Jay must have seen Nix’s stunt—maybe Gideon won’t have to make his point later, after all. Damn.
“Uh-oh,” Nix whispers.
Grayson groans. “Angel, did you sneak past Jay, too?”
Nix has the wisdom to look chastened before he sits back on Grayson’s knees. He takes his soulmate’s cheeks in his hands and looks him dead in the eye.
“Something is really wrong, Gray. Really, really. I’ll take my licks, but I won’t say I’m sorry.”
Jay pulls open the door, and relief at seeing Grayson in one piece flashes over his features before he checks Gideon over, too.
“I didn’t have to go in after him,” Gideon says, and it sounds like the greatest disappointment of his life. Unfastening his seatbelt, he slams the door. It doesn’t help dissipate the dread, the anger, or his wanting to put Nix over his knee to remind him his ass is precious.
“Good,” Jay says. He turns his attention to Nix, who has taken his alpha’s distraction for an opportunity to slip by him, Grayson’s wrist in his hand.
“Phoenix Rhodes, we are going to have words—”
“So no one died?” Rowan interrupts, sounding just as disappointed as Gideon feels.
“Unfortunately,” Gideon growls under his breath.
“Nobody died,” Grayson confirms. “Are they here yet?”
Jay pulls Grayson’s bag and jacket from the back before giving in to the urge and slamming the door himself. “Not yet. They wanted a rest after the flight. Artem is picking them up in the Kodiaq from their hotel. They should be here any minute.”
Finn appears on the step, handsome in his sweater vest and light blue shirt. His new black glasses firmly in place, he looks more like someone’s English teacher than the successful omega-wrangler-power-top he is.
“Let’s not be standing on the driveway when they arrive, if we can help it. Nix, you need pants. Shoo.”
“Good idea. Come on, Gray—you can help me with my pants,” Nix murmurs, his scent sweet with invitation. “You’ve been gone all day, and I still feel weird.”
The gates ease open at the far end of the drive, and the red Kodiaq crawls forward. Gideon’s shoulders tighten. Artem’s presence is welcome enough—the girls adore him, and Skye does, too—but Gideon’s wolf is less sure about the others in the SUV.
“Where are the kids?”
Without speaking, Grayson, Jay, and Rowan shift closer, matching Gideon’s stance until they’ve formed a quiet wall between their den and the approaching strangers. Allies or not, they’re still strangers near their most vulnerable. And nothing hardens their guard like the memory of Nix’s earlier outburst—their sensitive, but never wrong, omega.
Then Nix’s posture changes. His smile curves as if the earlier tension had never touched him. “What is with you guys?” he chuckles. “We asked them to come.”
He hooks Grayson and Rowan by the wrists, tugging them inside without looking back.
The SUV slows twenty yards away, as if Artem is waiting for Jay’s signal that all is well, but Nix’s voice carries from inside—bright with mischief.
“Jay, when did you say the food was coming? I’m starving.”
Gideon exhales through his nose.
Leo
“Leo, is there any chicken left?” Nix reaches around him to grab a dried-up, crusty French fry off the baking tray. “Jamie ordered food from Quest, but they say it won’t be ready until 7:30. I’ll die before then.” He must be desperate, if he’s considering eating Leo’s cooking.
He swans dramatically over Leo’s arm, barely missing dunking the back of his head into the water Leo is using to wash the dishes. Leo bends so he can press kisses to Nix’s cheek, blowing raspberries.
Rude.
Skye makes an almost soundless giggle behind his hand. The little guy has eaten four chicken fingers and his weight in french fries—plus four baby carrots and now, two homemade (not by Leo) chocolate chip cookies.
“Sorry, Nix. I ate them all,” Luca says with a wink at Leo.
