Grayson had seemed only slightly less pissed. Growly and glowing, pacing with Leo’s phone in one hand and his hair swirling like it had a direct link to his emotions. Magic had added a whole extra layer of hotness to their normally Zen mate, which only made pissing him off unbelievably satisfying in oh-so-many-exciting ways.
But it had only taken his deepI’m fucking serious, Rowangrowl and sparks snapping at his fingertips for Leo to step in and push Rowan toward the couch. He’d muttered about setting the house on fire, and that Nix would not have a place to come back to if they didn’t quit “their fucking shit.”
Even Finn had seemed disappointed at being left out—entrenching himself beside Rowan on the couch, tired eyes on his own phone, andthat white sweater pulled up over his nose.
While their even-keeled betas managed to roll with Nix’s choices, everyone else wanted to run interference—for Nix, and for this hard thing.
But not Rowan. No siree.
This trip to the house was going to be hard with a capital H, and while Rowan would’ve accompanied his pregnant mate to his empty childhood home to face the memories of his dead parentsif he’d been asked—he sure as fuck wasn’t going to feel bad about not being chosen.
Seeing Nix hurting with his own eyes—instead of just feeling the occasional twinge in his belly—sounded like the worst idea ever.
So he’s lying here watching old cartoons on the TV, occasionally slipping his hand into his pocket to feel those silky red boxers Nix had worn from the first safe house. No one had to know. Fuck, he didn’t even like to think too hard about why they made him feel better.
Finn breathes deeply again through his white sweater “mask,” and Rowan resists the urge to pull the tiny boxers out of his pocket to do the same.
Behind him, the oven door closes, and a second cookie sheet slams onto the counter, followed by the tearing of parchment paper.
Rowan is thinking about trying to say something not entirely ridiculous or stupid to comfort his alpha—when Finn does it for him, leaving his cell phone unattended on the coffee table.
How fortuitous.
Now, Rowan has not been awarded a phone of his own—and aside from the fact that it has Nix and the babies’ biometrics on it, he doesn’t complain. Anyone he’d need to call or text is right under his very sharp nose almost every minute of every day. Just the way he likes it (don’t tell anyone).
Leo normally has one when Grayson isn’t being a fuckable idiot. Jay’s is on the counter, no doubt covered in tears and bacon grease. Gideon has the fourth—two blocks away.
No one thought to ask if Rowan needed a phone to watch Nix. To help ease his wolf. And fucking no one lets their phone out of their sight for longer than it takes to blink.
Apparently, a sad alpha isreason enough for Finn—the worst culprit for phone obsession—to forget all about it.
You snooze, you lose!
Shifting on the sectional, Rowan peeks over the back of the sofa, where he can see Leo and Grayson talking on the lanai—feet dipped in the big pool through the sliding glass doors. Luca is lying on a lounger, bare-assed, tanning his juicy butt, which has a ridiculous amount of white-cast sunscreen on it.
Smart, as anyone who gets as many spankings as Luca would not want a sunburn on his ass.
Hecouldgo out there and offer to rub the lotion in…maybe rub one out while he’s at it—but Rowan’s had enough of the pool to last at least another week. He can still smell chlorine embedded in his hair.
In the kitchen, Jay is crying into Finn’s shoulder, raw bacon in one hand and the back of Finn’s sweater in the other. He’ll have to wash that thing fifty times to get the smell out—if the large, greasy handprint is anything to go by.
He’s thinking about grabbing the phone just to check on Nix’s yellow lights when his bond with Nix blinks off, then immediately on again.
Rowan wonders what made Nix think his emotions might be too much for them… and the urge to find out is almost unbearable.
Sneaking out the front door and following his gut to the Rena’s house is out of the question. A pissed-off Nix is not nearly as fun as a pissed-off Grayson.
The only thing stopping him is Jay’s uptick in sniffling, and that his alpha is being convinced not to do the same.
Finn rarelytriesto be persuasive. He relies solely on logic and common sense to get everyone except Luca to listen (Not Rowan, though. Hecanbe logical). Right now, though, he’s punctuating his hard words with kisses to Jay’s cheeks and throat.
“We have to respect his decision.” Kiss. “I know it’s difficult, but he’s asked Gideon to help him through it.” Kiss. “I think it’s because they have this in common.”
Jay nods, rubbing his snotty nose on Finn’s shoulder.Ew.
There’s a loud splash outside as Luca, naked, cannonballs off the diving board. Gray and Leo are stripping off on the pool deck, ready to join him to pass the time while they wait, and Rowan pauses mid-reach for the phone to watch.
Sigh. So many muscles—big and bulky, long and lean—and so much gorgeous cock. Who could blame him for reconsidering his moratorium on chlorine-infested waters?
