Chapter Three

Ghost POV

So this is the woman Prez was talking about. Yeah, she’s got fire, no doubt about that. There’s a sharp edge to her eyes, even if her nerves are running just beneath the surface. I grip her hips and pull her into my lap, settling her over me so she’s straddling my thighs. She doesn’t resist.

“Let me guess,” I say, giving her a slow, knowing smirk. “Things aren’t working, he thinks opening the relationship will somehow fix your sex life?”

She shakes her head, but the ghost of a smile touches her lips. “Not exactly,” she whispers.

I lean in a little, watching the way she chews at her bottom lip and glances around the room like she’s afraid someone’s listening. Maybe shy. Or maybe just unused to sitting in a stranger’s lap, especially one like me. Still, she hasn’t moved away. That tells me more than her words ever could. There’s damage there, something broken and aching under the surface, and even if she’s pretending to be bold, it’s all raw edges and silent screams underneath.

“Then enlighten me,” I say. “What did he say?”

She takes a breath. “I don’t go out much anymore, and he doesn’t like it. He doesn’t get that it’s not something I want. I just can’t seem to bring myself to leave. He thinks that if we open the relationship, I’ll meet someone who’ll encourage me to go out more. Help fix me.”

Damn. I pegged her for a bratty type, and usually that’s not my thing. Thought maybe Hex was playing a joke on me, giving me someone I’d destroy in a night. But hearing that? Hearing her admit it like that, soft and quiet and way too honest for a bar like this? Yeah, that changes things.

She’s not my type. She’s the kind I’d break without even trying.

But maybe once. Just once. Just enough to remind her what it feels like to be wanted.

“He’s either already got a woman he wants to fuck,” I say, “and needed a guilt-free pass, or he’s testing the waters to see how far you’ll let him push you.”

“You can’t know that,” she says quickly, like she needs to defend him, even now.

I tilt my head, watching her carefully. “I can. Let me ask you this, would you ever suggest an open relationship to fix something?”

Her eyes drop. She shakes her head. “No. But that doesn’t mean he already has someone.”

“You’re not stupid, Danielle. You already know the truth. You just haven’t said it out loud yet.”

She bites her lip again, and I can tell she’s chewing on the edges of a plan she never finished.

“What was your plan when you came here?” I ask.

Her laugh is tight, humorless. “I had to leave. If I didn’t, he’d win. He made this call thinking I wouldn’t go anywhere, wouldn’t do anything. Even when I walked out in this dress, he laughed. Said I’d go to the shop and come back. Then he grabbed his phone and said not to wait up.” Her eyes flick to mine, burning now. “So yeah. I’m here to prove a fucking point.”

I grin. That I can work with.

“Hex,” I call out without looking away from Danielle, “get her another drink. Introduce her to Knox.”

I’m trying to behave. Really. But she’s hot as hell in that dress, all curves and temptation, and the way she’s looking at me? It’s got my cock hard and throbbing, aching to be buried inside her. Just once. Just enough to remind her what it’s like to be seen.

She climbs off my lap and Hex leans against the edge of the bench, one brow raised. “You sure about that, Ghost? Something else seems to think different,” she teases, eyeing the bulge in my jeans.

“Yeah,” I mutter, even though I’m already second-guessing it. “Knox is better for this one.”

Still, I grab Danielle’s hand before she leaves and press a kiss to her knuckles. “Such a fucking shame though. I’d love to fuck you, sweetheart. Really let you prove your point.”

She blushes hard, but she doesn’t pull away. Hex laughs and tugs her toward the bar.

Behind me, Prez chuckles. “Look at you, being all gentle and shit. Not sure I could be, not with an ass like that.”

I glance up and instantly regret it. That dress clings to her like sin. “I kill people, Prez. That kind of sweet would break under me in seconds.”

She might be good for a one-night reminder, but I already know she’s going to come back.

And that’s the problem.