When Millie said, “I’ll have one too,” the asshole shook his head.
“I don’t think so, jail bate. You’re under twenty-one. What kind of man would I be to corrupt a minor,” he teased with a shit eating grin on his face. “I’ll leave that up to Ethan!”
“Flint,” I growled, not in the mood for this shit. Handing Millie the beer, I caught another two seconds later, this onefrom Stark. “Thanks,” I said, shutting the door behind me and driving the bolt lock into place.
The house might be electronically controlled, but I still enjoyed good old-fashioned locks as a back-up in case the first line of defense ever failed.
“It’s good to see you, Ethan,” Stark spoke, bobbing his head in Millie’s direction. “You too, Millie. I knew your dad. He was a great guy.”
I think that was more words than I’d ever heard Stark say in a row. Of course, Flint had to be an asshole and mention that fact out loud.
“He can speak! It’s a miracle!” He shouted, as he opened a fresh bottle of beer.
Great, just what this tense situation needed: copious amounts of alcohol. It took a lot to get a ware drunk, but it could be done. Flint, it would seem, was willing to give it a try. I could see a few empties already scattered around him and knew this was going to be a long night.
“I can speak, jack-off. I just don’t have anything to say to you,” Stark shot back.
“Jack-off! Wow, that burns. It really does. Next, you’ll be calling me a jerk-face, and I’ll just have to cry myself to sleep,” Flint jabbed right back.
Colt came forward then, his tanned face sparkling with open affection. “So this is our new sister. It’s so good to meet you, Millie. I’m Colt.”
As was his fashion, Colt approached my mate with true warmth and affection. Gathering her into his arms, he gave her a loving embrace like he’d known her his whole life.
His genuine nature immediately won my mate over and she mirrored his all-encompassing hug. With anyone else, I would have growled. With Colt, the interaction just made me smile. I’d missed the son-of-a-bitch. Even under terrible circumstances such as these, I was grateful to have him around.
“Glad you could make it Colt,” I stated earnestly as my brother turned to me and treated me to his signature bear hug.
Colt grinned. “When my brother calls, I come. No questions asked.”
That statement would have been corny from just about anyone else. From Colt, it was heartfelt. “Same, brother.”
Moving into the living room, we all took seats and Colt and Stark told us about their flights into Montana.
“Gavin isn’t here yet?” I asked, after checking my phone to see if he’d texted that he was going to be late after work.
Flint chuckled. “He is. He ran upstairs when he saw your headlights pull into the driveway. Seems he’s still really embarrassed about the “incident” when he first met Millie.”
His air quotes weren’t amusing. “Knock it off, Flint,” I cautioned him, not liking where this was going.
In fact, I could feel Millie tense beside me as soon as he’d mentioned it. Draping my arm around her, I snuggled her close into the crook of my arm, and gave her a reassuring kiss on the top of her head.
“What incident?” Colt asked, bottle poised at his lips as he awaited an answer.
“Before Ethan claimed Millie, he nearly broke down the shower door trying to get at her. The kid’s a little unpolished when it comes to the ladies,” Flint crudely stated, as he killed yet another beer.
Flint was an asshole on a good day. After a handful of beers, he didn’t improve any.
“The boy’s never been around a female ware before,” I explained. “His adjustment away from Cascia House has been hard. I’m trying to help him with that, but after how he acted around Millie, I thought it best that he stay in my apartment in the city until we could work things out. They haven’t come into contact since.”
“Yeah, I’m sure those few days away in a swanky apartment have really taught him a lesson he’ll never forget,” Flint quipped, as he popped open yet another beer.
Colt slapped Flint upside the head. He was one of the only people who could get away with that. “Shut it, man. I seem to recall a time when you could barely contain yourself around human females, let alone an omega. Don’t make an already tough situation worse.”
“While it’s true that I’ve always had a love for the ladies, I can’t say I ever broke down a door in pursuit of one,” Flint countered, rubbing his head where his brother had struck him.
“Well, while I don’t condone what he did,” Colt stated directly to Millie, “I think it’s important he doesn’t hide from it. I’m going to go and talk to him. If it’s okay with you, Millie, I’m going to ask him to come downstairs and join us.”
My mate swallowed hard, but nodded. “I think that’s for thebest. If we’re all going to be staying together, we have to acknowledge and deal with what happened.”
