Page 17 of Queen of Diamonds

Zed managed to redirect the bouncer and then took the back stairwell to check ahead. He was back in a second, catching my eye with a look that told me it was bad news.

Shit.

Whoever was after her must be past there and by Zed’s urgency through the bond—they were coming up.

Slinging her over my shoulder was good for a crowded room, but in the quiet stairwell, if they wanted to stop and check who she was, they could. And we would both be in a poor position to fight. Counting Glade out as an asset if this came to blows was a rookie move—even if Zed had her gun right now.

So I dropped her from my shoulder with as little grace as I could manage, then caught her and set her straight before I could stop myself.

She was trying to rip her hair from her face when I caged her against the wall, hearing footsteps echoing up the stairs.

“Gives us a reason to growl if they look too hard,” I told her. Her lips drew back for a second as she glared up at me. Then her eyes darted between me, Kyan—who was blocking her from view of the staircase, and Zed, who had just reached us.

With one haughty look at me, she grabbed Kyan by the cheeks and drew him into a kiss.

Whatever.

Whoever Zed had spotted was scaling the stairs, and we needed to be in one apparent horny tangled mess if we wanted them to pass us without stopping.

Except…

Fuck me.

I did not like Kyan’s response. I felt a rather unnerving thrill down the bond from him. My relationship with him might be unconventional, but I knew what that meant.

This would undo years of work.

Before I knew it, I had Kyan’s hair in my fist and I dragged him back, slamming him against the wall. Glade was panting, eyes darting from Zed, to me, and then to Zed’s chest, behind which we could hear the footsteps approaching. Without another moment’s hesitation, she launched herself at me—the only one in reach—her lips finding mine for the first time in years. Dark cream cardamom rose in the air, subtle through fading scent dampeners, but enough for a million memories to collide with my hindbrain.

Lying on a field at midnight, mapping stars.

Forbidden evenings when she’d climbed our balcony.

Stolen moments among sunlit trees.

The way her scent had tangled with ours, completing us in a way we’d never been.

The kiss was so primal I didn’t have time to prepare. Not for the shocking softness of her lips, or my body’s reaction.

I almost let go of Kyan, though from the indignance down the bond, he was at risk of knocking me flat. Her legs tangled around my waist as I crushed her against the wall, my other fist in her hair. Her tongue drove into my mouth and dark lust shot through my veins like lava.

Kyan threw his weight against mine and I felt his fury like it was mine.

Okay.

Given the laundry list of kinks that Alpha had, this possibly wasn’t the best option for settling him.

But this was just an act, I told myself.

Zed’s growl joined Kyan’s, though his was directed at the passersby.

This was an act. They’d be gone and that would be it. We’d drop her off and drive away.

Forever.

What had we been thinking, coming here? Trying to meet her? For what—closure? To tell her we were over her?

Over her?

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