Page 4 of Inked Beasts

LEXY

He’s different, but the same. Taller, just as massive as Kai, and beautifully proportioned. Beautiful, period. He might be the most exquisite specimen of manhood I’ve ever seen.

“It’s good to see you,” he says in a voice that’s quieter than you’d expect from someone his size My throat closes over with unshed tears.

Scott is still standing right there, about to open his mouth and demand to know who this latest interloper is. I don’t care. I go into Gage’s arms, lay my head against his chest, close my eyes, and breathe him in.

A hint of something spicy, and his own familiar scent. Until this moment, I didn’t know I remembered it.

“Alexandra.” Scott’s harsh whisper shatters the moment. I release Gage and step back.

“Scott Peyton, Gage Leota.”

Gage is in jeans and a black t-shirt, like Kai, but without the leather jacket. He has tattoos on both arms. I have a wild impulse to strip off his shirt and see where else he’s inked.

Scott takes my arm. “Alexandra, I need to speak to you. Privately.”

I suppress the urge to roll my eyes. “Excuse me,” I say to Gage, and let Scott lead me a few feet away.

His voice is stern. “I can’t have you consorting with people like this.”

“Consorting? Are you serious?” I knew he was concerned—okay, overly concerned—with appearances, but this is ridiculous. “People like what, exactly?”

“We have an image to uphold.”

I take a beat to wrangle my temper under control. “First of all, we’re in Las Vegas, where these people live, and you are a guest. Second, you’re being incredibly rude. And last but definitely not least, you don’t tell me what to do.”

He’s still holding my arm; he drops his hand like I’ve turned rancid. “If one visit to this city is all it takes for you to behave this way, then it seems the woman I thought I knew was only a thin veneer.”

It’s not a good look to wreck your own client’s wedding, so I manage not to punch his lights out. Have I really been that much of a doormat, letting this man dictate my priorities? I suspect the answer is yes, and it shames me.

“It seems the veneer is all you care about,” I tell him coldly.

His eyes turn equally icy. “I’ll see myself back to our room.” He walks out without another word.

Gage comes up beside me. “Are you all right?”

I blow out a breath and look at him. “Yeah. I think I’m mostly mad at myself. How did I end up with that man?”

I’m not expecting an answer; I’m just talking, thinking out loud. It’s as if our fifteen years of separation never happened, and we’re picking up in the middle of a conversation.

“It doesn’t matter,” Gage says. “He’s gone, and you’re here.” He tilts his head toward the dance floor, where a slow song has just started. “Dance with me?”

The emotional ground shifts under my feet. If Kai and I always fought, Gage and I never did. But we’re not kids anymore, and a slow dance with this gorgeous man would open the door to all sorts of danger.

I want to live dangerously.

I’ve spent my time with Scott being careful and safe and proper—always proper. I never let myself see the cage he’d put me in.

No, that’s not right. That I’d put myself in. I made my own choices.

It’s time to change things.

I follow Gage onto the dance floor and go into his arms again. He pulls me close and my nipples go hard against his chest, my pussy clenching with instant lust. Scott never evoked this kind of primitive response.

Closing my eyes, I do my best to eject Scott from my mind and stay in the moment as Gage and I sway to the music. Being pressed against him head to toe is doing strange things to my insides. Not just physical reactions, though my whole body is thrumming with need.

It’s the other changes that are getting to me.

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