Blaze was here.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Halley
The mess hall is loud in that echoing, steel-cutlery-clanging kind of way. Laughter bounces off the stone walls, half-suppressed arguments about rations or assignments rising above the low hum of military efficiency.
Everlyn ignores it all.
She grins at me across her chipped food tray, her chin perched on her knuckles.
Jason sits beside her, quietly chewing through his breakfast and doing a remarkable job of pretending he’s not watching me with that same anticipation.
“You smell like sex,” she finally announces, loud enough that the soldier at the end of the table splutters into his morning coffee.
I glare at her, willing my cheeks not to heat. “It’s just my perfume.”
She leans in with a wicked gleam in her eyes. “That’s not your usual pheromones or perfume, Sparks. That’s you marinated in post-coital musk.”
I stare back at her, not wanting to break and give into her teasing. If I can just hold the line long enough, she’ll get distracted and—
“But I showered after!” I blurt, and cringe at my own weakness. I’m awful at keeping anything from her, and she knows it.
After my second ground-shaking orgasm courtesy of the combined efforts of three of my Pack mates, Viper whisked me away for a shower. He joined me under the guise of helping, but I’d ended up with another load of come in my well-used pussy and stuck on his knot.
Everlyn's eyes go wide and she cackles in victory.
“I knew it, you little hussy.”
I shove a spoonful of oatmeal into my mouth to stop myself from laughing or planting my face in my hands in embarrassment.
Jason lets out a soft snort and nudges his mate. “Be nice.”
“Iambeing nice,” she argues. “If I wasn’t, I’d be asking which one made you scream loud enough to wake the Beta barracks.”
I choke on my oatmeal.
Still coughing, my eyes watering, I babble. “There’s no way they heard me. It’s too far away, and I was loud, but not that loud, I think…” Everlyn’s grin broadens even wider. “Oh. You’re messing with me, aren’t you?”
“Guilty as charged.”
“I hate you.”
“You really don’t.”
Before I can retaliate, trays clatter down on the table. The Pack settles around us and Shade slides in at my right while placing an overly full tray in front of me. Blaze swings onto the benchbeside Everlyn with a flourish. Viper sits down on my other side and nudges a mug of tea toward me. I cast him a shy smile in thank you.
Knox sits last. Next to Blaze with his tray balanced with perfect portions of breakfast foods. His posture is military-straight.
His eyes skim my face, not in a hungry way that the others seem to have adopted since last night, but like he’s a sniper set up on overwatch, studying me from a distance. Analytical. Calculating.
I glance down at my tea and wrap my hands around the cup.
I’m used to Knox being intimidating and intense, but he’s taking it to a whole new level. I wish he’d talk to me. Tell me what’s going on in his head.
Instead, he says nothing. Doesn’t smile and doesn’t look away.
Shade’s knee presses against mine, and I shift toward the contact without thinking.
