BooksBarbecue
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Chapters (48)
  1. Foreword
  2. Preface
  3. 1
  4. 2
  5. 3
  6. 4
  7. 5
  8. 6
  9. 7
  10. 8
  11. 9
  12. 10
  13. 11
  14. 12
  15. 13
  16. 14
  17. 15
  18. 16
  19. 17
  20. 18
  21. 19
  22. 20
  23. 21
  24. 22
  25. 23
  26. 24
  27. 25
  28. 26
  29. 27
  30. 28
  31. 29
  32. 30
  33. 31
  34. 32
  35. 33
  36. 34
  37. 35
  38. 36
  39. 37
  40. 38
  41. 39
  42. 40
  43. 41
  44. About the Author
  45. About the Author
  46. Also by S.L Gray
  47. Off the Record
  48. Book 2 in Co-op Corrupted Duet

I nod. That part’s clear. I get it, I really fucking do. I don’t want her to have to choose, despite the situation being what it is.

“Then we don’t make her,” I say, the words landing firmer than I expected, like they’ve been waiting at the edge of my throat this whole time. We don’t make her choose between us, not if we can help it. Not if we care about her the way I think we both do. We figure it out. We set rules. We don’t—” I swallow, forcing myself to keep going. “We don’t put her in the middle of our shit Tate.”

Tate arches a brow, a slow smirk tugging at his lips. “You mean you don’t want me reminding her which one of us can actually make her scream?”

I roll my eyes. That’s exactly the kind of shit that’s going to make this impossible if we’re not careful. “That’s what I mean,” I mutter, rubbing my temples. “This isn’t some fucking competition.”

Tate leans forward, his smirk fading slightly. “Maybe not for you,” he says, voice quiet. “But for me? It’s survival.”

I pause, my stomach twisting at the weight of his words, at the honesty in them, at the way they feel heavier than just Haven, maybe we’ve been circling something like this our whole damn lives without realizing it. But I don’t have time to unpack that now.

Tate shakes his head, pushing himself up from his chair, his hands bracing on the desk as he exhales. “Fine. We figure it out. But for the record—” he tilts his head, his eyes finding mine, a sharp glint behind them. “I never want your cock that close to my face again. Ever.”

I scoff, standing up and pushing him as I pass. “Trust me, I don’t want that either.”

Tate grins, following me out of the room, and there’s something lighter about it this time. Like, for once, we’re not on completely opposite sides of the universe, like maybe we can actually do this without burning everything around us down.

I head toward the kitchen pulling out pans, thinking about what the hell we’re going to make before Haven wakes up, because she deserves at least that, at least one morning that isn’t just chaos.

Tate leans against the counter, watching me. “You think this is really gonna work?” he finally asks..

I pause, my grip tightening on the pan, my jaw clenching. “I don’t know,” I admit. “But I’m not willing to let her go just to find out.”

Tate doesn’t respond right away, but when he finally does, it’s quieter. More honest. “Yeah,” he mutters. “Me either.”

39

Haven