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he’d left half open. “Are you going to put yourself out of your misery? Or are you going to be a bonehead and stick to this abstinence bullshit?”
    Deke’s annoyance with Ansley morphed into anger at her insolent line of questioning, and he shook his head, refusing to answer her. He didn’t want to know how she knew he’d been celibate for nearly a month and a half now. It wasn’t like he wore a damn sign around his neck or anything.
    “Are you going to leave, Ansley? Or am I going to have to kick you out?” he asked, suffusing his every word with an arctic air. “Because right now I have no problem with either.”
    Ansley giggled. “I’m sure you don’t. You wouldn’t want me to call you on your bullshit.”
    Deke frowned but still didn’t rise to her bait. He remained silent and aloof as he wound his way around the boxes to Sarah’s dilapidated couch. Dropping down, he threw an arm across the back of the sofa with a grunt. “See you later, Ansley.”
    “Dream on, bossman,” she retorted. “I think I’ll hang around and watch the sparks fly. I have to live vicariously, you know. It’s not like Hale or Wyatt are ever going to do anything fun with me.”
    Deke rolled his eyes. “I wish they would. Maybe then, you’ll keep your nose out of everything.”
    “Not hardly. You’ll have to kill me first.”
    “Why is Deke killing you this time?” Adam inquired drolly as he approached with Sarah tucked into his side. “Did you give Wyatt another prostate exam when he didn’t need it?”
    Sarah choked, her face flaming red, and Deke couldn’t stop the smile that spread across his face. She was cute, too cute for a man like him. “You did that? Really?” Sarah asked, clearly astonished by Ansley’s audacity.
    Ansley grinned proudly. “Yes, I did.”
    “She tried that on me once,” Adam told Sarah. “But I didn’t fall for it.”
    Sarah shook her head, sending the strands of her rich caramel-colored hair from side to side. “You’re too smart for that, huh?”
    Deke had to clench his hands into fists to fight off the urge to toy with Sarah’s silky hair as the tips brushed along her graceful neck. He had to draw his hands even tighter when a couple of stray tendrils fell forward and framed her pretty face, making his fingers itch to feel the warmth her rosy cheeks would radiate.
    Staring at Deke’s hands, Adam smirked. “Much too smart.”
    Ansley snorted. “He’s not that smart. Wyatt warned him ahead of time.”
    “Oh, really?” Sarah asked innocently but there was laughter in her gray eyes.
    Ansley nodded. “Really. If Adam were half as smart as he thinks he is, he would have jumped your bones already. And if Deke were half as smart as his IQ says he is, he would have joined in the festivities.”
    Sarah’s eyes grew round, the delicate blush staining her cheeks darkening to crimson. Deke almost felt sorry for her. But he was too riled up by Ansley’s high-handedness. “Time to go, Ansley,” he ordered. “You need to get to work before you’re late. From what I hear, the bosses are hard-asses about tardiness.”
    Ansley winked at Sarah saucily. “My work here’s done.”
    Sarah bit her bottom lip, clearly trying to hold back a laugh.
    But Adam didn’t. He guffawed. “Yes it is,” he murmured. “Couldn’t have done it better myself.”
    Blowing a kiss to Sarah, Ansley headed for the nearest exit. As she swung open the door, she peered over her shoulder. “Oh, yes you could have, Adam. I have faith in you.” A second later, Ansley was gone, closing the door behind her with a barely audible click.
    Frowning, Deke considered Ansley’s too-obvious comment. She, like everyone else, thought Adam could convince him to change his mind about claiming Sarah. After all, he had fought for Deke and won seventeen years ago. But they couldn’t be more wrong.
    The situation was completely different this time. Deke had too much to lose. There was too much at stake. So one way or