Chapter five
Naomi
The leather armchair creaks as I shift my body to survey the room for the fifth time.
The inside is super cozy: exposed beams cross the ceiling, a stone fireplace with a mounted TV above holds dying embers, and one entire wall is glass, showcasing snow-covered pines and the driveway where Mia's SUV waits.
The other walls are full of pictures. Silas, Felix, Liam, younger in some shots, older in others, always together. Lifting trophies. Grinning into cameras. Sweaty, bruised, triumphant.
Quite different from the three alphas I saw thirty minutes ago.
My phone buzzes in my lap.
Mia:How’s it going?
Me:They’re making me wait. Classic power play.
Mia:The AUDACITY
Me:Too bad for them I wrote the book on power plays, and I'm sitting on a play of my own…
Mia:?
Me:Let's just say their little stunt will cost them.
Mia:Get em tiger
I pocket my phone and let my gaze wander again. Two hallways branch off from the main living space, disappearing deeper into the chalet. One curves left, the other angles right. I can't see where either leads from here.
The door from the breezeway finally opens.
They walk in and my brain short-circuits for a second.
Felix's changed into a soft heather-gray henley that clings to his sculpted chest and arms, the buttons undone just enough to show a hint of collarbone. Liam's black long-sleeve tee stretches across his shoulders and tapers down to a narrow waist, the fabric thin enough to hint at the muscle underneath. Silas has traded his jersey for a blue-and-gray flannel, sleeves rolled to his forearms, the soft fabric doing absolutely criminal things over shoulders that broad.
I'm suddenly very thankful I took DuoBlocks this morning. I can only imagine how impossible it would be to think straight if I could actually smell them right now—not that I'd necessarily like the notes of their smells of course…
Felix is the only one who acknowledges me, his mouth lifting in a quick, polite nod. The other two angle toward the far hallway like they're going to breeze right past me.
But nope, not today.
I stand up and step into their path. “Going somewhere?”
Silas has to stop short, close enough that I feel the heat radiating off him. Those gray-blue eyes narrow. “Yeah. Shower.”
"The meeting was scheduled for four." I reach into my handbag and pull out the folded contract I want to make them reread. "It's four fifty. I figured we'd start."
One of his brows kicks up. “You figured.”
“Yes.” I meet his gaze, keeping my tone light. “Silas Reed. Captain. Center."
Felix huffs a faint laugh, quickly smothered. Liam’s gaze flicks from me to Silas like he’s tracking a puck mid-play.
"Hold on." Liam's voice is low, careful. "He never told you his name. You had a file on us?"
"Of course, Liam Quijada." I turn to meet his dark brown eyes. "Right wing. Excellent read of the ice. Probably overthinks everything off it, too, if I had to guess."
"So you skimmed our Wikipedia pages," Silas cuts in. "Are we supposed to be impressed?"
