The pool deck is still wet, and when they get inside, everyone—except Grayson—is sitting on the sectional. Every single one of his mates is focused on Leo, who’s animatedly telling his story.
“So when I said we were done with them pushing back on every little thing—” Leo starts, but he breaks off when Gideon and Rowan arrive.
“Come on, you two. Leo was just about to tell everyone how fucking hot he was.”
Jay seems lighter, his eyes bright and his dimple on full display.
Nix is draped across his lap, bare legs sideways so Leo can rub his calves and ankles—while Nix reaches for his beloved biceps, kneading them like a cat making biscuits.
“Fuck off. You’d already scared them shitless. You should’ve seen their faces when we blew in there. We didn’t wear scent patches, and they wereshooketh. They all wanted to bend over.”
Leo laughs, shaking his head at the memory.
Gideon doesn’t point out how they also like to bend over for Jay—but for entirely different reasons.
“Get on with it, Leo.”
Cheeks pink, he buries his nose in Nix’s neck.
How Jay can be so intimidating and also humbly shy at the same time is amazing—and certainly part of his vast charm.
“Yeah, yeah. Okay, so I told them we were done, and then Bart from Ripley’s Legal pulled out his contract and started citing our obligations and commitments and blah-fucking-blah. But then—”
“I whipped out the codicil where we can terminate permanently as long as we aren’t in the middle of an albumpromotion. I just slammed it down, and the whole room went silent. It was so awesome.”
He’s so fucking cute when he claps his hands and wiggles his now-pantsless butt.
“To be fair, he also yelled,Take that up your ass, bitches.He was epic,” Jay says, his expression pure fondness and pride.
“I have always wanted to say that,” Luca whispers to Finn, who is in new pants but whose hair is still sticking up all over. His glasses have a big smudge on the left lens.
Gideon guesses two back-to-back orgasms without knotting can really take it out of a person.
Fresh from his shower, Grayson slips back into the room and squishes in behind Jay, who sits up so he can rest partly with his back against Grayson’s chest. It makes it easy for Grayson to kiss his neck and slide a hand in and around Nix’s belly, up under a fresh white t-shirt.
Their omega still smells like sex, his nipples puffy under his shirt, but it’s Jay’s suit pants that Gideon’s concerned for—because Nix is definitely enjoying hearing about how badass their mates were.
Or maybe it’s the suit pants and rolled-up sleeves, revealing veiny forearms and…hey, now.
Gideon tries to wrangle his own aroused scent under control, but it gives him an idea for later—he really is a genius if he does say so himself.
“So, you’re done with them? Are they really going to let their biggest money-maker go that easily?” Gideon asks skeptically—nothing can be that easy.
“Fuck yes, we are, and no, they are not,” Jay says. “They were apologetic enough to start with—said they’d fix the problems with scheduling or get us a new manager. I don’t think they thought we were serious, you know?”
“Even after Luca made his big gesture?” Gideon asks, eyebrow raised.
He’s glad Rowan hadn’t been required to go. Even though the enigma is integral to LRH, he wasn’t included as part of the production team. He’d been adamant he didn’t need the contract altered, and now Gideon can seewhy.
Rowan looks relieved to have avoided the drama.
“Even then. I just looked at Dad and said, ‘We are done here,’ and he just slid the termination across the table.
“According to the contract, Long Road Home has forty-eight hours to clear the server of any works-in-progress with no interference. We will not be completing any material for other parties as part of the Ripley conglomerate but may consider doing so on anad hocbasis.
“Effective immediately, Long Road Home is no longer affiliated with Ripley Entertainment.
“My favorite part, though, was when he told them they had to turn over the masters for all Long Road Home music. I think he made Bart cry.”
