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“Why not?”
I exhale, sharp. “She already asked for someone else.”
“Look, she just -”
I glance down the hallway as I interrupt him, my jaw clenched.
“Ash went in. Theo, too.”
Kai tilts his head slowly. Sniffs. Blinks again. “Wait. Seriously?” Another sniff. “Oh - yeah. Yeah, that’s definitely sex. Jesus Christ. That’s layers of sex.”
I say nothing.
“I leave for a few hours, and suddenly it’s the orgy channel in here?”
I narrow my eyes. “You think this isfunny?”
“No. I think you let someone else go in that room, and now you’re throwing a silent tantrum about it.”
“I am not -”
“You are,” he interrupts. “This is peak silent tantrum. You’re fogging up the windows like you’re auditioning for a tragic opera.”
I glare harder. “You weren’t here.”
“And now I’m wishing I brought popcorn,” he mutters. Then louder, “Look, I didn’t realize it turned into a heat-fueled dominance trial while I was gone, but if she’s already with them -”
“She’s not with them,” I snap. “Shewaswith them. It’s done.”
“Oh,” Kai says, lips twitching. “Damn. So you’re saying I missed the group bonding session?”
“You’re disgusting.”
“You can’t exactly callmedisgusting while looking like you’re two seconds from hulking out because you didn’t get to be her first,” he snorts.
I grit my teeth as my nails bite my palms.
Kai pauses, his tone dipping low. “She still wants you. You know that, right? It’s written all over your face - and your scent. You think she’s forgotten you exist because someone else made her come? Trust me - that girl could be mid-orgasm and still pick your footsteps out of a lineup.”
“I don’t want to share her,” I admit, low and bitter. I don't even know why I say it - why I tell him. “But I already have.”
Kai steps forward, quieter now. “Maybe. But you haven’t lost her.”
I don’t move. Don’t speak.
Then he adds, gentler, “Go to her. Before you convince yourself this is about losing, when it’s actually about choosing.”
“She deserves better than what I am right now,” I snap. “I’m close.”
Kai blinks. “To what? A meltdown, or a rut? Because I’ve got towels for either.”
I actuallygrowl.
He holds up both hands. “Okay, okay. But can I just point out something? You’re acting like if you go in there, you’ll wreck her. And yeah, maybe you would. But maybe that’s the point.”
I shoot him a look.
“Look - you can control yourself, but you can’t control her. And if she wants you, if she’sreachingfor you, then maybe the most alpha thing you could do is stop acting like her feelings are a liability and just show the fuck up.”
