“I don’t fully understand it myself.”
Leo sighed in exasperation, the sound turning to a startled gasp as Adam’s hand slid down his chest to fondle him, all while continuing his conversation with Oren about security system upgrades. Leo squirmed at the casual, intimate touch, but a warning squeeze made him go still, heat prickling over his skin.
While Adam discussed technical specifications, Leo stared at the ceiling, fighting the growing realization that this display was affecting him in ways he didn’t want to examine.
“Exactly how many people have seen me naked at this point?” he demanded.
Adam ignored the question, but Lander answered without looking up. “Maybe half the household? Maja and Oren, obviously. Gaspard was here earlier. A few staff setting up Adam’s workspace. Some gardeners I needed to speak with.”
Half the household. Leo’s stomach clenched.
“Why are you even still here?” he asked Lander, noticing the tension in the vampire’s shoulders, the way his jaw was set just a little too tight.
“I can’t let him go just yet,” Adam cut in, tone leaving no room for argument. Lander stiffened, eyes flicking briefly to Adam before returning to his tablet.
Something was happening here, Leo realized—something Adam didn’t fully understand either. The pull he’d felt toward Lander earlier seemed stronger now, more defined. Not like what he felt for Adam—that overwhelming need to submit—but something else. Something that made him want to reach out, to comfort the conflict in Lander’s carefully controlled expression.
Adam finished his conversation with Maja and Oren, dismissing them with a nod before returning his attention to his laptop. His hand continued its intimate exploration, making Leo’s body respond.
He turned his face into the pillow, grabbing Adam’s wrist. “Please stop.”
The plea came out breathless, because even as his mind rebelled, his body betrayed him, growing hard under Adam’s casual touches.
“If I stop, I’ll simply order Lander to continue,” Adam replied matter-of-factly.
And Lander would, Leo realized, glancing at his expression. He’d do it because Adam commanded it, even though Leo sensed his conflict.
“Why?” he demanded, voice strangled.
Adam sighed. “I don’t know. My instincts are demanding that I display my claim. It settles something in me.” His fingers traced idle patterns over Leo’s skin. “You avoided me too long.”
So this was a punishment and a demonstration.
“I wasn’t avoiding you,” Leo mumbled into the cushions, though they both knew it was a lie.
Adam snorted softly, not bothering to argue. His hand retreated, but a moment later, Lander’s warm palm replaced it, gently cupping and caressing. Leo’s breath caught, shame and arousal tangling as he failed to pull away.
More than that—he didn’t want to. The careful way Lander touched him seemed... right somehow.
“I’ve contacted my parents,” Lander said quietly. “They’ll arrive in three days.”
Adam grunted approval. “Maybe they’ll have answers.”
His hand drifted back to Leo’s hair as he addressed Lander. “Did the gardeners know anything about the missing camera?”
“No,” Lander replied. “But Jackson hasn’t shown up for work. No one can reach him.” He frowned at his tablet. “His background check was clean. Human, native to PDC. His sister married into Nathaniel’s pack—that’s how he got the job. She’s been messaging me all morning.”
Adam went quiet. “Is this typical hunter procedure?”
Leo turned his head toward him, and the answer spilled out unbidden. “Of course. They turn people inside organizations they can’t penetrate.”
“Where would he be now?”
Leo tried to clamp his mouth shut, but the truth came anyway. “Anywhere, depending on what they promised. Money, revenge, a place in their ranks.”
Panic fluttered in his chest. He couldn’t even choose silence.
“Which would Jackson be offered?”
