“Word.” Jace shook his head. He was about as attracted to his childhood friend as he was to a swarm of wasps. And though he’d enjoyed the ménage with Brynn, Jace knew it’d been a one-time only deal. Reid and Brynn were kinky as shit, but they were built for one-on-one.
Grant grabbed one of the remaining slices of pizza sitting in the open box on the coffee table. “So when are you two going to come back to my place?”
Jace grabbed a chair from the dining room and straddled it, the little lift in his mood flatlining. The thought of going to The Ranch and dominating any other woman besides Evan made his beer turn bitter in his mouth. “I’ve been busy with the store.”
“Been working on a big case,” Andre mumbled at the same time.
Grant took a bite of pizza, considered them. “She’s doing well, you know. I’ve seen her.”
Jace straightened in his chair like he’d been pinched, his possessive gene going on full alert. “She’s been in L.A. What do you mean you’ve seen her?”
Grant rarely left his business, so when he’d “seen” someone it usually meant he’d seen them naked.
“She came back after she taped that first show. I hired her,” Grant said, his tone as casual as his worn jeans. He tore off another bite of pizza.
Andre looked horrified. “As a submissive?”
Grant smirked. “Look at you two. Like a pack of dogs ready to tear me apart. I’m not that big of an asshole. She needed a place to stay while the media attention died down and while she searched for a new apartment. I gave her a cabin to use in exchange for taking some commercial photos for the winery.”
Jace’s mouth had gone so dry he was surprised he was able to speak. “She’s living at the fucking Ranch?”
The unattached doms would be hunting her like lions stalking a gazelle.
“She handles herself just fine,” Grant assured. “Colby’s been looking out for her.”
“Oh, I just bet he has,” Jace seethed. “I bet he’s been looking quite a lot.”
Reid coughed over what sounded suspiciously like a laugh, drawing Jace’s attention. Brynn seemed to be fighting a smile.
“What are you two grinning about?” Jace snapped.
Reid shrugged. “Someone I know once busted my ass to stop whining about not having the girl I wanted and to go get her already. What are you two idiots doing sitting around for? You’re both obviously gone on the girl.”
“Doesn’t matter if she’s not gone on us,” Andre said, setting his untouched beer on the coffee table. “We left the door open.”
Grant groaned and stood, pulling something from his back pocket. “Damn, you two are a pitiful bunch.” He handed Jace a small square envelope. “Happy birthday. She told me not to give you this until we finished your party, but despite reports otherwise, my sadism only goes so far.”
Jace’s pulse raced. She’d sent them something?
Andre was across the room and at Jace’s side so quick, Jace was sure he’d teleported. “Open it, man.”
Not caring that everyone was there to witness whatever was inside, Jace tore the thing open.
The simple note card inside was filled with her neat script.
Where true Love burns Desire is Love’s pure flame;
It is the reflex of our earthly frame,
That takes its meaning from the nobler part,
And translates the language of the heart.
Andre read it aloud, mostly to himself, but everyone could clearly hear it.
Warmth tracked from Jace’s chest, radiating outward and enveloping him. The corners of his mouth lifted into a broad smile.
“Isn’t that a Coleridge poem?” Brynn asked.