Chapter 9 #2
Yep, that’s honestly a possibility. The four of us have all mourned the scent of her perfumed invitation, and a few days ago we all complained that Brice didn’t think to steal something that smells like her.
Fuck, we really do have it bad for her.
Sitting, I pull on a pair of brown dress socks and boots. My hair is short enough that I don’t have to run a comb through it. Instead, I make sure I look okay.
“Your ass looks great, come down already,” Brice says, popping his head into the room.
“Very funny,” I sigh, glancing at him. I’m not the only one who changed their clothes. He’s wearing blue pants with the knees ripped out and a beige sweater that is stretched tight against his chest and shoulders.
Fuck, he looks really damn good.
“Nope,” he says, “you need to stop staring at me like that or you’re going to become dinner.”
His voice is deeper as he says this and I shiver as I grin.
“Yes, sir,” I tease him, walking out of the room to fall into step with him.
“Don’t say that to me when you look like a walking wet dream,” he grumbles as we jog down the stairs.
Things have been so busy, I don’t think any of us have had sex in over a week. I don’t blame Malcolm for having a quickie in Remy’s office. At least he’s in a much better mood now.
The four of us are hyper sexual beings. Since we created the company, it’s just become worse. All we want to do is fuck, and no, that hasn’t diminished the longer we’ve been together.
I think our sex drives are even worse now than they were in college.
The scent of lasagna smacks me in the face as I walk into the kitchen, and I groan as I inhale better.
“No sex noises while eating,” Malcolm chuckles.
He’s wearing a rusty brown sweater with his jeans, his hair its usual mess. I doubt he’ll ever be able to tame it. He runs his fingers through it too often, but the freshly fucked look really works for him.
“Where’s Remy?” I ask, watching as Malcolm pulls fresh rolls out of the oven. God, is it terrible if I swipe one before dinner?
He makes the best damn bread.
“I’m here,” Remy says breathlessly. “I think she’s pulling into the driveway now.”
“She is,” Mal says. “I opened the gate for her.”
Taking a deep breath, I nod. “Fuck, is anyone else nervous?”
“Oh yeah,” Mal admits. “I’ll answer the door. The oven is off and just keeping the food warm now. Can someone turn the mini heaters on outside? I figure we can eat on the patio since it’ll probably end up snowing next week.”
“I’ll do it,” I volunteer, heading out. It appears that someone has already put down a tablecloth and set the table.
Unlike others, we are very domesticated. I think there’s this idea that as four men who live together, we must be slobs or something. The truth couldn’t be farther from that. Our home is where we relax at the end of the day.
Having it overly cluttered or messy just doesn’t make sense when it would give us all anxiety.
Turning on two of the space heaters, I decide to let it warm up before adjusting it. My finger flips on the garden lanterns that are spaced out around the yard, smiling as the warm glow lights up everything. The sun has almost completely set, so this will be perfect.
Walking inside the house, I follow the sound of voices. Hollis smiles as she talks with my pack, holding a bottle of wine that she hands to Malcom. She’s wearing a long sleeved pink sweater dress underneath a cream coat, and I wonder how she manages to stay warm.
Her hair is lightly curled down her back, her makeup drawing my attention to her lips. Hollis is stunning, and not doing a damn thing to calm my libido down.
“Can I take your coat, Hollis?” I ask. “I just turned the heaters on in the backyard. You may be warm with it on.”
Nodding, she hands her purse to Mal while she allows me to take her coat.
“That’s a very small purse for a working dinner,” Brice teases her.
He’s right. It looks more like a clutch than anything else. It may hold a phone and a lipstick if that.
“I didn’t think you were serious,” she says, wincing. “I also would feel like I’m being really rude. I shouldn’t have anything come up while I’m here.”
Mal raises his brow as he hands her back the clutch.
“We are feeding you so we can make sure you eat, because we know how easy it is to skip a meal,” he says. Taking her hand, he holds it as we begin walking toward the backyard.
“I’ll grab the food,” Brice murmurs. Remy takes the wine from Mal’s hand and follows Brice into the kitchen while I’m perfectly content to watch Hollis walk.
Yes, that’s what I said. Her high heeled boots make her hips sway in a hypnotic way, and her ass makes me want to bite it.
I have no idea how she’s not constantly being asked out, other than the fact that she’s also kind of scary.
The memory of her licking her knife is going to live rent free in my brain forever.
While I didn’t have the time to jerk off in the shower, I still did so that I would feel more settled. Did it help? It did until I saw her again. Her apricot and lavender scent alone is making me insane.
Once outside, the breeze helps me clear my mind a bit as I sit across from Hollis.
I have to agree with Mal, I was completely ready for her to work and chat during dinner.
Sometimes, that’s what we all have to do when we’re slammed with tasks so we’ll be able to relax for at least an hour afterward.
My brain will fixate otherwise and twist up my tongue so I can’t have or follow a conversation.
“It’s beautiful here,” Hollis says, taking in the gentle lighting that bathes the backyard. It’s easy to imagine the flowers in our garden preening as she gazes at them. “This must take a lot of upkeep.”
“Not really,” Brice says, walking out with the lasagna. My brother follows behind him with wine glasses, the wine bottle, and rolls.
Standing quickly, I help relieve Remy of some of the things in his hands. I have no idea how he manages this without dropping everything, but his ability to carry a ridiculous amount of things at once is astonishing.
“Brice is right, the initial plan and planting was what took the longest,” Malcolm says.
“After that, the upkeep isn’t difficult.
The cold is going to kill everything but the hardiest of flowers soon, and then it’ll come back in the spring.
That’s when I’ll plant more flowers. There’s a corner where I'd like to start a vegetable garden too.”
“It just feels really peaceful,” Hollis says with a smile. “This lasagna smells amazing.”
Grinning, Malcolm begins to serve her, and pours her some of the wine she brought as well. We all follow suit for our own plates, and I hum softly in appreciation as I take a sip of the wine. I’m not a big wine drinker, but this one is very smooth with hints of blackberry to even it out.
“So I know you like good food and have a really good taste in wine,” I tease her. Hollis smiles at me as she takes a small bite of lasagna, her eyes half closed as she chews. “What else would you think we should know?”
It’s an open ended, no pressure question. I don’t want to come off as being invasive, and I note Brice’s hidden smile of approval. God, we’re all so wound up, wanting to make a better impression on her.
“I have two best friends, and you’ve already met them,” Hollis says with a small smile.
“I grew up with Lars and Caleb. They’re the ones I got into trouble with, and regularly defied my nanny when I didn’t want to do something.
Since they were older than me and lived around the corner, I’d just leave the house and have their father call my parents so they wouldn’t freak out. ”
“What did your nanny want you to do?” Malcolm asks, intrigued.
“Etiquette classes,” she sighs. “Or there were endless calligraphy classes, a skill I still actually use, teas with my mother’s friends, etc. They just weren’t things I wanted to do. When their sister was still with us, I’d play with her.”
“Was,” I say slowly. “Where is she now?”
“That’s what I’m trying to find out,” she says. “She went missing when she was fourteen, but was found at a club of trafficked omegas only to be taken again. It’s the worst kind of whiplash.”
“Is that why you had an open browser to the dark web on your computer?” Brice asks quietly.
Hollis takes a deep breath and puts her fork down as she nods. Ugh, I hate that she stopped eating.
“It is,” she says. “I’ve been a hacker since I was sixteen years old. One of Caleb’s friends taught me, and it’s how I was able to build my business. I left home at eighteen, found an apartment, and went to work. I don’t always find myself on the right side of the law.”
“It doesn’t sound like the right side of the law finds results,” Remy murmurs. “I found out recently that there are community patrols that have started walking our city’s streets. Do you know who started that?”
“I do,” Hollis says. “Do you?”
“Apparently mafia men,” he says.
“The thing is, not everyone has the ability to work a nine to five,” she explains.
“Those who work in hospitality, sex workers, or even college students studying late. After about ten at night, the city turns into a very dangerous place. We’re having issues with traffickers who look for vulnerable omegas who are alone. ”
“We,” Brice says slowly.
Hollis shrugs, pushing her hair over her shoulder.
“I left home, I wasn’t able to leave the rest of my life,” she says.
“Brice, you saw the kind of calls that I take. Last week, I got pulled into a meeting with the senior mafia heads to discuss the Forever Yours event. The initial reason I decided to do it is because I hear first hand the issues that Emilia Richardson creates. Aisling recently had someone infiltrate the shelter under the guise of needing help.”
“What happened?” I ask. Aisling and Omega’s Haven is important to us, as is their ability to stay hidden. I’m starting to see the larger picture of why Hollis’ event is so needed.