Chapter 16
Josephine
“Why does it feel like we’re in trouble?” I cup my hand to my mouth and fake whisper, wiggling on the smooth leather bench between Kendrick and Locke.
“Seriously. He’s giving ‘I’m not mad, just disappointed,’” Locke quips. He catches one of my belt loops and pulls me closer.
“It feels like we’ve been naughty, and now dad’s mad,” Kendrick adds in a low simper.
Across from us, Kylian’s head snaps up. “Don’t call him that.”
I snort.
Kendrick chuckles, his deep timbre vibrating through the seat we’re sharing as he slides one hand along my low back. Once he’s got a handful of me, he pulls me toward him, reversing the direction Nicky was just moving me in.
“Hey,” Locke grumbles, reaching around me to shove Kendrick in the shoulder.
Kendrick cocks a brow. “Bro. Chill. I haven’t seen her all day.”
Not interested in their ridiculous need to piss on me, I rise to my feet, find my footing, and shuffle to Kylian’s bench.
“Josephine,” Decker grumbles from the helm, no doubt chastising me of standing when the boat is moving.
With a huff, I roll my eyes at the overprotective ass and settle beside Kylian. “I’m good now.”
“Hi, baby,” Kylian murmurs. His attention is still glued to his phone, but he loops one arm under my knees and pulls my legs across his lap, arranging me the way he wants me. “Okay?” he asks, finally peering up to make sure I’m comfortable.
Humming, I rest my head on his shoulder. “What’s this about?” I whisper after a few breaths.
He looks up from his phone and regards Decker before he turns back to look at me. “No idea. He didn’t mention anything to me.”
Decker doesn’t keep us in suspense long.
He eases off the throttle, and in moments, the pontoon is stopped in the middle of the lake.
From here, the lights from the isle and the dock lights from the marina on the other side seem to be equal distances from us.
Out here, we should be far enough from land to avoid scrutiny, even if a rogue cameraperson with a telescopic lens got any bright ideas.
When the anchor’s been set, he turns. “Typically, I would have brought this up at dinner.” He regards us all, holding court at the helm instead of joining us on the benches.
“But given the audience and the timeliness of the issue, I thought it best to bring you all out here and address it, man to man.”
It takes every ounce of willpower I possess to not hop to my feet and remind Decker that I am, in fact, a girl.
Kylian, probably sensing my frenetic energy, slides one hand up my thigh and squeezes in warning. I press my lips together, schooling my expression, and keep my focus from wandering to Nicky or K, because I know without looking that they’re fighting back smirks.
“You all hurt Josephine last week.”
Kendrick pulls his focus from Decker and assesses me, while Kylian’s hand freezes on my thigh.
“We hurt her?” Nicky challenges, crossing his arms over his chest and lifting his chin. “When? How?”
“Josephine explained to me how she, well, what caused her to be sick.”
This time, I can’t hold back. I slap my palms on my knees and sit up straight.
“Good grief, Decker Crusade. You’ve got a lot of gall for a guy who didn’t even know what a UTI was until two days ago.”
He grunts in response. By his scowl, I’d say he’s just as annoyed as I am. “We’re all grown ass adults, so I knew you’d bristle at this. But you all can’t just run a train on her like that.”
While that simmering under my skin ratches up to a low boil, Locke slaps his hands to his face, attempting and failing to hide his reaction.
Kendrick shakes his head at Decker, then shoots me a knowing smirk.
“Easy,” Kylian warns under his breath, one hand still clamped down on my thigh. Probably to keep me from lunging.
These three? They know me. My quirks, my go-to responses. They get me. Each one of them can so accurately predict my reactions.
Why does the self-appointed leader among us insist on learning lessons the hardest way possible?
I cross my arms over my chest and hit him with a deadpan stare. “You’re forgetting one important part of the equation, Cap.”
“What’s that?”
“Me.”
Across the vessel, his eyes narrow to slits. “I specifically brought this up because of you, Josephine.”
“But you didn’t ask. Did it ever cross your mind that I wanted them to, how did you so eloquently put it? ‘Run a train’ on me?”
“Josephine—”
“Don’t Josephine me, Decker Crusade.” I hop to my feet and plant my hands on my hips. I can’t sit still while fury and annoyance rage inside me. “You think you’re being chivalrous—feminist even—by insisting your friends aren’t allowed to rail me when I want to be railed?”
Kendrick whistles low.
Kylian leans forward, wrapping one arm around my hips to steady me, even though the boat is barely rocking.
“Like you said, we’re all adults here.” I throw out an arm and glance at each of my guys.
“There’s never been an instance where I didn’t have a say in what we were doing or how things went down.
The four of us have been navigating this for a while now.
You, though? You’re awfully concerned about our game plan for a man who hasn’t fully committed to this team. ”
With a low growl, Decker turns and looks out toward the isle, his jaw ticking as it always does when he’s angry.
“You don’t get to tell me what to do. Not about this, Decker. No play, no say.”
Around me, my guys sit up straight. They’re prepared to back me up, but they’re giving me the space to handle this.
With a deep breath in through my nose, I rise to my feet and take a tentative step forward. Kylian brushes a hand over my ass, then secures it at my hip, anchoring me and ensuring I’m steady, but never holding me back.
“Although,” I start, taking another step. With the next, Kylian’s hand falls away.
I swear Decker’s holding his breath as I approach. He’s raging with Big Decker Energy and a broody attitude after being scolded.
“There is a way you could have a say.”
As soon as I’m within his reach, his hands are on my hips. He’s not holding me the way Kylian did. No, this overprotective brute is worried about my balance despite my steady footsteps.
I look over my shoulder at each of my guys, then turn back to Decker. Lifting my chin, I give him the sauciest look I can manage.
“You could join us, Cap.”
“Careful, Mama,” K warns under his breath in a low rumble.
I ignore him. I’m tired of being careful. Treading lightly. Tiptoeing around the reality of the dynamics forming between us—at least between most of us—and what I’m dreaming of for our future.
“What do you say, Crusade? Want to hop on board at the next stop and be the conductor of the train?”