Page 8 of The Bachelor

I didn’t just want my power to break the bed. I wanted my stroke to send the headboard straight through the wall.

There was a big difference.

And because one of us needed to act with something other than what was between our legs, I said, “Oaklyn …” My voice faded as her expression began to captivate me in a way I couldn’t fight, so I got up and went into the kitchen, adding more ice and vodka to my glass before I returned to the couch. I thought the break would make this easier, but my dick was even harder now. “You do know what you’re asking from me, don’t you?”

She bit her lip, those deep blue eyes fucking twinkling. “I’m not asking you to strip me naked right now.” She allowed that thought to simmer. “It’s a year away.”

She had a point.

So much shit could happen in twelve months.

Hell, she could be married by then.

“I’m also not going to beg you to take my virginity—”

“You don’t have to beg me,” I growled.

Fuck, that wasn’t the appropriate response.

I needed to be stronger.

I needed to say no.

I needed to show her that I was unaffected by this request.

But I couldn’t.

There was plenty of pussy I’d turned down over the years. Women who had done nothing for me or couldn’t handle a one-night stand.

But Oaklyn Rose wasn’t a woman I could ever deny.

She held out her fingers. “Should we shake on it?”

The moment our hands locked, rule number three formed in my head.

You don’t fuck your sister’s best friend when you promised her you wouldn’t.

And, goddamn it, I had a feeling that one would be broken too.

TWO

Camden

One Year Later

The text came through my phone as Declan and I were walking out of the downtown Boston office of Hooked, a dating app that had been founded by three Harvard graduates. They were several years older than me and all part of Harvard Business School, which was why we’d never crossed paths on campus. They were currently in litigation with Faceframe, a social media giant, along with one of Faceframe’s employees.

That was where we came in.

Easton, Grayson, and Holden, the partners of Hooked, wanted to take those motherfuckers down, and Declan and I were going to do everything in our power to make sure that happened.

The second my feet hit the sidewalk, on my way to the SUV that was parked outside, I caught a glimpse of the message on my screen.

“We need to discuss Hooked,” Declan said.

The sound of him dragged my attention away from the text. Before I could even register the words I’d just read, I shoved my phone into my pocket and slid into the backseat, and the SUV immediately took off for the airport.

“I thought the meeting went well,” I told him. “They’re ready to go to war, and there’s no question in my mind that we’re going to destroy the opposition in the courtroom.”

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