Page 48 of Cohesion

For that alone, he laid out his three-of-a-kind hand on the table first.

Peyton glanced at it. Everything about him was still completely unreadable. Sebastian’s heart skipped a beat when Peyton spread his cards out.

A diamond flush. Of fucking course. He hadn’t been nearly smug enough for a shit hand.

“I’m not objecting to Sebastian being the first one to take his clothes off,” Jericho said.

“Question,” Will said, holding up his hand like they were in primary school. “Technically, four of us lost; do weallneed to answer a question and lose a piece of clothing?”

“Clothing, yes. Answer, no,” Peyton said. “The winner gets to choose one person to ask a question.”

“Are these actual rules, or are you making them up as you go?” Sebastian asked.

Peyton only raised an eyebrow in response. What a fucking brat.

“Shouldn’t have taken my shoes off already,” Quinn said with a rueful smile as he removed his jacket and carefully hung it on the back of his chair. He was bulkier than all of them, solid muscle without bulging. He was fucking exquisite, and Sebastian was suddenly glad their detective had never been very good at poker. Chances were Will and Quinn were the first ones getting naked, and Sebastian saw nothing wrong at all with that outcome. A couple more rounds, and he’d have some incredible eye candy all lined up.

Jericho dragged his hoody off his head to reveal a three-quarter sleeve plain black T-shirt that had an obvious bulge on his side where his firearm was resting. The movement caused the hair tie to lose its battle with his hair, and it flopped into his face. Jericho gathered the light curls up again and re-did it, twisting it into a half bun. A thick bunch of strands objected to being tied back and hung loosely on his forehead. He looked like a rock star. Especially with those sunglasses.Theirrock star.

Will clearly hadn’t thought this through as he only had on a loose shirt and a pair of shorts. Not even a watch. He wasn’t going to stay clothed for long. He took off his shirt first, giving them something lovely to look at while they played. His long torso might not have been sculpted, but damn was it sexy, all smooth skin and dusky nipples and a happy trail that led down to the real prize. Sebastian wanted to win that one.

“Your turn,” Quinn said. “I know it hurts, but you lost too.”

Sebastian let out a huff. “Don’t poke the wounded man, Quinn. That’s bad form.”

“Sorry.” He didn’t sound sorry.

Sebastian stood and shrugged out of his suit jacket, discarding it on a nearby empty chair. He could have chosen a sock or a shoe—they were definitely options if it got to that—but he knew that this tactic was more distracting. He deliberately rolled his sleeves to his elbows and checked that his tie was sitting properly, the clip in place. Four sets of eyes were locked onto his every movement, the temperature in the air rising at least twenty degrees.

Perfect.

“What’s your question?” he asked as he settled back down.

Peyton’s features took a serious turn, and Sebastian braced himself. This wasn’t going to be an easy question, was it?

“You and my brother.”

Sebastian tensed. He deliberately didn’t look at Quinn. Fucking hell, what was Peyton doing? “That’s not a question.”

“Did you sleep with him?”

“Peyton—” Quinn started.

“No, I didn’t,” Sebastian interrupted. What answer was Peyton expecting? That yes, he’d cheated on Quinn? That he’d fucked Quinn, then Riley, then Quinn again, and now Peyton and all of them just to top it off?

“Did you want to?”

Sebastian couldn’t help it. He twisted, meeting Quinn’s eyes. There was a guarded, haunted look in the liquid grey. Sebastian hadn’t seen it for years, but he knew it intimately. Insecurity. Fear. Is that what Quinn still thought? That he’d been harbouring feelings, sexual or otherwise, for Riley? That hestillwas?

He hadn’t ever wanted to. He and Riley hadonlyever been friends. He opened his mouth and couldn’t find any words. It gave the wrong impression, the completeoppositeof reality, and he still couldn’t find any.

“It’s alright,” Quinn said.

It wasn’t. “No,” he breathed out. “No. Quinn, I never wanted to. I only ever,ever, had eyes for you. You have to know that.” Quinn hadn’t believed him back then. Had thrown accusations at Sebastian, said things that still occasionally entered his nightmares like a fucked-up re-run of the past and all the mistakes he’d made.

Quinn’s gaze softened. “I’m sorry. I do know that. The mistakes were mine alone.”

“They weren’t,” Sebastian said brokenly. He couldn’t let Quinn shoulder that. Did he really think that it had been his fault? Sebastian had been the one keeping secrets, holding back pieces of himself, even the ones that belonged to Quinn. Hell, every piece of him belonged to Quinn. It always had.

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