24. Harley #3
“Adam,” I say slowly. “Is he the human—?”
“Was.”
Nathan presses a finger to his lips.
“Ryder, you need help with the bags?”
“Maybe. I’m still hurt.”
And he actually sounds pouty about it. I can’t imagine my brother ever being an Alpha Anax like Marcus. Hell, when he’s pouting like that, I can’t imagine him being an alpha at all.
“I’ll help him.”
Marcus’s grin gives him an almost feral appearance as he heads toward Ryder.
Nathan starts walking toward the jet but I stop dead. Sure, I’ve heard them talking about a private jet, but seeing one in person is something else entirely.
I’ve never even been on a regular plane before. Now I’m apparently getting into something that probably costs more money than I can even comprehend.
“Adam’s alive, in case you got the wrong idea.”
Nathan drops onto one of the plush-looking benches.
“Ryder, you can set the bag in the cabinet to your right.”
“Okay.”
Ryder just stands there staring at the interior of the plane until Marcus bumps him with his hip.
“Shit, sorry. Didn’t mean to block the way.”
Marcus grunts and stores the bags he’s carrying in a different cabinet.
“I hate flying, but I learned that road trips, at least ones by myself, were reckless vanity trips. That’s how I ended up as Dobson’s punching bag for six months, so now we fly, a lot, and I bitch every time we do so.”
“He really does.”
Nathan gets back to his feet and wiggles his eyebrows at Marcus.
“So to spare them, we should, you know, get you into the bedroom. Make sure they aren’t exposed to your very un-AA-like whining.”
“I don’t whine,” Marcus says, sounding genuinely offended. “I just fucking hate flying!”
“Which I am trying to distract you from, yeesh!”
Nathan plants one hand on his hip.
“I mean, if you want to stay out here, instead of coming to bed and getting naked—”
“It’s only about a half-hour flight.” Marcus doesn’t sound like he’s objecting though. More like negotiating.
Nathan hums and turns away, walking with enough sway in his hips to make his ass move.
“Wonder what we could do for half an hour.”
“I’ll see you when we land.” Marcus is gone in seconds.
Meanwhile, I’m suddenly feeling a little warm. And a little flushed.
“Well,” I say, “I guess we could send Ryder to the bathroom, or maybe he could go keep the pilot company.”
Val looks over at Ryder, who’s glaring at both of us.
“I think that’s a good idea, don’t you agree, Ryder?”
Val grins.
Ryder flips him off.
“No, I don’t. This is not some orgy flight, and if it is, then somebody better find me a sweet ass to fuck, stat.”
He huffs and drops into a chair.
“Stat, Ry? Really? What the hell?”
I grab the only thing within reach and throw it at him. The quarter bounces off his ear.
“Hey, twerp!”
He starts to stand just as the pilot’s voice comes over the speakers instructing us to buckle up.
“I’ll get you back.”
I grin.
“And I’ll tell everyone about your nickname.”
Val immediately sits up straighter.
“His nickname? This sounds embarrassing. Do share.”
“Don’t you dare,” Ryder mutters. Then his expression changes.
“Please, Har? Please?”
I shoot him an apologetic look.
“Sorry. I don’t think I can keep it from my mate, so you better be nice to him. Make him want to keep you from being humiliated, Pooter.”
“Aw, God.” Ryder drops his face into his hands.
“You just had to!”
“I did,” I agree cheerfully. “And he got that nickname for the reason it sounds like, too.”
“It’s vegetables, okay? I can’t eat them. Green ones do lots of people that way. Good for you, my ass.”
“Doesn’t sound like it was good for your ass at all,” Val snickers.
“Or anyone around him,” I add.
“Ugh. Little brothers are so annoying.”
But then Ryder starts laughing. For a second I wonder if he’s completely lost his mind.
“Har, I wouldn’t trade you for anything, you know that, right? Even if you do know all my embarrassing secrets.”
The flight is short, just like Marcus said. Less than forty-five minutes later we’re walking down the stairs and onto the tarmac of another private landing strip.
This one sits within sight of the sprawling house Marcus and many of his pack members live in.
Actually, house feels like the wrong word. Compound seems more accurate. Whatever it is, it’s enormous.
“Wow.” Ryder clicks his tongue.
“A private jet, a handsome guy, and a place like this? Maybe I really do want to be the South American Alpha Anax. This shit’s amazing.”
“Yes, it is.” Marcus comes up beside us.
His white-blond curls are a mess, and there are what look suspiciously like love bites at the base of his neck.
Without thinking, I reach up and touch the still-tender spot hidden beneath my collar where Val bit me days ago. A rush of heat moves through me and I want to feel Val taking me like that again.
“We’ll be alone soon,” Val whispers into my ear.
His voice sends a shiver down my spine.
“I can see your need in your eyes. It makes me ache for you.”
“I think you two need a room, seeing as how Marcus and I hogged the plane’s bedroom.”
Nathan winks and hooks his arm through Marcus’s.
“Come on. Let’s go home.”