Page 101 of All's Fair In Love & War

I didn’t answer, mostly because I didn’t know what this was. Instead, I reached for his shirt and dragged him into one of the darker corners of the exhibit, away from the cameras that weren’t supposed to be recording and the sensors that had been shut off hours ago.

The bench beneath the stained-glass skylight was cool against the back of my thighs as I knelt in front of him. I didn’t ask for permission, and he didn’t offer a word of protest when I unzipped his pants and freed his dick.

I took my time, stroking him slowly, keeping my eyes locked on his. Dallas liked being in charge, but he allowed me to take the lead, and I appreciated his willingness to meet me halfway. It showed just how much power I had over him.

When I wrapped my lips around him, his head tipped back against the stone wall, and the sound he made was low, raw, and meant only for me. His fingers threaded into my curls, not to guide me, but to anchor himself as I worked him over with steady pressure and a mouth that didn’t believe in mercy.

I sucked him slow, deep, and with intention, letting my tongue drag against every part of him until I felt his thighs tense and his breath hitch.

“Fuck, Sophia,” he groaned, his voice thick with grit.

I kept going and didn’t stop when his grip tightened, nor when his hips started to rise. I didn’t even stop when he came, hard and fast, his jaw clenched and his free hand gripping the back of my neck like he needed something to hold onto.

I swallowed every drop without breaking eye contact, on my momma, I did. He tasted scrumptious.

As I pulled back, I heard a door open somewhere in the building, followed by the echo of footsteps. Dallas tucked himself away in record time, pulling me up with him just as the security rotation started on the opposite end of the wing.

“We’ve got sixty seconds,” he whispered, grabbing the bag from where he’d dropped it earlier.

We moved fast down the hallway, slipped through the side corridor, and out the same door we came in through. The air outside felt colder, the adrenaline hadn’t worn off, and my lips were still swollen, but I was content in a way I hadn’t been in a long time.

We made it back to the car without a word between us. Once inside, I caught my breath, pulled out my phone, and realized it was still early to go home.

“I parked not far from Naeem and Tatum’s place,” I said, adjusting my jacket. “I can still make it to the engagement dinner. Are you going?”

Dallas shook his head before I could even finish my sentence. “No.”

I frowned. “Why not?”

He started the engine and pulled out of the parking lot. “Because it’s their night. I don’t want to make things more awkward for Felicity. Your brothers hate me, and she probably does too. I didn’t exactly ask her opinion on marrying Khalil to save our family’s ass.”

Dallas paused for a minute before continuing. “I can’t say I blame Felicity if she hates me.” He shook his head as if the thought of it really bothered him. “I haven’t been a good big brother to her since my parents shipped her off to boarding school.”

I turned to him, my tone light despite the weight in his voice. “I like that you’re taking accountability for not being there for your sister, but when it comes to my brothers, you said they hate you like you’re not the reason behind the hate.”

Dallas grinned. “Oh, I’m definitely the reason. I just mean I’m not mad about it, and will likely keep on making them hate me.”

I laughed, then looked back out the window. “You’re ridiculous.”

“And you’re still in this car,” he replied with a chuckle.

I rolled my eyes, but he wasn’t wrong. I could’ve gotten out after the museum, after the alley, after the parking lot, but I hadn’t.

“I was already dressed,” I said with a shrug.

His smirk deepened. “But did you wear that outfit to attend your brother’s engagement dinner?”

“I could have. It makes me look dangerous, and maybe I wanted to look like I was on a mission.”

“Well, you definitely did that,” he said, turning down a familiar street.

The road narrowed as we approached the edge of the neighborhood near Naeem and Tatum’s estate. Trees lined the sidewalks like they were standing guard, and the occasional streetlamp flickered against the windshield. I shifted in my seat, already thinking about what I would say when I finally arrived because they would certainly want to know why I was late.

I had just looked down at my phone to reply to Riley’s text when a car swerved into our lane. Sitting up straight, I droppedthe phone and gripped the door handle, my heart lurching in my chest. Headlights flooded the front of Dallas’s vehicle, both bright and blinding, erasing everything else in view. The tires screamed against the pavement as he jerked the wheel hard to the right, narrowly avoiding a head-on collision.

The other car swerved at the last possible second, crossing back into its lane in a blur of motion and brake lights. But not before I saw her.

Through the windshield, clear as day, Felicity sat in the passenger seat, her face pale, her mouth slightly parted in shock. Her wide eyes locked on mine, and in that instant, everything else disappeared. I couldn’t hear the tires or the horn. I couldn’t feel the road beneath us.

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