In an instant, I was in her face and trapping her against the wall of the museum.

I didn’t care about the fact that we were standing in the middle of a potential mob. My heart was racing for other reasons. “I tell you I’m falling in love with you, and your answer is to let you go?”

“My arm, Jericho. Let my arm go.”

“Oh.”

I released her elbow only to take her hand, earning an irritated look from her when she tried not to blush. As I threaded our fingers together, the black Suburban we had drive us here pulled up to the curb, so we climbed inside.

“Where to next?” I asked her once the back door closed behind me. At that exact moment, her stomach growled loud enough to scare a bear. I laughed to myself at her sheepish look as she attempted to avoid my eyes. “Dinner it is.”

While our driver was distracted, pulling us safely into traffic, I decided to settle a certain burning curiosity. Otherwise, I’d never get through dinner in one piece.

Placing my hand on her thigh, I watched her face as I slowly slipped it higher and higher. I wanted to give her time to stop me, but she never blinked, and she never spoke a word.

By the time my fingers reached the apex of her thigh, I knew what I would find, but I kept going anyway.

“Braxton…” Using my knuckle, I teased her wet pussy that she’d left bare, knowing I’d be curious. Her breathing started to quicken when I didn’t let up even after I’d gotten my answer.

“Yes?”

“Where are your panties, baby?”

As if she wasn’t on the verge of coming, she smiled at me like the cat that ate the canary. “I knew I was forgetting something.”

We’re on our way up, Rich texted our group chat.

He and Braxton had disappeared without saying shit, and each hour they were gone, I grew more and more pissed. Our security team wouldn’t be back on duty until tomorrow. Rich should have known better than to risk Braxton and himself. Before I could respond from my perch on the couch, he sent another text.

Rich: I think I figured out Braxton’s beef.

Loren: Which one?

I didn’t have to hear Loren’s voice to know it was dry as fuck. Right now, he was shut up in the spare bedroom where he’d been since realizing Braxton had left with Rich.

Rich: Shut up, Lo. For once. Just shut up.

Rich: When we fight, she feels responsible

So she shuts us out, I texted before he could finish his train of thought.

Rich: Yup.

Rich: We’re almost there. Don’t say shit unless you’re playing nice.

Loren: So you want us to pretend to like each other long enough to trick her into a relationship?

Loren’s objection to Rich’s plan genuinely surprised me. I thought he’d be all out for playing dirty. Instead, he was willing to jump through whatever hoops to get her fair and square.

Rich: We won’t be pretending.

It was the last text he was able to send before they walked through the door. I had my eyes on her from the moment she stepped through wearing a purple wig that caught me off guard. Rich had claimed they’d worn a disguise, but I hadn’t been convinced that it was enough. He looked like that character Justin Timberlake played in a movie I couldn’t remember.

Unable to look away from Braxton, I knew the moment her apprehension sunk in for what awaited her now that playtime was over.

It’s true.

I wanted to ask where the hell she’d been and who told her she could leave, but I didn’t. I couldn’t bring myself to be the reason for that depleted look in her eyes. Instead of Braxton sucking the happiness out of the room, the room had sucked the happiness out of Braxton. It was a bruising blow to my ego, to be sure.

Loren appeared on the spare’s threshold, and the moment Braxton spotted him, she made a break for her room. “Have fun?” he asked before she could get too far.

She spun on her heel to regard him with a curious squint as if she were trying to figure out whether he was being genuine or not.

Deciding to make a stand, she lifted her chin. “I did.”

“Oh.” Loren scratched his chin. His eyes darted around the room as he searched for something else to say in an to attempt to make small talk. He was never without words when he was being an asshole, though. “So what did you see?”

“You.”

Smooth as fuck, as if he’d actually understood her cryptic reply, he didn’t miss a beat. “Doubt it, baby. I was here all day.”

Setting down the bag of souvenirs she’d bought, she dug out her phone from…somewhere. Her dress, which had no pockets, was tight and short as fuck. I watched her through narrowed eyes as she crossed the room and made her way toward Loren.

No way she was wearing panties.

My gaze shot to Rich, wondering what else they’d been up to. He caught me staring and smirked. He had another one of his idiotic plans to thank for the reason I didn’t pummel him.

“What the hell,” Loren barked out of nowhere, drawing my attention away from Rich. Braxton was showing Loren something on her phone, and whatever it was made his face turn purple. He looked like an angry eggplant emoji.

“What is it?” I asked when no one bothered to explain. Rich had his lips tucked, and his body shook as he fought to keep himself from losing it.

Braxton took her phone from Loren, who looked like he wanted to snatch it back before he stormed over to the mirror by the door and started inspecting his nose for some reason. When Braxton reached me with her phone in tow, I accepted it from her before pulling her down onto my lap and before she could realize my intent.

She didn’t fight me.

I pretended my heart wasn’t skipping inside my chest when she sat in my lap like she’d accepted that she belonged there. After getting my fill of staring at the goofy face Braxton was making in the photo, I finally glanced at the wax replica of Loren that she was posing with and burst out laughing.

The sound made Rich lose his composure, followed by Brax before we were all laughing at Loren’s expense.

Truth be told, it wasn’t that bad. The difference was minuscule, and the statue was pretty accurate.

To Loren, it looked like his nose should have its own zip code.

Without thinking to ask for permission, I went through the rest of the photos she’d taken, wanting to see her day through her eyes.

I wasn’t surprised to see she’d even taken some with Rich since she was being so agreeable with me. I felt her gaze on me as I scrolled through them.

He’d taken her everywhere.

Times Square, the Statue of Liberty, the MET, the Empire State Building—everywhere I’d been too stubborn and stupid not to take her myself.

When I reached the last entry and realized it was actually a video, she tried to snatch her phone back, but I held it out of reach.

Our gazes met, mine steady, hers nervous.

“Houston—”

I held her tighter before pressing play. The video was dark, but I could still make out the wig Rich wore, and his head buried between Braxton’s legs as she recorded. He was eating her pussy in what looked like the back seat of a car, but I couldn’t tell anything else about their surroundings.

“Rich,” Braxton moaned in the video as he attacked her clit.

My mouth began to water as I wondered what she tasted like. It was a problem I’d have to rectify soon.

Her soft moans filled the room, and even Loren paused his bitching to listen in. In the video, she wound her hips, fucking Rich’s face as he slurped and sucked her nectar as if she were cool spring water on a hot summer day.

“I’m coming, Jericho.”

She wasn’t lying.

I was hard and getting harder at the sounds she made. I didn’t have to question whether she could feel me when she squirmed in my lap. The footage became shaky before her grip must have slipped, and she dropped the phone, ending the video.

I took my eyes off the phone for the first time since the video started to look at Braxton, who was refusing to let us see how embarrassed she was. It made me wonder why she’d taken the video in the first place.

“Did you enjoy that?” I asked her even though I’d seen the proof.

“Yes.” Her tone was flat. “Can I please have my phone back now?”

This time I gave it up since I’d seen all I needed to. Standing, she walked to where she’d left her bags before climbing the steps to her room and closing the door behind her. I didn’t hear the lock turn this time, which had me feeling like a kid in the candy store.

First things first.

“Tell me you didn’t do that in front of the driver,” I demanded as soon as we were alone.

“Of course not,” Rich bit back. “I told him to take a walk. You’re welcome, by the way. I made her record that so you two wouldn’t feel left out.”

Loren was beaming as he regarded Jericho. “Good looking out, best friend.” Just as quickly, a frown took over his face as he looked Rich over like he was seeing him for the first time. “Bro, what the hell are you wearing?”