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I never would have expected Delilah’s decision to be made by a game of rock, paper, scissors. The whimsy of Strain’s suggestion made her laugh, so I agreed. He even took it pretty well when I won.
“So we’ll meet tomorrow to start looking for a place where the three of us can stay and have more privacy than our existing options,” I suggested. I hoped that by agreeing easily, I could manipulate Delilah into choosing me over Eli.
“Can you have the apartments above Midnight remodeled to work for the three of us?” Delilah asked with hope in her tone. She was certainly attached to that bar.
“Of course we can, love. Three bedrooms, three bathrooms, a kitchen, and a common area. I’ll draw it up today and send it to Vik,” Strain offered, turning to me. “Then you can send it to your contractor. And I’ll take care of the extra cost. I’m sure changing the plans now will put you over budget.”
I laughed, but it wasn’t an amused sound. I was pissed. “Well, it’s your fault we have to rebuild the bar anyway. You should have to pay it all.”
“Wait a minute, pal. I understand that you’re upset about the bar, but weren’t you going to gut it and remodel the whole thing anyway? I just saved you from paying a demo crew.” Strain grinned. Even I had to admit he was a handsome man.
“He’s not wrong, Viktor. Besides, he’s willing to forgive you for cutting off his hand,” Delilah interjected.
I winced. “I guess I should apologize for that.”
Strain shook his head. “Not at all. I mean, yeah, I would have preferred that it never happened, or that you’d returned it so I could’ve had it reattached. But I understand why you did it. I hurt Delilah and you were protecting her. I’m still pissed at you, but I can set it aside if you can.”
Agreeing to a relationship that included Strain was a stretch for me. There was something about Delilah that made me think that maybe it could work. Only if I couldn’t persuade her otherwise.
“Since you guys are being friendly, I have a request,” Delilah began.
“Anything for you, love,” Strain responded.
I was a bit more skeptical. “What is it?” I didn’t want to agree to something I wasn’t interested in, like a threesome with my archnemesis.
“Would you two please stop saying each other’s names with such disgust. It’s making me crazy.” Delilah sighed in exasperation.
“Sure, love, we can do that.” There he went again, agreeing to things for me. It was annoying, but he wasn’t wrong.
“Agreed. I think we can be civil toward each other.” Although I wondered if I could come up with a nickname to drive him crazy. I’d have to think about that later.
"See, no problem.” He held out his hand to shake mine, signaling he was good with the truce. I shook it a little harder than I should have.
“Good. Thank you. I guess we should head home, then.” Delilah looked at me cautiously before closing the space between herself and Eli. Then he looked at me just before he kissed her. Were they asking permission? This entire situation is strange to say the least.
I couldn’t stop the growl that escaped me at their embrace. But I didn’t bother to look away. Instead I watched the way Delilah reacted to his kiss, to the feel of him against her. What made me fiercely jealous turned me on as well. For a moment, I could actually picture the three of us together. Could it really work, though?
I pushed the thought away as they finished saying good night. There would be plenty of time to explore that interest later. For now, we needed dinner and rest. Tomorrow would be the beginning of our new challenges.
Chapter 36
Eli
I thought I had him when I challenged Viktor to rock, paper, scissors to decide who Delilah would go home with. How could I forget how good he is at anticipating what people will do? I wouldn’t make that mistake again.
Having the night to myself did give me a chance to get a few things in order before Delilah started staying with me. I didn’t really mind the idea of sharing, so long as I knew the other guy. Vik and I went way back, and even though I wanted to ring his neck most of the time, I knew he wouldn’t go back on his word.
He promised to make things work with the three of us and I knew that meant he’d do anything he could to keep that promise. I’d seen him kill to keep promises to Kat. I knew that he’d do it again if needed.
It was strange for me to see him with Delilah. I knew that my sister died a long time ago and it wasn’t fair to expect him to stop living his life because she was gone. I would definitely need some time to adjust to seeing him with someone else. Especially when that someone else was mine as well.
I couldn’t wait to get Delilah alone. There were so many things I wanted to do to her. I wanted to know everything about her. Would she like the same things I did? Would she be interested in getting kinky? It was fun and torturous to think about it.
My mind raced as I headed back home. I knew that I had reports to go over and emails to return. My day was far from over. Being the boss had advantages, though. I loved that I could take off as soon as Delilah texted me to pick her up. It didn’t matter when I got my work done, as long as I completed it or passed it along to someone else, though that rarely happened.
Working while distracted wasn’t getting me anywhere. I had read the same report three times and it still didn’t make sense. It looked as if there were some shortages in the warehouses nearest the east side of the city. Would someone really be stupid enough to steal from me? I responded to the email with some follow up questions and decided that I would drive down to check it out myself. I texted and asked Scott to meet me at the docks.
“Whoever it was had to have known the codes, sir. There’s no way they would have gotten in so easily without them.” Scott was convinced that it was an inside job. He may have been right.
