There’s a chorus of complaints and cheers, but Jay rubs his hands together and kisses him on the cheek in thanks.
“Don’t get used to it, handsome. It’s your birthday present. Not what I had planned, but there’s always my birthday coming up.”
Shit. November 15 was right around the corner. Where would they be then?
“Fuck, that’s soon.”
Gideon knows exactly what he means: their trip into the mountains to scout Gideon’s land for their new mountain house.
“Hey, so we don’t go. We can cancel and go next year.”
Gideon’s rain scent is carefully controlled so as not to tip Jay off to his disappointment.
“Hey, no, don’t do that.”
They’d planned to rent a house in the Smokies and check out the land Gideon’s mother had owned before she’d passed. Gideon hadn’t been back to the site since she’d died, even though he and Luca had stayed nearby for their “run.”
Gideon had proposed that he might like to build them something permanent for vacations and ruts…and now heats. The idea that they could run during their cycles had been met with enthusiasm. It had seemed tobe the perfect time before the weather turned cold and LRH’s album promotions in the new year.
But now, with the trial and combat around the corner, they might not get away after all.
“Listen, we can wait until the very last minute and decide.”
“What about the Phoenix Rising announcement? It’s bad timing, Alpha—the worst.”
Jay wants to argue, but he can’t. He can only beg his mate not to give up on this dream yet.
“I don’t fucking care, Gideon. If we are clear of Hayes by then, we will go. You are our priority, and I want to do this. Gray is almost done with the design, I think?”
Or he had been, until a few weeks ago. He’d been understandably distracted lately. They all had. “Don’t count it out yet.”
“You think the trial and the verdict will be in and done in two weeks? We haven’t even heard from our legal team.”
There’s an unholy shriek from the kitchen as Luca flies by with Nix in tow, Tsuki barking up a storm. Luca’s tank top is soaked, and Nix whips off his hoodie and then his tank top so he can give it to the shivering Luca.
Jay doesn’t know what happened, but both his boys are virtually naked, and he thinks maybe Rowan had been right to balk at the change of the evening’s sexy plans—just for a minute.
He might have whined at the thought before Gideon pinches his nipple.
“Ow, fuck. What was that for?”
“You are pumping out come-hither-and-fuck-me pheromones, and Nix is not in the right frame of mind to turn you down or accept. So quit it before you make it harder for the rest of us.”
Fuck, he really was—so much so that Gideon’s ears are pink, and there’s a sheen of sweat on his forehead.
So far, Nix was limiting his physical contact to just Luca, and even with Grayson’s warning, it was hard to rein in his desire for his mates. It’s as natural as breathing. Jay can honestly say restraint is not a word that has ever applied to the Rhodes pack sex life—outside of Grayson’s personalpreference, Leo’s literal restraint kink, and Gideon’s teachings…well, maybe it applies.Duh.
“I can’t blame you, though. Come on, let’s stake out our cuddles before the hellions finish in the kitchen,” Gideon says as he pushes him toward the living room and away from the table.
Nix is straddling Luca’s lap with his head on his mate’s shoulder while Luca murmurs something and rubs Nix’s smooth thighs.
Instead of going in for a cuddle, Jay sits where he can have the best view.
Gideon lies down and puts his head on Jay’s thigh, eyes on Nix and Luca too, a gentle smile on his beautiful mouth.
Jay loves Gideon when he’s brash and controlling, but when he’s soft and loving? It always makes him swoon.
There’s chaos in the kitchen, and a fight breaks out with Leo screeching about the flammable nature of his new hair products, followed by Finn’s maniacal laugh.
