Page 43 of Stuck On Them

I kicked off my own shoes and made my way to the kitchen, stopping short when I saw Paige sitting on the couch staring out the windows. “Hey.”

She jumped, her head whipping around. “Shit. You scared me!”

“Sorry. I thought you would have heard the door. What are you doing?” I placed the bags on the counter and turned on the oven to preheat.

She turned back to face the window. “Just watching the sky. I didn’t think anything could beat a Pacific Ocean sunset, but there’s something about the buildings coming alive for the evening and the sky that’s just magical.”

“It really is. Especially with this view.” I walked around the island and stood behind where she was sitting, putting my hands on her shoulders.

Now that I’d had a taste of her lips and felt her body pressed against mine, I wanted more. I’d gone over all the reasons why I should or shouldn’t pursue something with her, and one of the only reasons I could think against it was her working for us. That was no longer an issue.

She was tense under my touch but quickly relaxed as I gently kneaded her muscles. “Do you have a view like this?”

“No. I live in a brownstone. What it lacks in a view is made up for by the private outdoor space.” I slid one of my hands to her throat and she inhaled sharply. I pushed up so she’d tilt her head back. “Can I have a kiss?”

She pulled away suddenly, standing up. “Did Luca not tell you?”

“Tell me what?” Feeling dejected, I loosened my tie and went back into the kitchen to keep myself busy. “He said you’re staying here until your rat situation is figured out.”

“That’s all he told you?” She wrung her hands and walked over to the island separating us.

I couldn’t help but let my eyes wander down from her tank top to her jeans that melded to her hips and thighs. “It is. Did he forget something?”

“He, uh… we, um…” She sighed and ran a hand over her head to her bun, which she fiddled with.

I raised an eyebrow, watching how she shifted her weight from one foot to the other. She was nervous and I didn’t need to read minds to connect the dots. “You kissed.”

She looked down at the counter, her cheeks turning crimson. “And other stuff.”

I paused with the bag of tomatoes in my hand. “Other stuff? What did that other stuff entail?”

“We got carried away.”

I put the tomatoes down before I did something like chuck them across the room. “Spit it out, Paige. It’s not like you cheated.”

She cringed, but it was the truth. I’d kissed her and that was that. We hadn’t talked about anything else, and it wasn’t like I was in love with the woman.

“I slept with him, but I told him I didn’t want to go on a date with him.” She shook her head and covered her face with her hands. “Fuck, all of this makes me sound like such a whore.”

“You aren’t a whore.” I was going to kill Luca for sleeping with her. He knew I’d kissed her and that I had a big enough crush on her that I was ready to say fuck it and break another one of our rules.

Clearly, with this woman, there were no more rules.

“Then what else would you call me?” She removed her hands and, thankfully, there weren’t any tears. She wasn’t looking at me, though. She’d turned to stare at the dining area. “I can’t believe I did that.”

I busied myself getting out a sheet pan and cutting board while I thought of how to respond. This was uncharted territory for me. She’d slept with my two best friends and yet I still had this need burning in my stomach to ask her out.

But no, I couldn’t. I didn’t want to complicate things with Ryker and Luca even more than they already were.

“Does Ryker know?” I took the tomatoes to the sink and put them in a colander to rinse. “Or did he join in?”

I didn’t look back at her, but she made a small noise in her throat that sounded a lot like a whimper and a moan combined. “He knows. He didn’t, um… join. Is that, uh… something you guys do?”

“No.” Had I thought about what it would be like to share a woman in the bedroom? Sure. But to date the same one? That was a mess with a capital M, especially since we were in business together.

It was quiet while I finished washing the tomatoes and brought them to the island to cut up along with an onion and garlic. Paige was standing at one of the windows now, her shoulders drawn forward like she was trying to make herself disappear.

I didn’t want to make this awkward, but it was hard not to. “You turning into a turtle? That could explain why the rats are visiting your apartment.”

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