“My truck’s outside when you’re ready to head home,” Liam offered. “Save you the walk.”
“Yeah, okay.” Hayden nodded immediately. “Our car’s still dead on the side of the road anyway.”
Teagan stayed quiet, but Liam caught him glancing up through those long lashes, hazel eyes holding something unreadable before darting away again.
Three more hours until close. Three hours of watching them work, of fighting every instinct to claim what his wolf recognized as his. Three hours of sweet torture.
Worth every second.
* * * *
Liam eased his pickup alongside the shoulder hours later, parking right behind Hayden and Teagan’s dusty beige sedan. He slid from the driver’s seat, boots crunching on gravel as he approached their car.
“Damn,” he muttered, realizing he should’ve asked for their keys.
“Need me to jimmy it open?” Aiden asked, yawning. “Won’t leave a mark.” He scratched his jaw. “Though, this could’ve waited, Liam. You got us out here at the ass-crack of dawn. The sun’s barely over the mountains.”
Liam tugged the door handle. Locked tight. No way to pop the hood without getting inside first.
“Have at it,” he said, stepping aside as Aiden produced a slim metal tool from his back pocket. With a practiced twist, the lock surrendered with a soft click. The door popped with a rusty creak.
Mental note: WD-40 those hinges later.
Leaning into the car’s interior, something caught his eye. There, nestled in the cupholder like loose change, sat a spare key.
His mates had actually left a spare in plain sight. He’d need to have a serious talk with them about basic safety.
Yep, that still blew his mind. In the cosmic lottery, Liam had pulled a deuce. He’d never envied the other wolves who’d had to explain the supernatural world if their mate was human. Liam was tasked with telling two guys.
Lucky him.
With a sigh, he found the hood release and pulled.
“Get her started once I’ve got the hood up,” he said, tossing the key to Aiden.
“They seriously left a spare in the car?” Aiden’s eyes danced with amusement.
“Shut it,” Liam growled, though he couldn’t help the smile tugging at his lips. His pulse quickened at the thought of seeing Hayden and Teagan again.
The engine clattered to life under the hood then immediately died. Grease smeared across Liam’s knuckles as he tightened the battery cable. Morning heat already pressed down, making his shirt stick to his back. Beside him, Aiden leaned against the car’s back bumper, tossing his wrench between his hands.
“Try it now,” Liam called out.
Aiden reached through the driver’s window and turned the key. This time the engine caught and held, settling into a steady purr.
“Just a loose battery terminal.” Liam wiped his hands on a rag that had seen better days. “Ten-minute fix.”
“Lucky for them you’re handy.” Aiden gathered the tools scattered on the asphalt. “Though I’m guessing you’d have rebuilt the entire engine if it meant seeing those two again.”
Heat that had nothing to do with the weather crept up Liam’s neck. His wolf stirred, already anticipating being near his mates again. Dropping them off after their shift ended had been torture—Teagan pressed against him in the truck, that vanilla-rain scent filling the cab, while Hayden’s presence on the other side created a different kind of pull. Raw attraction mixed with something deeper, something that made his wolf pace restlessly all night.
And had kept him rock hard.
“Follow me back?” Liam slid behind the wheel of the sedan. His knees hit the steering wheel immediately. Christ, how did either of them drive this thing? After adjusting the seat as far back as it would go, he still felt like a giant trying to fit into a dollhouse. The rearview mirror needed tilting too, set for someone who couldn’t be more than five-four.
The drive took fifteen minutes through residential streets lined with oak trees. Liam pulled into the driveway of a small rental house with peeling yellow paint and an overgrown lawn. He’d seen the condition of the house hours ago, but it looked even more in need of a paint job during the daylight hours.
Before he could knock, the door flew open.
