“Don’t even try to make sense of their fucked-up relationship,” he said with a sigh. “It’s bizarre, Con. Reese won’t make a single decision without talking to Sloan first. And I’m not just talking about decisions like when should we butcher the next cow or should we assign two guards to the back gate, or three? I’m talking sex, brother. She had to ask for his opinion before she spread her legs for me.”
Connor choked out a laugh, which Rylan silenced with a dark glare.
“You know what? Let’s drop it,” he said shortly. He was relieved when Bethany waddled over to take his order. “Hey, gorgeous. Burger, fries, tallest glass of water you’ve got.”
“No problem,” she replied, but her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes.
The two men watched her leave. “Think she should be up and about still?” Connor asked.
“Yeah, it’s fine. If she’s moving, that’s a good sign for both her and the kid.”
Connor rubbed his forehead. “It was easier when we were at the farm. Remember that little acreage down south? Before we settled in the mountains?”
He nodded. “I remember.”
“Way fucking easier,” his friend muttered. “Fewer people meant fewer problems and fewer worries. We needed a woman, we went and got one. Survived a long time that way. Kade’d probably still be alive if we’d kept it up.”
The mild critique of Reese’s way of life, her vision for the future, sat wrong in Rylan’s gut. He felt compelled to defend the damn woman. “Sure, and we’d still be hiding, rubbing our dicks to porn so old that it should be fossilized, and waiting every day for a troop of Enforcers to come to our door. The Global Council’s not going anywhere, man.”
“You’re right.” Connor gave a rueful nod. “Sitting on our asses doesn’t cut it anymore. Times are changing. We’re gonna have to change with it.”
“You wouldn’t be saying that if you didn’t have Hudson,” he pointed out.
“No question, but that’s part of what’s changing. And so are you.”
Rylan only grunted.
“I see. So does this mean you’re done with me and my woman?” Amusement crept back into Connor’s voice.
“Yes . . . No. Fuck if I know.” He sighed with exasperation. Fortunately, Bethany arrived with his food, and he had something other than Reese, Sloan, and sex to focus on.
After a few minutes of companionable silence, he felt sufficiently in control to speak again. Had Connor’s invitation been an idle, off-handed one or did Hudson really miss him? “Hudson need something?”
Connor flashed a rare grin. “Nah, we’ll survive without you.”
“Maybe Pike?” Rylan offered as a replacement.
“Too much of an asshole. He only likes that pup of his.” Connor rolled a toothpick between his lips. “If we need a third, I’m thinking Sloan. He’s careful and attentive.”
Rylan’s gut twisted at that. Sloan belonged to him and Reese.
Wait. What?
Him and Reese? Was he fucking crazy?
“I need to get drunk,” he groaned.
Just like that, Connor’s lazy demeanor dropped away, and he leaned forward with serious intent. “Okay, enough with this shit. You’re a goddamn mess, Ry. We’re attacking Enforcers in a few days and you need to be focused. Which means you need to get whatever it is out of your system before we leave on this mission, otherwise someone’s gonna get hurt.”
“I know.” He scrubbed a weary hand through his hair. “Problem is, only one person is getting my dick hard these days.”
Connor rolled his eyes. “Then screw her again.”
The dick that hadn’t moved an inch when Connor was talking about a threesome with his woman now stood at attention. Thoughts of Reese, her tight pussy and the fierce bite of her nails on his skin had him burning up in the restaurant. Despite the number of times she turned him down, he couldn’t stay away, couldn’t stop thinking about her. Adding Sloan into the mix wasn’t helping him at all.
“She’s not interested,” he ground out. They weren’t interested.
That made Connor snort. “Maybe she needs to ask Sloan’s permission again.”
“Funny.”
“Hey, I’m only half joking. Clearly he has influence over her, so why don’t you just talk to him and—” He stopped when he saw Rylan’s glum face. “Oh shit, you already did that?” Another snort. “Don’t know what else to tell you, man. Guess you can’t win ’em all.”
Fuck that. He wasn’t giving up that easily.
Rylan drained the rest of his water, then slammed the glass on the tabletop and scraped back his chair.
“Where you going?” Connor asked, his lips noticeably twitching.
“Don’t worry about it.” He strode with single-minded purpose toward the door, stopping only to call over his shoulder, “Give your woman a kiss for me.”
*
He found Sloan in the rec hall. The man was chatting with Nash and Beckett, but his expression immediately went shuttered at Rylan’s approach.
“Got a minute?” Rylan asked lightly.
“Sure.” Sloan gave a nod to the other men, grabbed his drink, and motioned for Rylan to lead the way.