Page 291 of By His Rule

“And it’s not soundproof,” Hendrix adds.

“Fucking hell,” I mutter. Since when did my brothers get old enough to be warning me about this?

“We know, Wilder. Trust us. We know,” I half laugh, half cringe.

“Hey, you don’t have to share a room with him.”

“You didn’t that night. You topped and tailed with me,” I point out, laughing as I think about the night in question last summer.

“He still refuses to tell me if they used my bed.”

Kian claps Hendrix on the shoulder. “Take it from someone with two brothers to contend with…he definitely used your bed.”

“Motherfucker.”

“Hey, now, just because I’m not scared to have fun, doesn’t mean that your bed feels the same,” Wilder counters.

“I’m not scared,” Hendrix starts. “I just?—”

“Don’t worry,” Kian interrupts, saving Hendrix from himself. “I’ll respect your home. And your sister.”

“What?” I balk, still reeling from putting the brakes on things at the beach.

“Lorelei,” Wilder and Hendrix gasp at the same time.

“Oh shush. I’m a fully grown adult with needs.”

“Stop talking. Stoptalking. Stoptalking,” Wilder teases, pressing his hands to his ears.

“Such an asshole,” Hendrix says loudly before taking off toward the kitchen.

“Hey, I heard that,” Wilder barks.

“You were meant to,” Hendrix counters.

Leaving them to bicker, I slip behind Kian and walk toward what will be our bed for the night.

I throw the cushions off and bend down to pull the bed out. Kian’s attention burns my skin as I do so.

“What do you think?” I ask once the thin mattress we’re going to have to sleep on has been revealed in all its glory.

“I think that I’m going to have you right beside me, and nothing in the world could be better than that.”

To my surprise, no one teases his sappy comment, and when I look back, I find that Wilder and Hendrix have made themselves scarce.

I stare up at Kian with my heart thumping steadily in my chest and butterflies fluttering wildly in my stomach.

“Are we really doing this?”

“Yeah,” he whispers, taking a step closer and cupping my face in his hands. “We’re really doing this.”

His kiss is sweet, gentle, and the perfect tease for what I really want.

“The bathroom is down the hall on the right,” I say when we part.

“Trying to get rid of me already?”

“Trust me, you won’t want to spend any longer in there than necessary.”

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