"So, we have three more days before we meet our goddess," I murmur in his ear. "And we have all been very good boys and hit the gymreligiously. We've even all remembered to take our Phero-block, even though you know how much I hate using that nasal spray shit. Whaddya say I take my best men out on the town tonight?"
Clarke glances at Allen, who shrugs. I spin him around to face me. His face is relaxed into a smile. I stroke the line of his perfect obliques with one finger, and flick one eyebrow up.
"Hmmm. If we go out tonight, we have two days to recover. I think we can make that work—but only if we head off with Cinderella."
I give an enthusiastic nod.
He raises his neat eyebrow. "I mean it, Seb. Hard stop at midnight. No begging Allen for just ten more minutes. And—bearing in mind we need to be at our fuckingpeakon Tuesday—if there is someone who youabsolutelycannot resist, then for the love of god, you have to becareful."
"'Course I will. No oversharing. Cross my heart." I try to keep my face relaxed. I know how our—well, let's be honest, usuallymy—random hookups get when they find out what we do for a living. I don't want to think about how many of them ask us to support their heats for free afterwards. Idefinitelydon't want to think about the ones who've never had a professionally supported heat and who think we're glorified escorts, and treat us like something they scraped off the bottom of their shoe.
So we don't usually say anything about our jobs any more. A one-night stand doesn't need to know what we do.
"Seriously, Seb. You have to swear that you will actuallycheckher test papers and use protection, yeah? We don't have time for you to need a course of antibiotics before our client needs you in peak shape."
I shrug and grin. To be fair to Clarke, given my background as an ER nurse, Ireallyshould know better. My alpha, however, has a few, uh, priors for not giving a shit about such trivial things as common sense when I let loose. I guess when you have so much steam to blow off, it's easy to get a bit overheated.
"Hey, I was a good boy. I used that disgusting nasal spray. No getting led astray by my nose. And I'm not drinking tonight. Well… no more than one or two. I just want to get out a bit as a pack while we're here, before the booking starts."
James slides his sunglasses down his nose and looks at me, faint disbelief etched on his pink, overheated face. His broad, freckled chest is glistening with sweat. "I'm holding you to that, Sebbie."
He hasn't had much of a sense of humour for a while.
I bristle. "Hey, I cantotallyhave a great time at the lounge without getting completely shitfaced."
"Uh huh.Totally." Allen sounds almost bored in his disbelief. He picks up the well-thumbed novel, not even bothering to hide the minotaur embracing the woman on the cover, and flicks aimlessly through the pages. Dunno why someone would want to milk a minotaur, but apparently Allen wants to find out.
I huff, storm over to Allen, and push the book into his chest as I straddle him. "Oh! Ye of little faith. I'm wounded." I rest my weight on his hips, smirking as I feel his cock begin to thicken under me. "I'll tell you what. I will make sure we all have a fuckingsublimeevening. No booze required. Well, no more than one or two, anyway. And I'll even have us home by pumpkin o'clock. And then, oh pack alpha, I expect you to eat your words." I dismount him and saunter off, letting my hips sashay a little as I stalk towards the pool gate.
"Oh? And if you can't follow through?"
I turn and throw him a deliberately sassy glare over my shoulder, then raise my sunglasses as I grin at him. "Then I guess it isn't just my words I'll be eating."
There's a soft cough from behind me as I flounce away. "You don't have to perform tonight, Seb." Zeke's voice is soft against the gentle whirring of the pool pump and sloshing of the water.
The scoff that slips out is more theatrical than I intended. I bite down on the irritation, and keep my stride even as I rip off my sunglasses and throw him a wink. "Damn. And I was about to go and polish my tap shoes and everything."
I don't even slam the pool gate behind me.
Chapter 5
James smirks teasingly at Sebastian, pride shining in his rich brown eyes.
"Seb, I have to hand it to you. Tonight has beenoutstanding." James leans back into the curved red sofa we're relaxing on. His charcoal silk-blend blazer hugs his solid, strong body and makes him look like a well-dressed Norse god. The color almost makes his fair, freckled skin glow. He's calmer than I've seen him in months, too.
Seb reclines back on the sofa, grinning smugly as the Old Hollywood jazz washes over us, his teeth glinting white in the dim light. His dark skinny jeans show off just how toned his thighs are when he crosses his legs, and his normally loose curls are swept up into a tidy man-bun, the gold streaks glinting in the dim light.
Clarke nods approvingly, and raises his glass to Seb. Even though he's the best part of a foot shorter than the rest of us, he looks like the pinnacle of sleek, controlled power in his dark wool blazer and crisp black button-down; but even so, he still looks more relaxed tonight than he's been in weeks.
Zeke contentedly plays with a button on his charcoal button-down that looks like it was tailored to his lean, muscular form, bringing out the warm tones in his olive skin. For once, he seems to be… just taking it all in as he sips his drink. Nottrying to analyze everything, assess every angle. Just sitting in the moment with his pack, listening to the music.
Most importantly, they all look calm and content. We only have eyes for each other tonight. Even the background frisson I normally feel through my bond with Clarke seems more grounded than usual.
Fuck. I wish it could be like this all the time.
"How the hell did you not only get us reservations for dinner at Sillage, but also for Clear Note? On aSaturday? I thought it tookmonthsto get on the list here," I mutter, as I sip the G&T, which is more refreshing than it has any right to be, zinging with fresh florals and sweet, grassy notes.
Seb shrugs, pretending to polish his fingernails. "Charm. Pure Aussie charm." He grins, a smug glint in his eye, then leans over to me. "I hope you're getting hungry, alpha." He pats my knee and winks.
