Fuck, I really don’t want to leave.
Throwing Seb over his shoulder and taking him back to bed seemed like a much better plan, and Tim was half considering it when his phone vibrated in his pocket, startling them.
Seb gently pushed him back. “I guess you should be going, huh?”
“Probably.” Tim sighed and reluctantly stepped out of Seb’s embrace, putting some much-needed distance between them. His phone buzzed again, and after giving Seb an apologetic look, he pulled it out of his pocket.
That it was from Alec was no great surprise.Cam joining us this morning. Gareth, Mike, and Daryl too.
Fuck, he really did need to get going. Alec might not be bothered if he was a little late, but he didn’t fancy keeping his alpha and the other betas waiting. Especially when they would all smell the reason why.
He typed back a quickOn my wayand slipped it back into his pocket. “Okay, I definitely need to leave now.”
“Everything all right?”
Seb was still leaning against the wall where they’d kissed. Tim smiled, smug satisfaction hard to contain as he took in Seb’s puffy lips and the redness of his skin from Tim’s stubble.
“Just Alec, informing me Cam and the other betas will also be there this morning.”
“War meeting? Planning how to take out Newell and get away with it?”
Tim laughed. “I very much doubt it.”
Seb shrugged. “From what I’ve heard so far, sounds like it’d be no great loss.”
Now was not the time to get into pack politics. “I’ll tell you all about it later. If I can,” he added.
Seb rolled his eyes. “Go on, then. I’ll see you later.”
“Be careful today.”
Seb waved him off, then put two hands on his shoulders and steered him towards the door. “I’ve got my own security camera and shifter bodyguards. What could possibly go wrong?”
“Don’t tempt fate like that, please.”
“Oh for fuck’s sake, go!” Seb laughed as he all but shoved Tim towards the door.
Tim attempted to shake off the feeling of dread Seb’s words had brought on. Nothing would happen. It was ridiculous superstition, and he was just overly touchy because—well, for reasons he’d rather not think about.
After stealing one last kiss, Tim grabbed his keys and headed for the stairs. Luke looked up at him as he started down them. He had his eyebrows raised, looking far too judgemental for Tim’s liking. “What?”
Luke glanced back up the stairs behind Tim. “You seem awfully attached for a friends-with-benefits kind of setup. I’m not going to find a nice fresh bite mark on Seb’s neck when I get up there, am I?”
“I would never—”
“That’s what Nathan used to say, too.”
“Not the same situation at all, and you know it.”
Luke sighed, the deep, long-suffering sigh of someone who’d been through this whole thing before. “You know as well as I do how this goes, Doc. Nathan was lucky with how it all worked out.”
And I won’t be.
Tim stopped when he reached the bottom; he faced Luke, his helper out of sight for now. “I appreciate your concern, and I’m aware of how this will probably end.” The thought already made his chest constrict, and from the look on Luke’s face, he suspected. “I know what I’m doing.”
“Okay. I won’t mention it again.”
“Thanks.” Tim manoeuvred past the new door leaning upright in the hallway and paused before stepping outside. “Keep him safe.”
