Chapter 31
Peter woke up because he had to piss. He reached down and squeezed his morning erection, stretching his legs and arching his back, grinning as he thought back on the night before.
Chad was without a doubt the best fuck he’d ever had.
Rolling onto his side, expecting to find the younger alpha lying next to him, Peter was dismayed when he realized that he was alone.
Where the fuck was Chad?
Frowning, his cock throbbing insistently between his legs, Peter got off the bed and walked to the bathroom.
He didn’t bother putting any clothes on, rolling his shoulders and stretching as he walked.
His cock felt full and heavy between his legs, and he couldn’t help being annoyed at Chad for not being there to take care of it.
He hoped he hadn’t scared the younger alpha away. Peter usually didn’t act so domineering when having sex with someone for the first time, but with Chad it had felt right.
After emptying his bladder, Peter took a quick shower and got dressed. Since he hadn’t set his alarm the night before, he was more than a little late for work and needed to get going.
The fact that Chad hadn’t woken him up before taking off was not a good sign, but Peter wasn’t going to assume defeat prematurely. He grabbed his briefcase and called down for his car, heading to the elevator after adjusting his hair in the mirror.
“Gareth, did you see my guest leave this morning?” Peter asked the concierge when he reached the lobby. “An alpha in his twenties, short blond hair?”
“Yes, Mr. Tank. He came down at around seven thirty and left in a taxi. He looked like he was in quite a hurry.”
Peter’s mood soured. “In a hurry?”
“He was running, sir. I got the impression he was rather late for something.”
“Thank you, Gareth,” Peter said, forcing himself to stay polite. This was not good. It had been a long time since anyone Peter had slept with had literally run away—not since he was a teenager who didn’t know his own strength.
Heading outside, his car waiting for him at the curb, Peter had no idea how he was going to fix this.
***
When he arrived at the office, Peter was almost surprised by the fact that there was actual work for him to do. Novotech’s main competitor, Biotech Universal, had tried to hack them—only to be thwarted by Dawn’s comprehensive new security measures.
“And you know for sure that this is where the attack originated?” Peter asked her when she came to his office to report.
“Yes, sir.”
Peter nodded. This was exactly the kind of thing that would convince Novotech that Tank Security was worth the price.
“Very good. I’ll call them and see if they want us to pursue this. See what else you can find out about who exactly ordered the attack.”
“Yes, sir,” Dawn said, turning on her heel and walking out.
Peter called Novotech, alerting them to the attack, naming the people responsible and asking them if they wanted Tank Security to take action.
The rest of the day was spent coordinating with Dawn and the in-house team, planning a not-quite-legal operation to teach Biotech Universal’s executives a lesson.
By the time Peter headed out to meet Aiden for dinner, he was tired but happy with the day’s efforts.
Aiden was waiting for him at the restaurant, looking up with an amused smirk when Peter entered.
“What?” Peter asked as he sat down.
“I had your boy in my class this morning,” Aiden said, his smirk widening. “I have to say I was surprised. I didn’t know he worked for you.”
“He’s new,” Peter said, caught off guard. He was surprised that Chad had made it to Aiden’s class after the night he’d had.
“He was moving a little stiff. You have anything to do with that?”
Peter narrowed his eyes, not too happy with Aiden’s glib tone. They both knew that Peter was the reason Chad was walking funny.
“How did he seem?” he asked. He hoped that Chad hadn’t been in bad spirits. If he regretted his night with Peter, seeing Aiden first thing in the morning probably hadn’t have been his favorite thing.
“Not traumatized, if that’s what you’re asking. Why? What did you do to him?” Aiden sat up a little straighter, a curious look on his face.
“Did you talk to him at all?” Peter had no intention of sharing the details of his night with Chad with his ex-lover. It would be far too weird.
“I partnered with him and took him through a few moves. He’s not exactly the toughest recruit you’ve had.”
Peter suppressed a wince at the note of derision in Aiden’s voice. His friend and ex-lover could be a little dismissive when it came to alphas that were less dominant than himself. He didn’t seem to realize that not everyone could be like him.
“Well?” Aiden asked.
“What?” Peter didn’t understand what Aiden was asking.
“How did he get recruited? He’s not exactly Tank Security material.”
“He’s fine,” Peter said. He might agree with Aiden’s assessment, but he wasn’t going to admit that to anyone. Besides, it might do his company some good to have a few operatives who weren’t morally bankrupt.
“If you say so. Are you going to see him again?” Aiden caught the waiter’s eye and waved him over as he spoke.
“I hope so,” Peter answered without thinking about it. Aiden gave him a sharp look, like the answer surprised him.
“What?” Peter asked. He felt self-conscious, but he wasn’t going to let Aiden know that.
“You like him.” The words were an accusation.
“He’s a nice guy,” Peter said. It felt like he was defending himself.
“And is that what you want?”
Peter wondered if they were still talking about Chad. Since Aiden had been the one to break it off with him, Chad didn’t think it was particularly fair of him to be jealous—if that’s what this was.
“I want someone who can submit to me without feeling like they’ve been defeated.”
Aiden looked away, his shoulders tensing up and his face closing down. When he looked back at Peter he was angry.
“So you want someone easy?” Aiden’s tone was cutting.
“Don’t we all?” Peter asked. Aiden didn’t answer, and a few seconds later their waiter approached the table.
“Are you ready to order?” he asked, obviously sensing the tension between them.
“Do you want me to leave?” Peter asked. Aiden rubbed his nose and shook his head, making a visible effort to relax.
“No. I know I’m being unfair. Let’s just not talk about it, okay?”
Peter nodded. He wanted to stay friends with Aiden, but the man wasn’t making it easy. Peter wondered if it would be kinder to just break it off completely.
“We’re ready to order,” Aiden said to the waiter. “I’ll have the cod and root vegetables. Peter?”
“The same, and some sparkling water,” Peter said, handing the beta his menu.
“Very good, sir,” the beta said, bowing his head and walking away.
“Can you imagine being a beta?” Aiden asked, watching the man leave. Peter laughed at the disgust in his voice.
“It’s probably not so bad,” he said, not willing to enable Aiden’s snobbery. “No having to figure out who’s more dominant and who should yield to who… I don’t know.”
Aiden snorted. “When was the last time you had to figure out if you were more dominant than someone?”
Peter smiled and took a drink of his water, conceding the point.
After that things were better. They talked about work, with Aiden arguing that Peter should leave IT to Dawn and come back to the mercenary side of things, and Peter defending his choice by pointing out that he cared more about making money than being a soldier.
Peter wanted to ask more questions about Chad, but he didn’t want to upset the fragile peace, so he held his tongue. If Chad had been in bad shape, Peter was sure that Aiden would let him know.
When they were done eating, Peter said goodbye to his friend and headed home. After pouring himself a scotch, Peter slipped off his suit jacket and sat down to watch some TV.
He’d figure out what to do about Chad in the morning.
***