Chapter 43. The Weight Beneath the Ease

Things had been going very smoothly for a while. Beck had resumed his playful flirting fully… actually ramping it up to borderline foreplay, while Jared had just been openly watching her with those smoldering, intense eyes that made Myla shiver anytime she saw or felt them. And with the company vote out of the way, Hayden was finally easing up more and more. He no longer tensed or lashed out at their teasing about his condition or touches.

But like everything not fully addressed, it would always rear its ugly head back up.

It resurfaced with something small…. something very ordinary.

Hayden had wanted juice. That was all.

The afternoon sunlight streamed through the blinds, painting soft stripes on the marble floor. The house was quiet—Beck was out on the balcony checking his phone, Myla was humming as she folded laundry in the laundry room somewhere down the hall, and Jared was in his room closing a deal with a new client that wanted a 24-hour security det