I hate this new distance between us. I hate that I feel like I don’t know her anymore. Or that maybe Abel and Monroe are right and maybe I only ever saw a filtered version of her. The realization isn’t a comfortable one. I want to ask her what the hell happened, but she won’t thank me for the question.

Focus.

“Jasper has requested Monroe’s presence.” I glance at her. “And Winry’s.”

Monroe perks up at that. “When?”

“This morning.”

Shiloh smooths her hair back. “Convenient timing. I have to update Maddox and Cohen, so you can escort Monroe to the meeting.”

It was the plan, but having her dictate it to me in that cold voice sets my teeth on edge. It makes me want to… I muscle the urge down. This isn’t Monroe mouthing off. This is Shiloh.

Up until the shitshow at Lammas, I wouldn’t have even had the urge to put her in her place. It’s like having sex with Monroe woke something inside me that had been slumbering my entire life. I don’t know how the fuck I’m supposed to deal with it now.

Or maybe it’s wasn’t Monroe at all. Maybe it was coming back to Sabine Valley that changed things permanently. “Afterward, the three of us are going to have a chat.”

“We’ll see.” Shiloh gets up and walks into the bathroom. She shuts the door with a finality that makes me want to kick it the fuck down.

“Goddamn it.”

“Problem?” Monroe stands and stretches. Her clothing isn’t suggestive in the least, but I can’t get over the image of Shiloh bending her in half, the flowy white fabric of her shirt bunched up around her ribs, leaving her naked from the waist down. The memory sends a wave of heat through me.

I feel like I’m being torn in two. There was a smart course of action, the logical way to proceed. I know there was. It dissipates through my fingers like smoke. All that’s left is what the feral creature inside me wants.

I move before I can think of the thousands of reasons not to and wrap my fist around Monroe’s blond hair. She doesn’t tense, doesn’t fight me. She simply goes fluid and lets me tilt her head back as I step close enough that we’re damn near plastered together. “Keep that smart mouth in line, Monroe.”

She holds my gaze and licks her lips. “Oh, so we’re just going to gloss over the fact that I won that bet fair and square? Interesting that you won’t honor your word.”

Rage crystalizes inside me. How does she do this? How does she slide beneath my skin “I’ll honor my word.”

“Good boy.”

I tug on her hair, a little too hard. “We’ll discuss it later.”