Briggs didn’t bother to argue, not when he was this close to seeing Cece. He was out of Hudson’s truck and climbing the porch steps before Hudson had even lifted Rosalie out of the truck.
Briggs opened the door, realizing belatedly he should have knocked, and was almost embarrassed by the eagerness in his voice. “Cece? Where are you?”
“Briggs?” Cece peered down the hallway from the kitchen. “Hi!”
“Hey,” he said as Hudson and Rosalie joined them.
Rosalie tried to shut the door, and Cece hurried forward. “Sorry, it sticks.”
Briggs closed it with a shove and a grunt, and Cece’s smile of thanks warmed him like the sun.
She cupped her elbows, studying him like she hadn’t seen him in months. “Are you okay?”
“Fine,” he said. “Are you?”
“Why wouldn’t she be?” Tori asked as she and Judd joined them. Tori nudged Judd and held out her hand.
“Shit,” Judd said, digging into his pocket. He pulled a twenty from his wallet and handed it to the bunny shifter.
Tori stuffed it into her pocket. “Thank you, handsome.”
“What was that about?” Hudson asked.
“I bet Judd twenty bucks that Briggs would show up before the day was over,” Tori said.
Briggs’s cheeks went hot, and Judd grinned. “Aw, he’s blushing.”
“Hudson and I invited him,” Rosalie said quickly. “Because we haven’t seen him in a while.”
“Right,” Tori said.
“Except for when you saw him on Sunday during our dinner,” Judd said.
“And Monday at the office,” Hudson said.
“Hudson.” Rosalie gave him a look, and Tori burst into laughter.
“I’m glad you’re here,” Cece said to Briggs, her dark eyes full of a warmth that made his polar bear chuff to her. His bear had finally calmed the fuck down, and even the headache that had been lurking at the base of his skull had disappeared.
“Me too,” Briggs said. Cece looked so good, and she smelled so damn good, and fuck, he’d missed her. It wouldn’t hurt to give her one kiss.
His polar bear couldn’t have agreed more, and with his bear urging him on, Briggs leaned down. Surprise registered on Cece’s face before her gaze dropped to his mouth. He growled softly to her, and those lush pink lips parted. He growled again when the tip of her tongue slicked along her bottom lip.
Yes, just one small kiss. So the other males in the room would know she belonged to him.
Before he could brush his mouth against hers, his bear made a startled growl when Tori slipped between them. She poked him in the forehead. “Based on what Ronin told me happens when the two of you touch, maybe you should back up, big guy.”
His polar bear growled at her, his hackles rising when Judd’s bear immediately returned his growl, and Judd started toward them.
Tori shook her head. “It’s all good, my bear.”
Judd stopped, but Briggs could sense Judd’s bear just below the surface, ready to fight for his mate. He’d lose, but Briggs was impressed by the absolute lack of fear in Judd’s scent.
Tori tapped him on the chest this time. “You touch her, the conduit thing kicks in, and the next thing you know, her magic’s gone haywire, and the two of you are humping like,” she paused and grinned, “bunnies in front of us. We’re here for dinner, not a live sex show. We don’t want to see that, bud.”
“I mean… I don’t not want to see it,” Judd said.
There was a moment of silence before Rosalie started to laugh. A grin broke out on Hudson’s face, and Judd laughed when a snort escaped Rosalie, and she clapped her hand over her mouth before her cheeks turned red with embarrassment.
