.

Admittedly, it’s a very nice dick pic and can only come from a man who sends them often and knows all his best angles.

I don’t need to look up at the name of the person who sent me this, I know the appendage well enough, and I’m so fucking relieved that it doesn’t belong to my boss.

Or am I…

I’m still staring at it, wondering how Kian’s might look in comparison, when my cell buzzes again.

Boss: He deserved it. I just hope it hurts worse than my hand.

Lori: Baby. Anyone would think you hadn’t thrown a punch before.

I smirk, trying to imagine his childhood and education compared to mine. Pretty sure half of his middle school didn’t burn down because some assholes decided that setting off fireworks in multiple classrooms at once was a good idea, or that the police had to attend at least once a week to pull students off each other when the teachers failed to deal with the brawling.

Even the best students learned how to protect themselves very quickly in that place. It’s one reason why I don’t really need to worry about Wilder and Hendrix. What they might lack in motherly love and support, they make up for in street wisdom.

That school might not teach the standard lessons, but every student definitely leaves with some kind of education.

I know from Tate that all three Callahan brothers went to the same boarding school and spent their spare time clay pigeon shooting and learning to play sports like polo and golf.

It’s two different worlds, and every time I think about it, I feel like I belong here less and less.

Boss: I grew up with an older and younger brother. Trust me, I know how to fight. I was always the one in trouble for it, too.

Lori: Is that meant to make me feel sorry for you?

Boss: Not at all. I can punch harder than both of them combined; your sympathy should be with them.

Lori: I once broke a girl’s nose.

The second I hit send, I regret it.

Boss: Mud wrestling can be brutal. How did your bikinis fare?

Laughter bursts out of me.

Lori: There was no mud involved. Ironically, she kissed my boyfriend at the time. She had it coming.

Boss: You have questionable taste in men, Temptress.

Seeing his nickname for me typed out on my screen has butterflies erupting in my stomach.

One word should not cause such a visceral reaction. But it does.

Lori: Thank you for pointing out the obvious, Sherlock.

Boss: Things can only get better, right?

I think of the dick pic sitting in my messages. That’s looking pretty good right now.

---