Chapter 35 Shep
SHEP
“I’M GONNA OPEN a bottle of wine,” Theo called out from the kitchen. “Red or white?”
“Either’s fine.” I sat on the edge of the couch, trying to secure a line so we could reach out to King. We’d agreed to touch base every fourth day, and somehow we’d already been in Brazil that long.
God, how had the time passed by so fast? Maybe it was the way Theo had my full attention now, whether it was the hours spent in bed or the moments we came up for air—and occasionally food.
Priorities.
“Any luck?” Theo carried two full-to-the-brim glasses of white wine into the living room, and to my surprise, he’d thrown on shorts and a shirt at some point.
He hadn’t bothered with clothes in the last couple of days, and I wasn’t complaining about that at all, but considering we were about to have a call with our brothers, I didn’t need the distraction his body provided.
I just hadn’t imagined he’d actually listen to my clothing suggestion.
“Think you could’ve topped me off any more?” I said when he handed me the glass, careful not to spill it.
“I figured you might need the liquid courage to deal with the bossman.”
“So what’s your excuse?”
Theo grinned and sat down beside me, close enough that our legs touched. “I’m thirsty.”
I shook my head and brought the glass to my lips, but stopped when he tsked. “What?”
“It’s bad luck not to do a toast. Everyone knows that.” He lifted his wine and waited for me to do the same. “To you and I staying off the grid. Preferably naked.”
“You’re insane.”
“Just drink,” he said, pushing my glass toward my lips, encouraging the large mouthful I ended up swallowing.
Chilled, slightly sweet, and delicious, the wine went down far too easily, and I found myself drinking a little more.
“Yessss,” Theo encouraged me, moving his hand to my lap to massage my dick. “Let tipsy Shep come out to play.”
“No, no, no.” I set the wine aside and moved his hand. “Work first, play later.”
“Or work and play at the same time…”
“Don’t make me banish you from the living room.”
“I’d love to see you try.”
“A rope and some duct tape and we’re in business.”
“Or maybe just some handcuffs?”
“You can get out of those.”
Theo smiled playfully and then leaned in to press a kiss to the side of my neck. “Fine, have it your way. Let’s get this call over with so we can get this party started.”
I groaned. “I’m going to pretend you didn’t just quote a P!nk song.” As I went back to securing a line, Theo hummed the song under his breath and threw his feet up on the coffee table.
It was a good thing this meeting wouldn’t be a video call. I had a feeling he wasn’t in the mood to behave—something I ended up being dead right about when the call connected to King a few minutes later.
“I’ve got Lachlan, Benoit, and Lucien here,” King said when he answered. “How’s it going with you two? Is Theo there?”
“No, I left him to the psychotic monkeys. Hope you don’t mind.”
Theo shot me a look that said I’d pay for that comment, and in the naughtiest of ways.
Worth it.
“Theo, your parents stepped in for any engagements that couldn’t be canceled, and we’ve kept them informed of the gist of what’s going on without giving details,” King said.
“They didn’t feel it was necessary to call Jean back from his honeymoon, and I agree.
Any questions from the press about your whereabouts have been circumvented by letting them know your parents’ appearances were always on the agenda after you took the first half. ”
“I’m sure they’re loving that.” Theo swirled his wine. “Having to take time off from their busy schedules on the golf course to smile and wave.”
“I’m sure they’re more concerned that you’re all right, mon ami,” Benoit said.
Theo shrugged and took another drink as I asked the burning question we both wanted to know: “Have there been any more incidents?”
Lachlan spoke up. “We’ve all received several threatening messages regarding having ties to Theo. Why he’s been singled out, we don’t know.”
“But we haven’t been physically targeted,” Lucien added. “Lachlan’s security company has us all covered, so don’t worry about that.”
“So they know who we are?” I glanced at Theo, who arched a brow in question. “Whoever’s doing this knows who the seven of us are, that we’re tied together.”
“We’re still concerned this is an inside job,” King said. “A Libertine member with a grudge and access to tech that’s beyond anything we’ve seen.”
Translation: beyond anything Alessio had ever seen. And speaking of…
“Where is Alessio? He’s not there with you?”
A long silence stretched, and for a moment I worried something had happened to him. But then Lachlan said, “He’s struggling.”
“Lachlan,” King said sharply.
“What? It’s the truth. He’s been beating down every door to find answers, and the fact that he hasn’t cracked it yet has fucked him up.”
“He’s working on it,” King said.
“He hasn’t stopped working on it.” There was an edge of annoyance to Lachlan’s tone that made me wonder if they were all close to snapping. “He hasn’t gone home in days. Wouldn’t even stop to get on this call.”
“Didn’t even make the monthly trip to see Father Vitale,” Benoit added.
Theo and I shot each other a look. The one non-negotiable from Alessio was that we all attended midnight confession once a month, and though he himself didn’t partake because of past complicated feelings with the priest, he always made it a point to be there.
Things really were fucking bad, then.
“He’ll get there,” King said, effectively ending any other questions when it came to Alessio. He had full faith in him, all of us did, but maybe it was time Alessio asked for help.
I wasn’t about to make that suggestion, though, not when it was obvious things were tense enough over there as it was.
It almost made me feel guilty that Theo and I were hidden away enjoying ourselves while they were the ones dealing with the real-world repercussions.
“So what about you two?” Benoit said. “Are you going mad in the middle of nowhere yet? I’m surprised our prince hasn’t thrown himself off the roof from boredom.”
Theo smirked and set his glass on the coffee table before moving to straddle my thigh. The look of payback in his eyes was clear as he rocked over me, and it was all I could do to focus on the call and not what his troublesome ass was doing.
“Turns out we’ve equipped the house with enough to keep us occupied,” I said. “The game room was a great addition.”
“So was the gym.” Theo waggled his brows at me, and I held my finger up to his lips to silence him from saying more, but he bit the tip of my finger and added, “I’ll be in the best shape of my life when we leave after all the long, hot, sweaty workouts. Keeps me occupied for hours.”
Dear God, I was going to kill him, especially when he winked at me and leaned in to nibble at my ear.
If I could’ve pushed him off and pinned his ass to the couch without the noise being obvious, I would’ve done it, but for now all I could do was my best to ignore him.
“I’m surprised Shep hasn’t forced you to do a hike,” King mused.
Theo shifted to bite my lower lip and grinned down at me when I dug my fingers into his thighs. “Actually, this asshole woke me up at the crack of dawn on our first day here to get in touch with nature.”
Several groans sounded through the line. Apparently my interests weren’t a popular choice with this crowd.
“Theo and nature,” Benoit said, amusement clear in his voice. “I’m dying to know how that worked out.”
“Did you really get him to go? I don’t believe for a second Theo touched dirt,” Lucien added.
“It was mud, actually.” Theo glowered at me. “And it got on my shoes. I’m still recovering.”
I rolled my eyes. “Oh, please. He acts like a mosquito bite is attempted murder.”
“You’re forgetting I saved you from a spider.”
“Bullshit.” That was King.
“Excuse me, it’s true. It was massive and about to take a bite out of America’s son, and I basically saved his life. You’re welcome.”
“A prince battling mosquitos and spiders?” Benoit gave a mocking gasp. “Mon Dieu. However did you survive without silk sheets and room service?”
I snorted out a laugh, knowing full well Theo preferred street food to room service, unlike me. Hell, King knew it too, which was my guess as to why he didn’t add to that.
“I’ve got Shep,” Theo said, squeezing his thighs tight around me. “He cooks, but unfortunately he didn’t bring any turn-down chocolates.”
“How thoughtless of him for saving your ass instead of catering to your small comforts. You should be fucking grateful.”
Theo’s smile fell at King’s remark, and it immediately rubbed me the wrong way. What the fuck kind of comment was that?
“He was joking,” I snapped.
“Of course he was,” Lucien rushed to say, obviously sensing the tension. “We’re just giving you both a hard time, and knowing our Theo, it’s entertaining to imagine the two of you there.”
Theo ran his hand up and down my arm, soothing away my irritation as he mouthed, It’s fine.
I shook my head but tried to brush it off. The last thing we needed was infighting. But damn, King was out of line.
“So we know the spiders didn’t get a chance, but, uh, no other critters have been sucking on you, have they?
” There was something in Lucien’s words, a bit of teasing or knowing that had me thinking his question had more to do with me and Theo than any “critters.” Maybe it was the look he had given me at the wedding after the first time Theo and I hooked up that made me wonder.
Thankfully, Theo had the answer for that one.
“Surprisingly, the only thing that’s drawn blood since we’ve been here is a leech.” He winked at me. “Though I did make Shep pay for that.”
“And just how did you—”
Static blasted through the connection, making me wince, and as the line broke up, I reached past Theo to end the call.
I sat back with a sigh, suddenly feeling fucking exhausted.
It was good to hear from everyone, but the comment from King and Alessio’s stress had me wondering if being here was the best idea.
Obviously Theo needed to be, and if I thought for a second he would stay put, I would’ve hopped on the next flight to do what I could to help.
And maybe part of me wanted to have a few private words with King too.
“I’d say that conversation calls for more wine,” Theo announced, reaching back for our glasses. He forced mine into my hand and clinked it against his. “Drink up, espèce de connard sexy."
“Did you just call me a fucker?”
“A sexy fucker.”
I smirked and relaxed my grip on his thigh. “That’s better, then.” Theo was right—I needed the wine. I swallowed down a large mouthful before curiosity took hold. “Sexy, huh?”
“Oui. The sexiest.” He took a small sip and leaned forward, waiting for me to part my lips.
When I did, the wine trickled from his mouth into mine, and I devoured every ounce before sliding my tongue alongside his to steal even more.
He gripped the back of my neck, holding me close, our bodies pressed up against one another in a way that was more than sexual.
We were wrapped up in each other, and somehow it settled the annoyance that had emerged inside me.
Theo’s kisses tonight were slow, sensual; he took his sweet time like he was deliberately trying to soothe me into submission.
It was working.
“Much better,” I murmured against his lips.
“He’s just jealous.”
My eyes flew open to see Theo looking at me.
“That’s all that was with King. I’ve got you here all to myself, and that has to be driving him crazy.”
“I doubt that. He’s got his hands full.”
“Then he may not even realize it, but trust me, a man like that doesn’t snap for no reason.” He wrapped his arms around my neck and drew me in close again. “So let’s give him many, many reasons.”