“How ’bout we kick this up a notch,” Leyton suggested.

Jase knew exactly where this was headed, and he couldn’t bring himself to say no. He didn’t want to say no. A dare was a dare, and he accepted the challenge. Even if that challenge would likely involve him and Leyton in a precarious situation that would probably confuse him all the more. Still, he was enjoying the time they had together. Being alone with Leyton wasn’t something he’d ever thought about, but now that they were getting the opportunity, he wasn’t ready for it to end.

“What’d you have in mind?” Jase asked.

“One shot,” Leyton said. “Closest to the bull’s eye gets to decide.”

“Decide what?”

“What they want the other to do,” Leyton stated, a wicked gleam in his beautiful green eyes.

“You’re on,” Jase told him.

Clearing the target in front of him, Jase nodded for Leyton to go first.

Leyton moved over to the lane Jase had been using. He lifted the Glock, took aim, and then took the shot. The shot hit to the left of the bull’s eye. Not bad.

“Your turn.” Leyton took a step back.

Jase took aim, fired. Hit the exact same spot as Leyton.

When he peered at Leyton over his shoulder, he saw the man smiling at him.

Leyton took position again, fired. To the right this time, second ring from the bull’s-eye.

Jase followed, hitting the exact same mark.

“Okay, point made.” Leyton laughed. “You’re good at this.”

“I’m pretty damn accurate,” Jase told him.

“Third time’s a charm,” Leyton said before turning. He didn’t get into position, simply lifted his gun, sighted it, and then fired.

Dead center.

Jase smiled. “You’re hustlin’ me,” Jase accused, then did the exact same thing, hitting the exact same mark.

Leyton set his weapon down on the counter, then took Jase’s from his hand. With both guns out of reach, Leyton closed the space between them. Jase met Leyton’s intense gaze and held his breath. When Leyton’s rough hands cupped his face, he felt a little off-kilter.

“I wanna kiss you,” Leyton whispered. “And I never wanna stop.”

“What’s stoppin’ you?” Jase could practically feel Leyton’s lips on his.

“Not a damn thing,” Leyton remarked, then gently pressed his lips to Jase’s.

Those same warring emotions churned deep inside. The kiss wasn’t forceful; it wasn’t fueled by lust, either. It was sweet and … perfect.

Cupping the sides of Leyton’s neck, Jase leaned into him, gliding his tongue against Leyton’s. Part of him thought they’d progress to the next level, end up ripping one another’s clothes off, but as it turned out, Leyton had meant what he’d said. The kiss continued until Jase was pressed up against the wall, crushed between it and Leyton’s big body. But Leyton’s hands never wandered. His tongue simply explored, his mouth left lingering kisses over his lips, his jaw, then back again.

“I meant what I said the other day,” Leyton finally said.

Jase lifted an eyebrow in question.

“I don’t regret this. The only thing I regret is holding back for so long.”

“Yeah, well,” Jase smiled, “we’ve got plenty of time to make up for it.”

Leyton’s grin was wicked. “Yeah, we definitely do. And I plan to use every second wisely.”

When Leyton’s mouth crushed against his again, Jase gave in, holding Leyton to him as he let the foreign sensations take over. He’d fallen for Ashlynn in a short period of time, and clearly, he was gearing up to do the exact same thing with Leyton.

Not that he could bring himself to care.

Not at the moment, anyway.

Chapter Forty-One

Is it weird in here? Or is that just me?

Present day

Monday, November 9 th

Ashlynn woke up on Monday morning to an empty bed. She wasn’t sure whether that was due to what had transpired the night before or simply because it was nearly noon when she’d finally stirred. Yep, two nights in a row of mind-blowing orgasms would do that to a girl. She’d fallen asleep a little after three and woken up just shy of lunch.

It wasn’t until her feet hit the floor and she was making her way to the bathroom that she realized how sore she was. Apparently, during those intense few hours she’d spent with Leyton and Jase, she’d used muscles she hadn’t even known she had.

And last night, once hadn’t been nearly enough. After her men had recovered from their first encounter that had started in her office and ended in Jase’s bed, some forty-five minutes later, they’d moved their tryst to her shower and resumed where they’d left off.

Needless to say, that was a weekend she likely would never forget. Her first time with Leyton, which had been earth-shattering—as well as highly confusing—all on its own. And then her first time with both… Ashlynn’s mind was still reeling, her heart… Yeah, she didn’t even want to think what that strange feeling was in her chest.

But now, she knew there was shit that needed to be taken care of, and the last thing she could do was sit around and contemplate the meaning of it all.

Sex.

“It was just fucking sex,” she muttered to herself as she flipped on the shower and went to brush her teeth.

Surprisingly, she didn’t have any interruptions while she showered and got ready for the day. It wouldn’t have bothered her except she knew that something was going on and she should’ve been prepared for it. Monday or not, their world didn’t stop for days off. And certainly not when some whiny-ass mafia boss had put a hit out on her.

Fucking bastard.

Come to think about it, Ashlynn hadn’t even asked Leyton what had happened during that meeting.

The fury she’d been fighting off returned with a vengeance. She figured it had something to do with the fact that she was no longer distracted by thoughts of sex with Leyton. She knew exactly what it felt like now, and though she was counting down the seconds for a repeat performance, she still had to get her head in the game. Before they’d drifted off last night, Leyton had mentioned that the meeting with Moroso hadn’t gone quite as well as they would’ve liked, and she wanted to see where they stood now, more than a day later. Getting out from under a contract killing wasn’t going to be easy, but Ashlynn wasn’t scared.

Fear wasn’t something she had much familiarity with anymore. She’d learned, after years of being at the mercy of her brutal and deranged father, that fear would only put her in more precarious situations. Thankfully, five years ago, she’d done the right thing and hired Jase. Although she’d taken a gamble on him, she’d known at the time it had been the right thing to do.

She could still remember the look on his handsome face when he’d realized what he’d signed on for. But, to this day, he’d never let her down.

“Where is everyone?” she called out when she ventured downstairs and found the place empty. Surely they hadn’t left her there alone.

“Hey,” Jase greeted, coming up behind her and wrapping his arms around her in a move that was so unlike him, so strangely intimate that she would’ve stumbled had he not been holding her.

Feeling a little off-kilter, Ashlynn pulled away. “Where’s Leyton?” she asked, straightening her T-shirt. She’d opted for casual today because, after all, she could wear what she wanted. Just because they had work didn’t mean she had to get all dolled up to handle it.

If her reaction took him by surprise, he didn’t show it. He poured her a cup of coffee and urged her toward the breakfast bar.

“He went with Max.”

Ashlynn lifted her eyebrows, encouraging him to explain.

“They had to talk to someone. Didn’t say who. Should be back any minute now.”

Ashlynn knew Jase wouldn’t have any details regarding how that meeting went, so she didn’t ask. She sipped her coffee and took the iPad he held out to her, curious as to what he was asking her to look at. He tapped the screen, and there before her was an article about Devil’s Playground—