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Neither of You.

Author: Bea Baum
last update Huling Na-update: 2025-09-25 13:29:58

VEX POV

The words cut the air like a blade.

I don’t turn my head, don’t flinch, don’t give him the satisfaction. But inside, the burn is instant—raw, territorial fire. She asked for him. Not me. Him.

I lean back against the counter, deliberate, as if I own the room. Because I do. My house. My rules. My woman—even if she doesn’t know it yet.

Brynn’s fingers tighten on her glass. Subtle. Almost invisible. But I see everything. Her pulse flutters in her throat, her breath shallows, her body caught between us. She may have spoken his name, but she’s watching me.

Good.

Kade steps further inside, measured, like he’s walking into enemy territory. He avoids my eyes, but that doesn’t matter. His defiance is written in every tense line of his shoulders.

I let the silence stretch, heavy and coiled. Let him stew in it.

Finally, I push off the counter, slow, controlled. “Of course you’re here,” I say, my voice low, threaded with amusement that’s anything but kind. “Always lurking.
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