Page 42 of Gather the Storm

Ugh. I flung an arm over my mouth, like I could take back my pants of ecstasy, the orgasm that had turned my body limp.

I lay there a few minutes longer, letting my breathing return to normal, then got up to clean the vibrator and use the bathroom.

I debated whether to take a shower. It was after 9 a.m. and I was just going to get dirty wandering around the home store anyway. But also, I’d be with Wolf all day. I didn’t want to stink, and I also worried he’d be able to smell my orgasm.

Was sex smell a thing?

I didn’t know, but I wasn’t taking any chances.

I took a quick shower and braided my hair to get it out of the way, then threw on a pair of booty shorts — the only kind Jace had put in my drawer because obviously the game was all about humiliation — and a tank top.

I was halfway down the back stairs when I heard voices coming from the kitchen. And these weren’t casual morning voices — they were low and urgent, a conversation that wasn’t supposed to be overheard.

I paused on the stairs and listened.

“That’s not what we agreed,” Jace said, his voice thick with anger and something else I couldn’t place.

“I know what we agreed,” Wolf said. “But we’re here. I don’t see why it has to be a bitch.”

“I only agreed because you said you’d keep your distance.” Jace again. “Now Otis is up her ass and you’re carrying her to bed.”

“I didn’t stay, if that’s what you’re worried about,” Wolf said.

I bit my lip, trying to follow the conversation. Was Wolf assuring Jace he hadn’t slept with me? Why would it matter to Jace?

“I couldn’t give two shits if you fuck Blake’s little sister.”

“Sounds like you do,” Wolf said.

The conversation continued, but they lowered their voices even further. I couldn’t make any of it out, and I finally gave up and continued down the stairs, wondering what the fuck was going on.

I’d thought I was the only one with an agenda. Had I been wrong?

Stepping into the kitchen was awkward. I could almost see the things they’d been saying about me hanging in the air like little cartoon conversation bubbles.

Wolf was standing at the counter, spreading a thick layer of cream cheese on a bagel, while Jace looked at his phone. Theylooked as delicious as ever, Wolf in worn jeans and his requisite sleeveless T-shirt, ink and muscles on full display, while Jace sported gray sweats and no shirt at all. I didn’t know where to look: at his obnoxiously gorgeous face, his sculpted chest, or the significant package between his legs, on full display thanks to an epic manspread.

“Morning,” I said.

Wolf looked up and flashed me a grin. “From the sounds coming from your room this morning, I’d say you’re having a better one than we are.”

My cheeks burned.

Fuck me. I’d been so lost in my fantasy about the Beasts that I’d forgotten we were sharing a house.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” I hated how prim I sounded, like the virgin I was.

Pathetic.

Wolf grinned wider. A lock of his dark hair fell over one of his mesmerizing eyes. “Nothing to be ashamed of, sunshine. I’m just glad to see you’re taking care of yourself.”

Jace glared at Wolf over his phone. “Are we shooting a porno here or fixing up the house?”

“Both sounds fun.” It was obvious from the look on Wolf’s face that he was needling Jace, trying to get under his skin, using me to do it.

Interesting.

I grabbed a clean coffee cup from the dish strainer next to the sink — a dishwasher was on my list for the kitchen reno — and poured myself a cup of coffee, hoping if I ignored the masturbation convo it would disappear.

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