Page 70 of Tempt Her

“I’ll do basic training, and then, if I qualify—”

“Whenyou qualify,” Ford orders.

“WhenI qualify for Ranger School, I’ll be stationed at Fort Benning.”

Stacey nods. “So you’ll be nearby. South Carolina, then Georgia. We can visit you.”

“That’d be sweet.”

I like the idea of seeing them as much as I can before…

I don’t want to think about the next part.

“If it’s that close,” she says, “I don’t want you wasting your time working on my house. You should be having fun. Going to the beach and getting hammered and stuff.”

Ford chuckles. “Oh, he gets hammered plenty. Don’t worry.”

I glare his way.What is he up to?

Mateo coughs. Hiding his grin with a napkin, he changes the subject. “The kitchen won’t take long. We got the new cabinets already ordered, and Luke and I can knock your project out quickly and—”

“She wants you two to take alongtime.” Ford interrupts again, clearly running an agenda. “She says the only reason is to catch her husband.Right?”

The way he raises his eyebrow at Stacey. The way he’s taunting her, volleying his power across the table at her—I follow the ball, watching her eyebrow raise next.

“We all know the reason,” she answers him. “He’s hiding something in that house, and we’re going to find it.”

Ford slams his empty beer bottle down. “Then what?”

“Then I give the evidence to Sergeant Bryant. She’ll take it from there.”

“That’s not thethenI want to know.”

Fuck, I’ve never seen someone get under his skin. Ford never gets angry or jealous. Powerful and strong? And such a dirty Dom sometimes? Yes, I like that about him.

But with Mateo and me, he lets his guard down. Ford lets us see what a good man he really is. All the nice things he does for people. Building wheelchair ramps for those who need them or fixing stuff on older people’s homes. A single mom lives a few miles away; Ford mows her lawn every week and fixed her roof last month for free.

He’s a good man but such an asshole to Stacey. And it’s pissing me off too.

Stacey lifts her chin, not intimidated by him. “What do youdemandto know, Mr. Alexander?”

Damn, she’s turning into a force. Every time I fuck her, or Mateo does, it’s like we fill her with more than our cocks. She’s getting powerful too.

Ford lowers his brow. “What are you going to do withmy men?”

“Talk like weare mensitting at this table,” Mateo growls low, “and not pawns between the two of you.”

“I’m not disrespecting you,” Ford answers him. “I’m protecting you. And him.” He juts his chin my way. “Even if we bust her husband, then what? Where does that leave the three of us? Me, you, and Luke?”

I glare at him. So does Mateo.

It’s never come to this. None of us have ever pushed the issue of a woman between us. Yet, here she sits. Silently watching us take our oath to the breaking point.

Because Ford doesn’t want Stacey here, so he’s making it clear that she’s not welcome in our love.

Suddenly, I realize; Ford’s afraid, just like me. I glance at Mateo, and he’s stoic but scared too. He loves Stacey. I think he always has, and he loves Ford. He wants both.

“Are you asking us to choose?” Fuck it. I do too, and I’m running out of time, so I take Ford on. “Right now? You want us to pick sides?”

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