I folded my arms over my chest. “It’s none of your business, is what it is.”
We didn’t usually nose around in each other’s shit, which meant there was only one reason Dane had an opinion on this particular issue.
“Just because you want to fuck her doesn’t mean you get to tell us what to do,” Noah said.
Bingo.
Dane’s nostrils flared. “Us?”
Noah shrugged.
Dane looked at the sky again. “Whatever. The point is, Pembroke was murdered on the property and now someone’s been nosing around. We need security.”
“I’ll talk to Avery,” I said.
Now Dane was the one folding his arms. “I’lltalk to Avery.”
We stood facing each other like two bulls trying to decide whether to charge or retreat.
“Fine,” I finally said. I wasn’t afraid of Dane, but there was no reason to make our living situation any more complicated. “But it would be better coming from me.”
“I don’t give a shit who talks to Avery about the cameras,” Noah said. “All that matters is that we protect her from whoever killed Harold. Agreed?”
I nodded. “Agreed.”
We looked at Dane.
“Obviously,” he said, turning his back on us.
“That went well.” Noah’s voice dripped with forced cheer. “Don’t you think that went well?”
I didn’t bother replying. Noah was right: all that mattered was that we protected Avery.
Whether she wanted us to or not.
21
AVERY
I slipped outof the house late the morning after the humiliating incident with Beck and Noah in the kitchen.
Okay, it wasn’t just humiliating. It was hot.
Willing to let me third-wheel next time?
Super hot.
I replayed the whole thing for the hundredth time as I made my way down the driveway, from the second Beck had found me in the kitchen until the moment I’d discovered Noah, watching me come on the island with Beck’s fingers in my pussy.
My face was hot remembering the way I’d rocked on Beck’s fingers, the way Noah had looked like he’d wanted to devour me when I realized he’d been watching.
And then there was the request.
Willing to let me third-wheel next time?
My nipples got hard under my T-shirt at the thought of it. I wasn’t exactly adventurous in bed, but now I wondered if that historical precedent had more to do with my previous partners than my own desires.
Because the thought of getting naked with Beck and Noah at the same time was enough to make me wet even as I walked pastthe B&B. I waved to Gabriel Vale, who was back on the porch at Bramble House in his semiformal attire and totally unaware that I was in a state of full-on arousal.