Sloane
Sloane couldn’t believe how incredible it felt to wake up next to his mate—the first morning of a lifetime of waking up next to her. He’d wanted to lie in, to take the time to make love to her again, slowly, but he couldn’t be late for work. His team had a big day ahead of them. They’d been working on busting some big-name drug dealers in the city and they had a raid planned that afternoon on a manufacturing factory. Flint wanted to take the morning to go over schematics of the building they’d be hitting and to discuss tactics. It seemed as if Miami’s drug dealers were like the mythical hydra. Cut off one head and two grew back in its place. And if Sloane was late, it might just wind up beinghishead that Flint cut off.
When Sloane stepped out of the shower, he toweled dry roughly then wrapped the towel around his waist before padding into the bedroom. Ray had showered first and had just finished blow drying her hair when he came back into the bedroom. Her shower was huge, and he would have liked to have shared it with her, but there was no way he’d have been on time for work if he’d been standing next to her wet, soapy body.
When the buzzer to her condo sounded, Ray looked at him and frowned.
“That’s odd,” she said, getting to her feet. “I’m not expecting anyone this early. I wonder who it is.”
Sloane shrugged. “Hopefully Jack, then you can tell him quickly you don’t want to see him and won’t have to meet him later.”
Ray rolled her eyes as she passed him to answer the door. “It can’t be him. Jack doesn’t know where I live. He’s never been here.”
The news made Sloane smile. He didn’t like to think of another man being in Ray’s space. Although that meant she still had to meet him to break up with him and that made the smile slide from his lips. Sloane pulled the towel from his waist and started to take it back into the bathroom when he heard Ray answer the intercom.
“Dad?” she said. “What are you doing here? Okay, I’m buzzing you up.”
Shit.
As Sloane would be in Ray’s life for the long haul, he wanted to make a good impression with her family. How would it look if the first time he met her father was when he was bare ass naked in her condo? He flew into the bathroom and deposited the towel in the hamper before hastily pulling on his jeans.
“Sloane? My dad is on his way up,” Ray said.
“I know babe, I heard,” he said. “Do you want me to hide in here until he leaves?”
“What? No, of course not. Just come out as soon as you’re ready.”
Damn it. He was hoping she’d say yes. He did want to meet her father, but not under these circumstances. Oh well, there was nothing for it. As soon as he’d finished hastily tugging his clothes on, he checked himself over in the mirror to ensure he was decent, and then headed out into the living room.
Wow. It was all he could do not to let out the low whistle that was on his lips. He’d been so busy the night before that he hadn’t taken a look around, but Ray’s penthouse was huge, and it had floor to ceiling windows on the entire front wall that had the most jaw-dropping view of the ocean. He could hardly stop staring at it. The only thing that surpassed its beauty was his mate herself. When her father knocked on the door, Ray went to answer and as he entered the room, he pulled her into a brief hug.
“Hey, Dad,” she said. “What are you doing here? It’s not like you to call by unexpectedly.”
“How else am I supposed to see my daughter?” he asked. “Your mother and I have been worried sick, especially after your kidnapping.”
She heaved a sigh. “It wasn’t a kidnapping Dad, I already told you when I called you.”
He made an impatient noise then looked across the room for the first time and saw Sloane standing there. His eyes went back to his daughter.
“Uh, Dad, this is my boyfriend, Sloane,” Ray said. “Sloane, this is my father, Luther.”
“Boyfriend?” her father said with a frown. “Since when?”
“A little while, dad,” Ray hedged.
Sloane crossed the room then reached out his hand. Luther took it and they shook, but Sloane didn’t miss the way the man’s eyes traveled the length of him before lingering on his wet hair.
Damn it.
Nope, he definitely hadn’t made the best impression. Why couldn’t he have just hid? Unlike him, Luther was impeccably dressed, wearing an immaculate suit that probably cost more than Sloane earned in a year, and shoes pristine enough to use as a shaving mirror. He wore the ensemble like a man who’d been born to it, without the unease Sloane usually felt when he found himself crammed into a suit.
“Dad, do you want coffee?” Ray asked.
He nodded. “Thank you, baby. That would be great.”
“Sloane?”
“Not for me, thanks,” he said. “I need to be going soon.”
