Chapter Sixteen
Felix
April: Two Months Ago
“I can’t believe you really do have friends.
There was a part of me that thought you might be full of shit since you’re clearly a lone wolf,” I said, nuzzling into Bennett’s neck to mark him.
I sat on his lap at a table in the back of The White Fang.
It was my night off, but apparently it was guys’ night.
Bennett, Wyatt, and their friend, Reid—who I’d yet to meet—took turns choosing the location for each month’s gathering.
Tonight was Wyatt’s turn, and he’d picked Ally’s bar, of course.
“Keep it up and I’m not going to let you meet them at all,” Bennett said, marking me back.
Since my heat a week ago, we’d been spending most of our free time together, and when Bennett had asked me to come with him tonight as his boyfriend, I’d been thrilled.
I knew Wyatt from his frequent visits to see Ally, and both Ally and Bennett talked about him enough that I felt like I knew him already, but I was very curious to meet the third member of their trio.
I hadn’t been in town long before I’d heard about Reid Sullivan, the tattoo artist who kept to himself on the edge of town—mostly from omegas who’d tried and failed to capture his attention then spent their night at the bar bitching about it.
“I can’t take your threats seriously,” I said as I wrapped my arms around Bennett’s neck and gave him a soft kiss. “You haven’t said no to me since you met me.”
Bennett shook his head. “This is going to be a problem. I need to increase my willpower to better resist you.”
“I promise not to use my power for evil.” I brushed my nose against his and he snagged my lips in a bruising kiss.
“Works for me, I wasn’t going to be able to do anything about that willpower anyway. Not when you’re this fucking hot and you have a smile that melts my insides.”
A throat cleared beside us, catching my attention.
Bennett and I both looked up to see a tall, toned, golden brown haired man with light skin that was completely covered in tattoos looking down at us.
He wore a white T-shirt that was thin enough I could see that the skin on his chest had the same black ink mapping intricate designs in the same style as the artwork spread across his arms and hands.
His hair was coiffed on top of his head, and his beard was neatly trimmed.
He looked like he could simultaneously be a model and murder you in a back alley.
If you told me he did either of those things professionally, I’d believe you.
He gave us an amused smile. “I never thought I’d see the day when Bennett Winchester was in an actual relationship.” He pulled out the chair across from us and sat down. “I thought it was going to be you and me holding out forever.”
“Maybe you’ll be next,” Bennett said, shifting me on his lap so I could face Reid.
I could probably get up and sit on my own, but I’d much rather stay where I am.
“I doubt that very much,” Reid said, holding his hand out for me. “I’m Reid Sullivan, local tattoo artist and resident bad boy who you’ll want to protect your sister from. I ride my motorcycle everywhere, and generally don’t like people other than Wyatt, Bennett, and Bennett’s sisters.”
I laughed. “That’s quite the introduction. I’m Felix, Bennett’s boyfriend.”
Reid nodded with a smirk. “Right, boyfriend. Bennett, you smell a lot better tonight than usual. All that pine of yours is tempered by Felix’s sweet, snowy smell. It’s almost like your scents are truly compatible. Anyone else told you that yet?”
Bennett’s grip on my waist tightened. “I’ve noticed.”
Reid nodded. “You’re very attractive, Felix. Too bad Bennett met you first; I think snow and peppermint could combine nicely too.”
I gave Reid a flirty smile as he pumped out peppermint pheromones. He smelled great, but still not nearly as perfect as Bennett did. “Oh, you seem fun. I take it you like to stir up shit for your own entertainment?”
Reid shrugged just as Wyatt appeared behind him and put a hand on his shoulder. Wyatt exuded the most dominance of the group, which baffled me when I thought about how he and Ally were together. Just how strong is Ally?
“If you’re done flirting with Bennett’s boyfriend just to watch him snap, maybe we can go to the bar and get drinks?” Wyatt asked, looking around for Ally.
“She’s in the back. She spilled a pitcher of water on herself a few minutes ago,” I said.
Reid grinned. “Maybe we should go find her. White shirt, by any chance?”
“Fuck you,” Wyatt said, shoving Reid as he stood.
They walked together to the bar and Bennett whispered in my ear. “Reid is a good guy. He lets people think he’s a bad boy with the hope that it repels people. But trust me, he needs more protecting from my sisters than they need from him.”
I chuckled. “Ally I can understand, but Oakley hardly seems dangerous.”
Bennett nodded. “She’s not physically dangerous, that is true. In case it wasn’t obvious though, Reid is a flirt to deflect from his real feelings. He’s harmless.”
So Oakley is emotionally dangerous to Reid? Yeah, I’m going to have a lot of questions about this group. Their history is intriguing.
“He’s a harmless flirt and yet you still tensed like the possessive fucker you are when he flirted with me,” I said, kissing Bennett again.
“Yup, and it clearly turns you on when I’m possessive,” he said in a sultry voice as he subtly inhaled through his nose.
“Being an omega sucks sometimes.” I pouted, even more aware of the slick forming in my ass than I was before Bennett mentioned it.
He gripped the sides of my ass and rolled his hips up into my crack. “Pretty sure it’ll be great when I get you home tonight and sink inside you.”
“Mmm,” I moaned. “I feel like I really have a nice handle on your friends now. This went great. Same time next month?”
Bennett laughed as Wyatt and Reid returned with a tray of beers and amusement on their faces.
Cool, I love that his friends are all alphas who can smell my arousal. Not embarrassing at all.
“Sniff him and die, assholes,” Bennett said, quickly dropping his playfulness.
Wyatt held his hands up in surrender as he sat down across from the empty chair next to us. “Not interested, no offense.”
“None taken. I assume omegas aren’t really your thing?” I asked.
Reid sat down across from us and snorted in amusement.
Wyatt passed Bennett and me each a beer before taking another for himself. “Ally’s my thing.”
“How does that work?” I asked. “Like, what if one of you ever meets your true mate?”
“We are true mates,” Wyatt said.
“They’re just incomplete,” Reid said.
“I don’t get it.” I looked between them.
“Neither do we,” Bennett said.
“Don’t worry, Felix.” Reid took a long sip of beer. “You’re safe with us. We won’t let anyone make a move on Bennett’s horned-up omega. And believe it or not, I’m also uninterested.”
“Now I’m wondering if I should be offended,” I said, looking back at Bennett.
He chuckled. “Don’t be. Reid has an omega who shows up regularly and then takes off.”
“Not exactly how it works, but close enough.” Reid shrugged.
“Okay, which one of you is going to tell me all the stories about Bennett?” I asked. “Because I came here tonight specifically for those.”
Wyatt snorted. “Doesn’t Ally give you enough dirt on him?”
“Sure, but I want the stories about the three of you getting up to no good that she doesn’t know about.”
“Bennett is the most responsible of us all,” Reid said. “These stories will be thoroughly disappointing.”
“Wyatt is the sheriff! How can Bennett be more responsible than that?”
“Wyatt was a little delinquent when we were teenagers.” Reid clapped him on the shoulder. “He was the one who started the annual tradition of breaking into the lake, bought us weed, he and Ally used to have sex all over town—”
Bennett groaned. “They still do, and it’s disturbing.”
Wyatt shrugged. “Your sister is an exhibitionist and I’m certainly not going to arrest her for public indecency.”
“Can you please stop saying that?” Bennett asked, dropping his forehead onto my shoulder.
I laughed. “That explains why she’s so loud when you visit and disappear into her office.”
Wyatt smirked. “Oh yeah. She really gets off on people knowing what we’re doing. Likes when people can hear her more than just about anything.”
“Wyatt,” Bennett said with exasperation. “Enough, please.”
“I’m not saying anything she hasn’t said to us a hundred times,” Wyatt said.
“That still doesn’t make it easier to hear,” Bennett said.
I squeezed Bennett’s knee. “I’m with Ben, I need to be able to work with Ally and look her in the eyes after this evening.”
Ally appeared at the end of our table with her arms folded.
How the fuck does she do that?
“I don’t see why you wouldn’t be able to look at me given you’ve shown up for every shift this week smelling like you rolled in my brother’s bodily fluids and I’m able to make eye contact with you just fine,” Ally said.
Reid cracked up while Bennett shook his head.
“Hey, Ally,” Reid said. “Impending full moon making you bitchy again?”
Ally glared at Wyatt. “I love when your friends hang out in my bar, babe.”
Wyatt pressed his beer bottle to his lips and smiled seductively at her. “You want to go back to your office and show me how much?”
“Yeah, let’s do it. I could use a good live show,” Reid said, wiggling his eyebrows.
My jaw dropped, and Bennett whispered into my ear, “Reid likes to watch.”
“And they let him?” I whispered.
Bennett’s dick twitched against my ass. “They’re not the only ones who’ve allowed it before.”
“Wow, you continue to surprise me.” I kissed him on the cheek. “Feel free to make that happen for us. It sounds hot.”
I turned my attention back to the others, where Wyatt was still trying to convince Ally to take a break with him.
“You’ll just have to wait until we close up,” she said. “We’re short-staffed tonight.”
“Do you want me to help for a bit?” I asked, shifting my weight to stand.