**************

~Spring's POV~

The room stilled, a mix of laughter, disbelief, and startled coughs breaking the air a second later.

My gaze slid to hers, assessingly. Rose's smile was the exact kind she wore when she'd already written the ending in her head.

She didn't think I'd back down. No—her eyes told me she wasn't counting on me to be the one squirming. She wanted Eryx uncomfortable. She wanted him to fold under the weight of being in the spotlight.

I let the thought sit between us for a moment, then let a mischievous curve tug at my lips. "Okay."

Rose's smile faltered—just slightly—but her brows lifted like she was impressed I'd even pretend to play along.

Across the circle, Kaius blinked once, then smirked faintly.

Eryx, though… his jaw had gone tight, eyes narrowing at Rose before they flicked back to me. "You don't have to—"

"Didn't say I had to," I cut in, my tone light. "I'm choosing to."

I glanced at our parents. They weren't objecting even though Rose brought it up. So, I wouldn't be the one to break the ice on this and act normal.

Rose leaned back, crossing one leg over the other. Her gaze darted toward Eryx, then down, and she made a tiny, almost lazy gesture with her hand, subtle enough that only those watching her closely would catch it.

The kind of gesture that said he'll get hard.

I didn't look at her. I just stood, smooth and unhurried, letting the movement draw every set of eyes in the room.

Eryx's expression was unreadable now, though I caught the muscle ticking in his jaw. He leaned back in his seat, but his hands gripped his knees like he wasn't sure where else to put them.

The music from someone's phone started—Rose, probably—and I stepped forward, stopping just between his knees.

"Still want to play?" I murmured low enough for only him to hear.

His eyes locked on mine, heated, and that was answer enough.

I turned, letting my back face him as I began—slow, teasing, a sway that was more suggestion than execution, but close enough to make the air shift.

That was what they saw.

However, I hovered just slight above his crotch, avoiding making contact so as not to put him in such a precarious position.

I felt, rather than saw, the moment he exhaled sharply.

Across the circle, Rose was watching like a cat at a fishbowl, her glass halfway to her lips.

By the time I turned and sank briefly into his lap, bracing one hand on his shoulder, the tension in the room was a living thing. His fingers twitched against his thigh, like he was fighting the instinct to touch.

"Okay, that's enough," Mum broke the silence.

When I finally stood and stepped back, the silence that followed was deafening—before Rhys broke it with a loud, "Well, damn."

Rose smiled again, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. She'd wanted Eryx to be rattled. Instead, she'd gotten… something else. Something she couldn't twist.

And from the heat still lingering in Eryx's gaze when he looked at me, I knew she wasn't the only one unsettled.

After the whole lap dance, our parents called an end to it. I knew no one wanted things to escalate and I managed to keep heated tension to yield that result.

Else, who knew what other crazy tricks Rose would come up with.

Quickly, I excused myself and headed for the beach away from all these confusion.

The night air by the beach was warmer than I expected, the tide shushing against the shore in slow, even breaths.

I slipped my sandals off and let my toes sink into the cool sand, each step pulling me farther from the weight of the house.

Moonlight painted the water silver, and I walked until the sea licked at my knees. The pull of it reminded me of that night at the lake with Storm.

The silence under the stars, the way he'd looked at me like the rest of the world was just background noise.

I felt tingly all over just recalling the way we kisses, our lips melted into each other. How he held me against him.

How much he wanted me, wanted us to be together and I wanted that too;

And then… Jace. That kiss that shouldn't have happened, but still lived in the corner of my mind like it had claimed a permanent lease.

And Tyrion. How I'd told him I loved him, the words tumbling out in a rush I couldn't take back.

And Kael…

I didn't know how, or why, I kept ending up tangled in these connections. All I knew was that my life felt like it was balancing on too many threads at once—and the only thing trying to cut them was Rose.

Here, though, the world was quiet. The water rocked against my legs, and for a second I let myself believe I could stay like this—just me, the tide, and the distant hum of cicadas.

But Storm drifted back into my thoughts. I hadn't checked in on him in days, and I still didn't know if he'd told his father yet.

I wading back to shore, "time to call him."

As if on cue, I reached for my phone and found… nothing. My pocket was empty. My pulse ticked higher. I must've left it back in the living room during the game.

Fine. A quick trip back won't hurt. In and out.

But when I got back, the house was quieter when, muffled voices leaking from the other side of the hall.

I crossed to where I'd been sitting earlier, scanning the cushions, the low table, even under the couch.

Nothing.

I checked where I'd stood. Still nothing.

A pinch of panic tightened in my chest. Had Rose taken it? She'd done worse with less motive.

"Looking for this?"

I froze.

The voice came from just behind me.

I turned, and there was Eryx, leaning against the doorway. My phone sat in his palm like it belonged to him.

Eryx didn't move from the doorway. One ankle crossed over the other, phone still in his hand, his expression caught between casual and something sharper.

"Gonna hand it over?" I asked, keeping my tone light.

"Eventually," he said. Then, after a beat, "Why didn't you actually sit on me?"

The question landed like a stone in still water—rippling through the air between us.

I arched a brow. "Because having a boner in front of the whole family wasn't exactly the highlight I had planned for the evening."

His mouth curved. "You think that would've embarrassed me?"

"It should," I shot back.

"Doesn't," he countered, voice low. "Not with you."

I stepped closer, until the dim lamplight brushed across his cheekbones. "You're bluffing."

"Maybe," he said, gaze locked on mine. "Or maybe I like the idea that you'd be the reason they all saw I wanted you."

Heat crawled up my neck before I could stop it, and I hated that he knew it.

His hand shifted, the phone dangling loosely from his fingers now, almost within reach. But before I could snatch it, he pushed off the doorway and closed the space between us.

"Thing is," he murmured, tilting his head just enough that his breath stirred my hair, "you got close enough to feel it… and you still pulled back. Which tells me you're scared of what happens if you don't."

I swallowed, pulse kicking up, every instinct screaming to hold my ground. "Or maybe," I said, keeping my voice steady, "I just don't play into Rose's games."

His jaw flexed, but his eyes didn't leave mine. "Neither do I. Which is why I'm not going to let her twist this into something it's not."

For a second, there was nothing but that taut, electric silence—my phone still between us like a bargaining chip neither of us wanted to name.

And then, from the hallway, the click of heels.

"Am I interrupting?"

Rose's voice was smooth, almost sweet, but her eyes glittered like she'd just found the missing piece of a puzzle.

Eryx's hand closed around my phone as he turned toward her, but he didn't step back from me.

"Yeah," he said, his tone flat. "You are."

Rose's gaze flicked between us, her smile pulling tight.

"You know," she began lightly, "I really thought there was… something there. Eryx always watching out for you, always stepping in. Thought maybe a little lap dance would… confirm my theory."

She tilted her head, pretending to be thoughtful. "But, nope. Nothing happened. Guess that means either I was wrong about him… or you just weren't that attractive tonight. Which is it, Spring?"

The words slid out like she was idly curious, but her eyes gleamed like she'd just dropped a blade and was waiting for the sound of it hitting.

Before I could answer, Erys replied. "Rose… have you gone senile? You couldn't compare to Spring if you tried, in looks or in how she moves. Not in this lifetime."

Rose's smile froze, and I caught the faintest twitch in her jaw.

She opened her mouth to retort, but Eryx moved first. He stepped in close enough that she instinctively shifted back. I saw the moment she realized his voice was just for her.

"Here's the thing, Rose," he said in a low deep voice. "I don't need a lap dance to prove anything. So maybe stop looking for problems that aren't there… before you end up embarrassing yourself more than you already have."

Rose blinked, her mask cracking for a split second before she plastered on a thin smile. "Of course. Just teasing."

But her eyes told another story as she smiled and left.