The next morning Chad woke up feeling cranky and cold. He took a quick shower and moved into the kitchen where he found Peter drinking a cup of coffee next to a plate of scrambled eggs and toast.
“Feeling better?” Peter asked, looking like his morning had been just as bad as Chad’s. Served him fucking right.
“When is Aiden coming?” Chad asked, ignoring the question. Peter frowned and checked his watch.
“Any minute, now. The penthouse security is already all set up, so he’s really just here in case something happens or if you want to go out.”
“What are the chances they’re even going to try to take me again?” Chad asked. “If the main goal is stopping the merger, don’t you think they’d have moved on to plan b by now?”
Peter put his coffee cup down and squeezed Chad’s arm. “Maybe. But until we know for sure we’re going to play it safe.”
Chad went and poured himself a cup of coffee, mostly to distract himself from how good Peter’s hand on his arm had felt. While he was pouring, Peter’s phone buzzed with an incoming message.
“Aiden’s here with his guys,” Peter said, sliding the phone into his pocket. “I’ve already talked to him and he’s promised not to needle you.”
Chad made a noncommittal sound, wondering what exactly Peter had said. He had very little faith in Peter’s ability to corral Aiden’s behavior even a little bit, but he wasn’t going to say that now.
“Did you hear me?” Peter said, poking him. “I said I talked to Aiden and he’s promised to behave.”
“I heard you,” Chad said. “I’ll believe it when I see it.”
Peter frowned, but before he could say anything the doorbell rang. Chad stayed in the kitchen while Peter went to answer it, gulping down the rest of his coffee and putting the cup in the sink.
He grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and was unscrewing the cap when Peter and Aiden walked into the room. The alpha was dressed in a nondescript black suit that sat tight on his body, along with a crisp white shirt and a silver tie around his neck.
“Chad, I hear you don’t want me here. Sorry about that,” Aiden said, shooting Chad what might pass as a friendly smile in some parts of the world. “Don’t worry. You’ll hardly even notice I’m here. Complete discretion. That’s the Topgrunder motto.”
He walked right up to Chad and slapped his back, making him almost stumble forward.
“Hello Aiden,” Chad said, moving away and leaning against the counter. He made very little effort to mask his intense dislike. He still remembered vividly how rapey Aiden had been the first time he met him, and every interaction since had just worsened his impression.
Peter walked between them, edging Aiden aside with his shoulder, and shot each of them a warning look—as though Chad was just as much the problem as Aiden.
“Chad, I’ll see you later tonight,” he said, pulling Chad in to kiss his cheek. His lips were soft and warm on Chad’s stubble and Chad felt his body relax. Peter pulled back and cradled Chad’s neck in his palm, squeezing gently. “Call me if you have any trouble.”
“He’ll be fine,” Aiden answered, making Peter glare at him. Aiden’s eyes widened in mock innocence and he held up his hands. “What? I’ll keep him safe, I promise.”
“You better,” Peter said, and though Chad could see that he was trying to hide it, Aiden shuddered.
It wasn’t easy being on the receiving end of that tone.
Warnings delivered, Peter kissed Chad one more time before saying goodbye and heading to work, leaving Chad alone with Aiden in the kitchen.
“So you really didn’t want me here,” Aiden mused, looking Chad up and down like he was sizing him up.
“Not really,” Chad said.
“But Peter did, and so I’m here. Funny how that works.” Aiden’s voice was laced with cruel amusement. He took a step forward, putting himself just outside of Chad’s personal bubble and smiling down at him. The grin was all teeth and threat.
So much for being nice.
“He says jump, we ask how high,” Chad said, pointedly refusing to step back. The first time he’d met Aiden he’d been intimidated by how tall, muscular and outright dominant the man was, and while he still felt outmatched and a little overwhelmed, he was able to do a pretty good job of hiding it.
“So what’s on the agenda for today?” Aiden asked. He stepped back and opened up the fridge, scanning the shelves and grabbing a coke while he waited for Chad’s answer. He was acting like he hadn’t just tried to cow Chad into submission, and Chad hesitated before answering. In the end he decided to tell the truth.
“I’ve got a friend coming over tonight, but first I was going to head into the training center to sign up for some classes. I figured I’d stay there and work out after.”
“Sounds good,” Aiden said, lifting the can of coke to his mouth and taking a long sip. He licked his lips and put the can down on the counter, looking at Chad like he was trying to figure him out. Chad resisted the urge to fidget.
