LOGINSableI’m just standing there completely naked, stunned, and suddenly very aware that the game of chicken had just taken a turn I hadn’t expected.He glanced back over his shoulder as he walked toward the door.“What?”“You’re just leaving?”He lifted the lace slightly between his fingers.“I got what I came here for.”I stared at him, something sharp and frustrated twisting low in my stomach.“You’re not going to fuck me?”The words slipped out before I could stop them.Jarek didn’t move.Didn’t even turn all the way around.“You didn’t tell me to.”His voice was calm. Too calm.“You told me to take them from you.” He lifted the lace slightly again. “Which I did.”My pulse spiked.“That’s not—”“I told you,” he cut in, finally turning to face me fully, “I’d be here when you’re ready.”His eyes dragged over my body again, slower this time. Hungrier.“But I don’t think you are.”Heat flared up my neck.“What, you want me to actually say it?”“Yes.”No hesitation. No teasing.Just… certa
SableThe knock came again just as I finished adjusting the strap on my shoulder.My heart kicked hard against my ribs, and I stood frozen for a second, staring at the door like it might magically open on its own and confirm what I already suspected.There was really only one person it could be.“Hold on,” I called.I grabbed the robe hanging over the chair and slipped it around my shoulders, tying the belt quickly at my waist. The lace underneath brushed against my skin as I moved, the delicate fabric suddenly feeling like a secret I was hiding.A stupid, reckless secret.One that suddenly made my pulse jump every time I imagined who might be standing on the other side of that door.Then I crossed the room and opened it.Of course it was Jarek.He stood there leaning one shoulder casually against the doorframe, looking entirely too comfortable for someone who had just kn
SableMy hand still felt warm when I walked out of Jarek’s room.Warm and very aware of exactly what it had just been touching.I forced my face into something neutral as I walked down the hallway, even though my heart was still beating like I’d just sprinted a mile. The entire encounter replayed in my head on a loop—his stupid smug grin, the way he’d dared me to come get the panties, the heat of him under my palm.God.I needed a drink.Maybe several.The clubhouse bar was loud when I got downstairs. Music thumped from the speakers near the pool table, the bass vibrating through the floor. A couple of the guys were playing darts in the corner while someone else shouted at the football game on the television.Normal chaos.It helped.At least a little.I slid onto a stool beside Hannah and signaled the bartender for a whiskey.Hannah looked up from where she was half draped across Bryce’s shoulder and immediately narrowed her eyes at me.“Well,” she said slowly. “You look like someone
JarekSable stopped a few feet away from me, her arms folded and her eyes narrowed like she was deciding whether she wanted to punch me or prove me wrong.“You’re crazy,” she said.I leaned back against the dresser, folding my arms across my chest as I watched her.“And you’re chicken.”The reaction was immediate. Her chin lifted, and the stubborn spark in her eyes flared to life the same way it always did when someone challenged her.“I am not chicken.”I shrugged lazily, even though my pulse had already started to climb.“Then come get them.”Her gaze dropped briefly toward the front of my jeans where the lace was hidden before lifting back to my face.“I’m not afraid of your dick.”The slow grin that spread across my face was completely involuntary.“No,” I said quietly, my voice lowering without effort. “You’re just afraid of wanting it.”The words landed exactly the way I knew they would.Her eyes flashed.For a moment I thought she might storm out just to avoid giving me the sat
JarekThe hallway outside Sable’s room felt too quiet.I walked the length of it without really seeing anything in front of me. My mind was still stuck on the same image it had been replaying since the moment I stepped away from her door.Her arm.The bruise.Luke’s hand wrapped around it.My jaw tightened as I took the stairs two at a time.Downstairs the club was alive the way it always was after dark. Music rolled through the common room, the bass thudding low through the floorboards. Someone laughed too loudly near the pool table. Bottles clinked behind the bar.Normal.Everything sounded normal.But there was nothing normal about the pressure building behind my ribs.By the time I reached the bar I already knew who I was looking for.Bryce sat on a stool with a beer in front of him, elbows resting on the counter. Marcus leaned beside him, halfway through a story that cut off the moment they saw my face.Bryce frowned slightly.“What’s up?”I stopped in front of them.“Why the fuc
SableThe knock on my door came just as I finished pulling my boots off.I had barely made it back to my room after the town run when the day finally caught up with me. My shoulders ached from I don’t know what— stress I guess. And the faint bruise forming on my arm from Luke’s grip had started to throb in that dull, annoying way bruises do when they know they’re about to turn ugly.I crossed the room and pulled the door open.Jarek stood on the other side.One hand rested casually in the pocket of his jeans, the other holding a small black gift bag with red tissue paper sticking out of the top.I blinked at it.“What’s that?”His mouth tilted slightly.“A gift.”I leaned one shoulder against the doorframe, eyeing the bag like it might explode.“You’re giving me a gift?”“You gave me one,” he said calmly. “Figured I’d return the favor.”Suspicion curled through me. “I didn’t give you a gift.” “Oh but you did.”Slowly, I took the bag from his hand and reached inside.The lace was soft
SableThe first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was the ceiling.Dark. Smooth. Unfamiliar.The second thing I saw was the clock.7:02 p.m.I blinked. Sat up slow.I remembered falling asleep after Jarek brought me upstairs. I remembered locking the door. I remembered my body collapsing into the be
JarekI didn’t stop walking.Not when I left the dining room. Not even when the compound walls seemed to close like jaws.She had no fucking clue.Sable Arden.The only woman who ever told me to get lost. The only one who looked me up and down and decided I wasn’t worth the trouble. That was four







