Page 71 of Sweetheart: Part One

Fuck.

What if I never saw her again?

A little flutter of something desperate rose in my chest at that thought. I just… didn’t want to risk never living it down.

Only, when I cracked the office door, there was already someone inside.

Drake was sliding into a seat at the table right in front of where her contract lay. “Rook?”

“What are you doing here?” I asked.

He stared at me for a long moment, and I thought I might know the answer before he gave it. “You can’t do this,” he said.

“I fucking well can.”

“Why? When you don’t even like her?”

I didn’t have a reasonable answer, and Drake knew that as well as I did, but I still locked down my side of the bond tight so he wouldn’t feel any of it.

Drake was sweet, and we were fucking assholes—we all knew that, but I still didn’t like him prodding at it.

He sounded desperate. “The second she’s in, you won’t be able to get rid of her—not if she doesn’t want to leave.”

I shrugged. Did Drakereallythink I hadn’t considered that?

Iactedplayboy, but I wasn’t stupid.

It wasn’t a concern.

If I gave her this contract, she was going to have to work fucking hard if she wanted it to remain intact. I’d have a leg up on Ebony, and fuck if I wouldn’t rub that in his face.

I took a step toward Drake, but he was on his feet, and the envelope remained on his side of the table.

“You’re a piece of shit, Rook.”

I faltered at that, feeling the truth of Drake’s words through the bond.

“Don’t fucking sign it. Not for your ego.”

“My ego?” I cocked an eyebrow with a half smile, circling the table. Super fucking noble of him to be here, but it wouldn’t change anything.

He shifted defensively, eyes darting to the envelope on the table. He could have hidden it, but it would go directly against Love’s orders: that contract had to remain on that table until the week was up. Another provision Love had made to screw over Ebony which was causing chaos now that it came to Vex.

“Come on mate,” I said. “She’s been here a week. Why do you care so much?”

Drake didn’t seem to have an answer to that, but I could see the flash of fear in his eyes.

Hedidcare about her.

That irritated me because I knew she cared about him, too. I wasn’t used to feeling jealous over a woman’s affection.

Still, if Drake did care so much, why the fuck was he here? Nobility would only get him so far—and it certainly wouldn’t get him this girl if he pulled shit like this.

“If I sign it, you can cuddle her all you want,” I said. “Then we’ll both get a piece of that sweet beta—”

Drake’s aura blazed through that space in a flash. It was all I could process before I felt the splitting pain in my jaw.

The blow was hard enough to send me crashing to the ground. My aura came out too late, steadying the spinning world as I turned on him.

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