“Mav, this has nothing at all to do with Rain,” Kode adds, running his hand down my back. “This is mine and Tria’s relationship. No one else has a say in it.”
Maverick pushes off from the wall he’s leaning against, and comes to stand nearby, his eyes moving down to where my hand is now on Kode’s wounded stomach. When he looks up, his eyes connect with Kode’s.
“So when you told Dane you would move Tria into one of your empty condos—”
“I moved her in with me,” Kode finishes, as though he’s helping Maverick piece together the puzzle.
“What about the pool in Vegas?” he asks, his brows arching.
Kode shrugs, and in true jackass form, says, “She was talking to some douche. Thought I’d break them apart.”
This time Maverick’s lips twitch.
“And when you went missing after that, you were actually—”
“With Tria,” Kode says to finish his sentence again.
“When did this start?”
Kode grins, looking down at me for a second. “That bar. The one where I disappeared on you guys after playing pool with the brunette.”
Recognition crosses the eyes of the other Sterling, and he asks, “Tria was the brunette?”
Kode nods.
“That’s why you were acting like a fucking weirdo,” he says under his breath.
What?
“I didn’t realize she had dyed her hair,” Kode says, snickering as though there’s a secret I’m missing.
“Damn. So all this time that you’ve been blowing us off has been to spend time—”
“With Tria,” Kode says, still grinning.
Maverick takes a deep breath, his head dropping back as all the world stops spinning in the right direction.
“Wow. Head trip. So is it cold in hell now that it has frozen over?”
Kode groans while wrapping his arms around my bare midriff, covering me as though he doesn’t want Maverick’s eyes seeing any more of me than he already has.
“Think you can keep your mouth shut until after the wedding?” Kode asks him.
“Yeah. I can do that.” He sighs like he wants to say more, but he apparently changes his mind. “So this is legit? Like you two are an actual item or whatever?”
This is actually a question I’d like to hear the answer to, so I remain silent and still in Kode’s arms.
“Definitely legit. So legit that it’s pissing me off that you’re seeing her wearing very little. Probably should go.”
I grin as Maverick snickers, still seeming to be taken aback by this revelation. Then his eyes narrow on Kode. “That asshole knows, doesn’t he? That’s why he and you have been talking in code lately—no pun intended.”
I have no idea what he’s talking about, but Kode laughs while nodding. “He figured it out at the club the night you were passed out and snoring at the table.”
Oh. Corbin.
“Son of a bitch. I knew he was keeping something from me. If you’ll excuse me, I have an ass to go kick. Since you’ve already had yours handed to you, I’ll give you a free pass.”
Kode grins while flipping him off—his favorite gesture by far. Maverick gives me an uneasy smile before heading out, and Kode inhales a fresh breath. When he winces again and clutches his side, I almost cry. This is my fault.