Chapter 38
BELLA
I’ve been hiding out all morning. Just me and my kitten.
“Hey, baby girl,’ I coo, scratching her head. She loves it. And I love her.
Lily’s party is tonight, and she’s been blowing up my phone all day with voice notes about what to wear, who’s going, and how excited she is to see me.
So, here I am.
Standing in front of the mirror in a short black dress that leaves very little to the imagination. My hair’s a little wild, my lips a little too red, and I didn’t bother with panties. Call it rebellion. Or curiosity.
Either way, I look pretty damn hot.
I take one last breath before heading downstairs, trying to convince myself I’m doing this just for me.
But the second I hit the last step, I know I’ve lost that battle.
They’re both there.
Rowan, sprawled on one end of the couch, a beer dangling from his hand.
Reggie, sitting beside him, legs stretched out, remote in hand. The two of them laughing at something on the TV.
Until they see me.
Silence. The air thickens. My chest now burning with need.
Reggie’s jaw tightens, his eyes dragging over me from my heels to my mouth. Rowan’s grin falters; his shoulders stiffen. Then he grabs a cushion and casually drops it over his lap.
Oh, I notice. And I smirk. I’ve seen what he’s hiding under those sweatpants. I wonder if Reggie has any surprises too?
“Don’t stop on my account,” I say lightly, crossing the room. My heels click against the floor with every slow and deliberate step.
Reggie leans back, that controlled expression returning like armor. “Are you going somewhere, Princess?”
“Lily’s party,” I answer, grabbing my purse.
He tilts his head, eyes narrowing. “Dressed like that?”
I blink innocently. “Do you mean, ‘You look stunning, Bella’?”
Rowan chuckles low. “She looks killer, Reg. Let her have fun.”
“Didn’t say she didn’t.” Reggie’s gaze doesn’t move from my legs. “Just seems like every man in that room’s going to forget what they’re doing the second she walks in.”
“That’s kind of the point,” I say, smiling sweetly.
Rowan laughs, but the tension doesn’t break, it deepens.
“I don’t have any panties on either.”
Then Reggie stands.
The sound of his beer bottle hitting the table is soft, but it feels like thunder.
He crosses the room.
“Wait there.”
I raise an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”
“I’m coming with you.”
I laugh way too quickly. “You’re joking.”
He stops beside me, close enough for my heart to skip a beat. His hand comes up, just a brush of his knuckles beneath my chin..
“Do I look like I’m joking, Princess?”
My breath catches.
“You look like trouble,” he murmurs, leaning closer, his voice a dark hum at my ear. “And I don’t trust trouble without supervision.”
“Is it because of the panties?” I whisper.
A low growl erupts from his chest, and there's a twinkle in his eye.
“You’re not my keeper,” I tell him.
He backs away, never taking his dark eyes from mine.
He pauses halfway up the stairs, glancing back over his shoulder.
“No,” he says softly. “But I might be the only one who knows how to keep you from burning the whole world down.”
And just like that, he’s gone.
The silence that follows hums with tension. Rowan’s still on the couch, studying me with that infuriating half-smile.
“You really know how to wind him up,” he says.
“He started it.”
“Yeah,” he grins, “but you always finish it.”
I sink down beside him, trying to play it cool. “Are you jealous?”
“Jealous?” He laughs softly. “No. Terrified? Maybe. You could make a saint sin just by walking past.”
I roll my eyes, but my pulse is already racing.
He tilts his head, gaze softening. “You’re beautiful, you know that?”
The words land like a touch. Real. Too real.
“Don’t,” I whisper.
“Don’t what?”
“Say things like that.”
He leans in, voice low. “Why not? It’s true. And are you forgetting I had my tongue in your sweet pussy, precious?”
My throat tightens, and the air shifts. He stands and reaches out to tuck a curl behind my ear. His fingers trace down to my jaw, feather-light.
He helps me up to my feet, and I swear I forget where I am and what I’m meant to be feeling.
Our eyes meet.
My heart trips.
He’s close enough that I can feel his breath, his restraint.
“Rowan…”
“Bella…”
He leans in and I close my eyes.
“This isn’t the end of us, sweetness,” he whispers against my cheek.
And then he presses a delicate kiss there. One that will linger for the rest of the night.
The door opens and I jump back as Reggie steps back into the room, black suit, open collar, eyes full of fury.
Rowan drops into his seat, pretending to stretch, but the damage is done.
Reggie looks between us, unreadable.
“Ready?” he asks.
I force a smile. “Always.”
As I follow him out, I can still feel Rowan’s gaze burning into my back, like a secret neither of us can afford to say out loud.
I don’t want it to be the end of things with Rowan. Even just spending a couple of days away from him, I miss him. I miss how light I feel around him. How safe I feel.
How hard he makes me laugh.
But, as I look up at the man beside me, the colder version. The man who consumes me. The one who takes my shit and doesn’t flinch.
I want him too.
Fuck.