The night had been restless for Gage. He had done his best to get Addison to come and spend the night in his bedroom, but she had insisted that wouldn’t be a good idea. In the end, Gage had relented. She didn’t want Reid to see her coming out of Gage’s bedroom.

And while Gage couldn’t have cared less about what his brother thought, Reid was still Addison’s boss. So what she wanted was more important.

That didn’t mean he didn’t still toss and turn though, disappointed to not have her in his arms. But it wasn’t like he could exactly complain either. His mate had shared herself with him, and it had been more than amazing. That outweighed everything else.

Now, all he wanted was to spend more time with her, but Addison wanting to keep their involvement a secret from Reid presented a problem.

Fucking Reid. Showing up to get in my way.

In a way, though, Gage had to be grateful to his brother. Reid had been the one to bring Addison here in the first place, after all. Caught between conflicting feelings, Gage gave up on sleep before sunrise, going out to make his daily rounds.

By the time anyone else had woken up, Abby and Ace had been brushed and let out to graze, and the tires on his truck changed. The smell of coffee wafted from the kitchen as he made his way inside. He couldn’t help but smile as he heard Addison humming to herself, but his excitement over seeing her again was tempered when he smelled Reid in the kitchen as well.

Focusing on keeping his temper in check, Gage stepped into the kitchen, making both Addison and Reid look up at him. Reid was sitting behind the table with his tablet in front of him, while Addison poured herself a cup of coffee.

“Good morning,” Gage said, giving Reid a curt nod, before turning his attention to Addison.

“Hey,” she smiled. “You want a cup?” she asked, raising hers in the air.

“Sure,” he agreed.

“I’ll get it,” Addison replied, making her way to the right cupboard.

Reluctantly, Gage sat down behind the table, opposite Reid. He tried not to glare, but his brow furrowed on its own, and his bear whined with suppressed annoyance. So much for not glaring.

“So, you’ve been busy,” Addison said, more a statement than a question.

“Gage has always been a hard worker,” Reid commented, barely glancing up from his screen.

Muffling a growl, Gage said nothing while Addison set a cup of coffee down in front of him, throwing cautious looks at both brothers. Gage didn’t need Reid’s approval, or his unconvincing praise. He knew exactly what his dear brother had meant by the remark – that he was toiling away for nothing.

It was no secret Reid had always thought manual labor was beneath him. He had thought it pointless, with no real reward, while Gage liked feeling spent at the end of the day, and being able to see the result of his work unfold in front of him.

Gage didn’t think one job was better than the other, or that being a lawyer made Reid inherently more or less important in the world. But Reid had started to look down on him even before leaving, judging him for what Reid perceived was a lack of ambition.

But Gage wasn’t about to take the bait. For whatever reason, Reid was hell-bent on pushing his buttons, which only made him more determined to not give in to his baser instincts.

He would just have to be satisfied with punching his brother once during the man’s visit. Just to show Addison he wasn’t some sort of savage.

All he wanted was to be alone with his mate, and not have to worry about Reid seeing something Addison didn’t want the man to see. An idea started shaping in his mind as he curled his fingers around the hot mug in front of him.

“I think I’m going to head into town, pick up some supplies,” he said. “Maybe Addison would like to come with?”

That got Reid’s attention. He tried to look like he was still reading something on his tablet, but his eyes didn’t move along the screen. And there was tension in his voice when he spoke.

“Not much to see,” he shrugged.

“Looked pretty charming when we drove through it,” Addison replied. “And we did come to Black Oak so we wouldn’t have to feel like prisoners.”

“Then it’s settled,” Gage said, sipping his coffee. “We can leave whenever you’re ready, Addison.”

He caught her gaze from across the table, drinking her in. The pale sunlight streaming in through the windows made her hair fiery and brought out her freckles. The softness of her skin was still a fresh memory, as was the sight of her naked, writhing body.

She blushed as he devoured her with his eyes, as if knowing exactly what he was thinking.

“I’ll get dressed,” she replied, gulping down her coffee and getting to her feet to rinse her cup in the sink.

Before long she was off, bounding up the stairs. Her rushed exit did not go unnoticed by Reid, who finally pushed his tablet aside and folded his hands on the table. Eyes narrowed, he studied Gage.

“Don’t think I don’t see what’s going on here,” Reid said, pursing his lips.

“And what is going on here? Except for you being an ass, I mean,” Gage replied.

“You’re making a move on Addison,” he stated flatly. “And let me tell you, it isn’t going to work. She’s ambitious, determined, sharp – can’t wait to take on cases of her own. You have nothing in common.”

We had a lot in common last night, the childish part of Gage wanted to say.

But he held his tongue.

“Then why are you so concerned?” he arched a brow at Reid.

“I’m not concerned,” Reid insisted. “But I don’t need you distracting my best employee and making a fool of yourself in the process.”

“Well, while I do really appreciate you looking out for me, dear brother,” Gage replied, his tone dripping with derision, “I think Addison can make her own decisions. Just because you’re her boss doesn’t mean you own her.”

“I just don’t know what you hope to gain by this attempt at flirting,” Reid shrugged, trying to sound uncaring yet failing.

Just seeing how his relationship with Addison was throwing Reid off balance pleased Gage, despite how petty that was. It had to be irking Reid, the fact that Gage and Addison had hit it off so well. Reid probably didn’t understand it, and had expected Addison to share in his not-so-high opinion of Gage.

But his pretentious brother couldn’t get on Gage’s nerves. Not now, when the mate he had shared the best night of his life with was upstairs, getting ready to spend the day with him in his hometown.

He could already hear her bedroom door open and close, and her steps rush down the stairs. She appeared in the doorway, dressed in a sweater, simple jeans, and shoes he thought were entirely impractical. There was a glow about her that was undeniable, and Gage caught the admiring glance Reid threw her way.

That might have made him jealous if it weren’t for the fact that Addison clearly only had eyes for him. And whatever Reid was up to, or was trying to accomplish by being an even bigger jerk than usual, Gage would be ready for it.

Reid is not going to get in my way. Not if I have anything to say about it.