Page 30 of Charged By the Razorbacks

Silence followed, but it wasn’t empty. It held, stretched, filled with everything that hadn’t been said yet.

Jarek broke it first. “You’re going to keep pretending that connection didn’t happen?”

Tamsin didn’t look away from Aleksy. “I tried that. It didn’t stick.”

“No,” Aleksy said, his voice steady, certain. “It didn’t.”

Her breath shifted, just slightly, her control slipping at the edges in a way that only made her more aware, more present in the space between them.

“I don’t do complicated,” she said, though there was no real resistance behind the words.

Jarek stepped closer, circling just enough to close them in without crowding her. “This isn’t complicated,” he said.

Her brow lifted. “Really? I would hate to see what your definition of complicated might be!”

“Not this,” he shot back. “This, the three of us, the most uncomplicated thing in the world.”

A breath of laughter slipped from her, quiet and surprised, and for a moment the tension shifted into something lighter, something easier.

Tamsin looked between them, really looked, as if weighing something she had already decided but wasn’t ready to say out loud.

Aleksy didn’t push. He held where he was, steady, giving her the space to make the choice without forcing it.

When she spoke, her voice was lower, more deliberate. “Come be with me.”

There was no hesitation.

“Hell yes,” Jarek said immediately.

Aleksy didn’t answer right away. He stepped in instead, closing the last of the distance between them. He lifted her easily into his arms, the motion controlled but decisive.

Tamsin’s breath caught, her hands coming up instinctively, bracing against him as her balance shifted, but she didn’t resist.

Jarek fell into step beside them, his grin unrestrained now as they moved toward the elevator.

“About time,” Aleksy muttered.

The doors slid open without delay, the space inside closing around them as Aleksy stepped in, Tamsin still in his arms.

The doors shut. And the moment they did, the air changed.

Aleksy felt it settle through him, steady and certain, the anticipation building with each passing second as the elevator began its ascent.

Chapter Six

Aleksy didn’t set her down the moment they entered the room.

He carried her all the way to the bed, the door closing behind them with a soft click that felt louder than it should have in the charged quiet that followed. Tamsin’s arms stayed looped loosely around his shoulders, her body aligned with his, her gaze steady on his like she was fully aware of what came next—and choosing it anyway.

That mattered.

It would always matter.

He lowered her onto the bed slowly, not releasing her immediately, his hands sliding to her waist as she settled back against the mattress. For a second, neither of them moved. The space between them held, stretched, filled with everything that had been building since the fight.

Jarek broke it first.

“Still thinking about slowing this down?” he asked, his voice rough with amusement as he stepped in behind her.