7. Mathew
7
Mathew
I’m still angry with Jorge that he didn’t tell me about Riley before, about how he’d found someone else who was a scent match with us, that it wasn’t just the two of us as I thought for years. It would have made finding Vera and Caleb less of a shock.
But Caleb’s right, if I want Riley to stop glaring at me and trust me, even a little, I’m going to have to put that all aside for the evening.
Caleb’s hand is warm on my lower back as he keeps his voice quiet. “We can go home right now, if you want to. We’ll make up some excuse why we have to leave so suddenly. Things have been intense enough lately and being around Riley for longer might be hard with your pheromones being so unstable.”
He leans closer. “We can still invite her over for dinner tomorrow, but maybe calling it a night is for the best.”
My heart clenches even considering leaving Riley behind right now and I shake my head. “We’re staying. We’re here to show our faces, to show that everything is fine with me, to celebrate our new pack. If we leave now, that’s all for nothing. We’ll leave after dinner.”
“Okay. You know what’s best.” Caleb’s voice is even as he takes a step back, his warmth disappearing, and I quietly curse. I’ve gotten so used to him easily touching me all the time, having physical contact with him, and now we’re out in public, we can’t.
Wait.
Why not?
Fuck that.
Alphas being intimate with other Alphas isn’t common, but the Alpha pack leader being physically close with the other Alphas in the pack isn’t unheard of.
And it’s not like anyone here knows Caleb, so who says that he’s not into Omegas and Alphas?
Plus, people here already know that I’m pretty flexible when it comes to my sexuality.
So, fuck hiding how much I like being touched by him.
I turn to Caleb, stepping closer, and grab the top of his dress shirt. “Kiss me.” The position is a bit awkward, since he’s taller, but I don’t care, I like the way his gaze heats up when I demand his affection.
He slides one arm around my waist, pulling me against him, letting me feel how hard he is. “As you wish.” He crashes our mouths together.
His breath is warm, his stubble scrapes against my skin and the possessive way he holds me is making my pheromones flare. Fuck. This is so good.
I’ve been wanting to kiss him ever since he put on that suit. It’s been so hard to keep my hands to myself, to play the role of the emotionally detached Alpha leader.
With Jorge, I’m usually able to keep myself in check when we’re out in public, but with Caleb, it’s so much harder.
Though, this evening, it’s been harder with Jorge too. Maybe it’s because we’ve finally bonded, or maybe it’s because we’ve gotten used to being physically close all the time and having to keep my distance is hard.
Caleb chuckles as he pulls back slightly. “You smell so good right now. Going inside is going to be a little tricky…” He glances down between us and our cocks are pressed tightly against each other. Yeah, that makes things complicated.
I look back to Jorge, who’s looking at us with an amused smile. Fuck, the suit he’s wearing looks so good on him, I don’t think I’ve seen him wear this one before. It’s like it fits him even better than his usual ones.
I wish I could pull his pants down right now and blow him, watch how he comes undone just from my mouth.
Everyone’s pheromones have clearly been affecting me, especially now that my shock and anger have disappeared.
“That’s not making things any better.” Caleb’s voice is filled with lust as he presses his hips against mine more. “Are you really sure we shouldn’t go home? We could even do it in the car in the parking lot before we leave. I’m sure that would be an interesting experience.”
No matter how tempting it is, we can’t.
Jorge closes the distance between us and takes my chin in his hand, his pheromones flowing over me, making me moan. “If we fuck you right now, at least our pheromones would be so overwhelming that we wouldn’t have to worry about anyone smelling yours for at least a couple of hours.”
Fuck. These guys…
My slick is starting to soak into my boxer briefs. If they keep going much longer, I might take them up on a quick fuck in the car before we go back in…
“Mathew? Caleb? Jorge?” Vera’s voice reaches us.
With a quick kiss and a smile, Jorge lets go of me as he turns in the direction of the front of the restaurant. “We’re here,” he calls out as he walks in her direction.
Caleb lets me go slightly, but only enough so I can turn around in his arms, his hard cock now pressing against my ass, my own not going down one bit.
“So desperate to fuck me?” My voice is hoarse as I put my hands over his.
He pushes against me more. “I’ll take anything I can get before I have to go back in there and act all proper in public.”
“Horny fucker.” I lean back against him, enjoying his nearness.
Vera comes around the corner of the building and Jorge immediately wraps his arm around her shoulders, pulling her against him and her easy laugh at his actions makes me smile. Fuck, they’re so good together.
Then, moments later, Derrick follows them and the mood shifts.
That’s not a good sign.
Vera stops in front of us, her face a mixture of happiness and nerves. “The people Riley was waiting for just arrived. She asked if we wanted to join them, since some of them apparently already know you two?”
Tonight was supposed to be fun, not a work dinner. But also, spending more time with Riley is really tempting.
I look to Derrick, what he has to say about it, since it’s his responsibility to keep me safe.
He pulls up a shoulder. “I don’t see why not. Some of them are indeed people you’ve had interactions with before, others are unknown to me, but Tim is working on that.”
Jorge eyes me and then Derrick. “It would probably be good for networking, right?”
“Yes. Tim said that they could bring in more work, of the nearly legal variety, which is good for business.”
My stomach sinks and I step out of Caleb’s embrace. There goes our easy evening, time to be professional. “Let’s do it. Where are they?”
Vera slides her hand in mine, her touch soft. “They rented out one of the back rooms. She said that she’d be waiting for us at the front.”
“Sounds good.” I pull Vera against me, taking in her sweet scent one last time. “Will that be a problem with security?” I look at Derrick, who shakes his head.
“Those rooms are fairly safe and I’ll have some people out in the staff areas at the back, just to keep an eye on things.”
“Sounds like a plan. I’ll see you back inside.” I nod and he walks away, back to the rest of his team to put everything in place.
I take a long breath as I try to become Mathew ‘The Cleaner’ Page, the ruthless Alpha running a strict organisation. It feels strange to do it with Caleb and Vera around, but I’ll have to get used to it soon enough if this going to be our lives from now on.
“Anything we need to do?” Caleb’s posture has changed too, the ease gone, all business now.
“Stick to the plan. Keep an eye out for weapons or people who might pose a threat. That’s all. I’ll be doing most of the talking anyway. You can answer questions or tell them about your past. You’re part of the organisation now, so I guess this is a good first run in how that’s going to work.”
“What about me?” Vera looks at me with determination in her gaze.
“Just be your cute self. This will be the first of many meetings like this. So, see what works for you.” I kiss the top of her head. “Find something you’re comfortable with, don’t put on too much of a character, because it will get tiring after a while.”
I meet Jorge’s gaze, but we’ve done this plenty of times before. The only difference this time is that he’s now technically part of my organisation instead of being a freelancer like he was before.
We’ll have to figure out the details of how that’s going to work soon, but not tonight.
He reaches into Vera’s bag and pulls out a bottle of my pheromone-altering perfume. “Here.” He opens the cap and holds it up. I hold out the arm that I’m not holding Vera with and he sprays some on my wrist, which I rub over my neck.
Better safe than sorry, even though I’m now surrounded by the perfume and have a hard time smelling Vera, Caleb or Jorge. Better that than being found out…
But it also helps me to feel more like my professional self, which does make things easier.
“Let’s go in.” I keep hold of Vera’s hand as I walk to the front of the restaurant, Caleb and Jorge right behind us.
It would have been nice to have another night of just us, but maybe this is good too. This way, we can’t get nervous about it or start to worry ahead of time. We just jump into the deep end.
As we step through the doors, Riley is waiting for us, her smile widening as she spots us, before she pulls her face into a professional mask. Fuck, it’s so clear that she belongs with us. But we’re going to have to pretend for a whole night that we’re simply people who are in the same line of business.
“Are you planning on joining us?” She keeps her voice professional, but her eyes start to slide down my body before she licks her lips as she looks at Vera. We’re clearly not the only ones who have a tricky evening ahead of us.
“Yes. Since we’re all here anyway, it seemed like a good opportunity. We can get to know each other better while also making new business connections.” I try not to stare at the way her dark red dress hugs her tits or her ass. Fuck, she looks so good.
“Well, then, shall we go?” She walks ahead of us to the back and Vera’s pheromones spike in amusement as my eyes are drawn to the rose tattoo on Riley’s back. The bottom of it disappears behind the top of her dress and I wish I could take it off her to get a better look.
Fuck. While I was outside, I totally forgot how absolutely gorgeous this Alpha is and how it turns my brain into a total mess.
This evening is going to get very complicated.
And we might have to move up the ‘get to know each other’ timeline, because I don’t know if I’ll want to let her go at the end of the evening…