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I had just built a bridge, and what shocked the hell out of me was that it didn’t feel like a loss of control. It didn’t scare me either.
That might be the biggest shift of all.
Chapter Nine
Max
“Hey, Rivers. Earth calling, come in.”
I jumped. Callum stood next to me, smirking, his eyebrows quirked.
“Sorry. I was miles away.”
Callum’s eyes sparkled. “Yeah, and I know where you were too. I’d be the same if I’d just had a scene like that.” He cocked his head. “That makes two scenes with him, right?”
I took a drink from my water bottle before answering. “Yes.”
Callum hummed low in his throat. “You don’t usually repeat.”
“No.” Mentally I cursed myself. It didn’t matter that I’d only responded with one-syllable answers. That was all the ammunition Callum needed. Across the floor, a few of the regulars were pretending not to watch us and failing miserably. Apparently, Max Rivers repeating a scene was noteworthy. Repeating with the same sub?
That was conversation material.
Callum folded his arms. “You looked pretty invested in it.”
Shit.
“I don’t invest.” I kept my tone even.
Callum raised one brow. “Rivers, I’ve known you a long time. Well, for as long as you’ve been a member here. When you’re done with someone, you look bored before they do. Tonight, however?” He studied me. “You looked… alert.”
That was close to the truth. I wasn’t restlessly scanning the room for the next scene.
I was still tuned to Quinn.
“Two scenes is not a pattern.”
Not yet.
Callum leaned closer, lowering his voice. “He’s young. I looked him up. Twenty. Are you going to train him?”
The old question, the old assumption.
I watched a rope scene unfolding near the back wall, noting the careful hands, deliberate knots, the quiet trust.
“I’m not training anyone,” I said calmly.
Callum glanced sideways at me. “Then what are you doing?”
That was the part I didn’t have language for yet.
“So what is it about Quinn that gets you all fired up?”
“Who says I’m fired up?” I retorted. I took a breath to regain my composure. “He negotiates properly.”
Callum barked a laugh. “That’s your bar now? Paperwork competence?”
“And he listens.”
