Final Offer (Dreamland Billionaires #3) by Lauren Asher

“A streaming service.”

“What about DreamStream?”

My head tilts. “What about it?”

He freezes in place. “You don’t like it?”

I bite down on my lip. “Umm…”

“What?”

“It’s not that I don’t like it.” DreamStream is a Kane Company baby, so I have to be careful how I phrase my opinion.

“Then what?”

I consider how to mince my words before settling on the truth. “It’s just that it’s not that good.”

His eyes widen. “What do you mean?”

“We liked it at first. Cami really loved having constant access to all the classic Dreamland shows and movies.”

“So you had a subscription?” He unfolds one of the blankets. I grab on to one of the sides and hold it out while he ties the end to the back of one of the chairs.

“Yeah. For about a year or so.”

“Why did you cancel it?”

“A couple of reasons. First off, they increased the monthly price by double the amount last year. Then, they introduced ads on top of that, which I understand is necessary for making money, but it became too much. If we wanted to skip the ads, then it would increase our subscription cost by double.”

“So, quadruple the original price?”

“Exactly. That’s ridiculous for the content they were offering. For the price of a DreamStream subscription, I could pay for four other streaming apps.”

“Why would they quadruple it?” he asks, more so to himself.

“I’m not sure. It’s not like they were producing a lot of new content or anything that could justify the monthly cost. It was just reruns of all their famous shows and movies with a high price tag, and honestly, with a paycheck like mine, it wasn’t worth it.”

“What would have made the price tag justifiable?”

“I’m not sure. Maybe more new releases and less commercials. Oh, and maybe combining all the Kane Company channels into one place. It’s a bit ridiculous to ask people to pay for four different subscriptions all owned by the same media conglomerate.”

He rubs his stubble. “I think you’re on to something.”

“Me?” I laugh. “I don’t know anything about those kinds of things.”

“I’ve been wondering why the profits were going down when compared to our competitors.”

I laugh. “Oh, I could give you a whole list.”

“Would you?” His head tilts with interest.

“Sure. At this rate, I’ve probably had a subscription for every single streaming app available.”

Cami comes running out of the bathroom with toothpaste smeared across her cheek and soap suds stuck between her fingers. I take her back to the bathroom and help her while Cal finishes up the fort.

It’s a tight squeeze but somehow the three of us fit under the blanket fort, although the top part of the TV is cut off. Cami doesn’t seem to mind, her excitement about watching a movie outweighing the logistics.

I lie beside Cami, who chooses the spot closest to the edge, where Merlin sleeps while curled into a ball. Cal looks torn with what to do before settling on sitting crisscross near the opposite side of the fort. I’m not sure he can even see the TV from his position, let alone feel comfortable with how he needs to hunch his body to fit underneath the blanket.

“You can go next to Mommy.” Cami points to the spot on the other side of me.

Lovely. Look at Little Miss Cami playing matchmaker without even knowing it.

Cal glances over at me for approval before I nod slightly.

You’re totally going to regret this one.

With a little sigh, he lies down beside me. His proximity, combined with the smell of his bodywash and the rhythm of his deep breathing, makes my brain foggy and my skin tingle.

Cami picks the movie and gets settled beside me. I barely pay attention to what happens on the screen, my mind too attuned to the man next to me. My heart pounds furiously, the blood rushing to my ears as I resist the temptation to turn around and snuggle into his chest.

At some point, Cal locks his pinky finger with mine, linking us together for the rest of the movie. The connection that flares to life from a single touch makes my toes curl.

Yup. Definitely need to get laid.

After I put Cami down to sleep, I lock my bedroom door, shut off the lights, and grab my vibrator from its case in the nightstand. It’s been a while since I got off, and although the vibrator doesn’t come close to the real thing, it gets the job done.

I light a candle and turn on some acoustic music to drown out any noise before settling in bed. My thoughts wander to all the things I need to do before I remember what I wanted to do in the first place.

I tug my sleep shirt over my head and toss my underwear before getting back into bed. This time, my thoughts drift to something far more dangerous.

Something forbidden for a hundred different reasons.

Callahan Kane.

The man hasn’t left my head since he stumbled back into my life, dragging me into the past I’ve spent years trying to forget.

Might as well take advantage of his proximity and use him to get off.

I shut my eyes and imagine Cal looming above me, his fingers dragging across my chest rather than my own. He takes his time to reacquaint himself with my body. Each gasp, sigh, and moan encourage him, and he teases one breast until I’m breathless and panting beneath him before moving on to the other.