“You’re going to have to roll again,” Ryder mused.
“I’m not rolling again. Tessa, just pick.”
“That’s not fair,” she argued.
They were bickering over Dixon’s dice roll which had landed on the edge of the board and balanced between two numbers. Our games could stretch for hours. Recently, Tessa had shown an interest in D&D, and I had a feeling if we ventured down that route, our campaigns would either never end, or they’d end far too quickly in favor of a heated sex-capade.Half-dressed druid? Shameless rogue? Warrior elf with very little armor?The possibilities were titillating
The voices of my pack faded to the background. My eyes wandered, landing on the tower of many-colored boxes recently brought home to L.A. from Tessa’s mansion in Seattle. She was still figuring out what she wanted to do with all her old packs’ assets—though she’d mentioned something about finding and helping a young Omega named Lily—but among the few things she’d brought back home after our first visit to the Fortuneestate were the board games. That, and some throwback Oblivion Haze posters which now hung in her closet, along with a large wingback chair from her parent’s room she’d placed in a sunny corner of our mansion next to a small bookshelf. Oh, there was that ridiculously large yellow bowl. She said it had sentimental value, that it was for ice cream. Ice cream for an army maybe. Damn, she’d been so happy though. Standing there in the Fortune mansion with the rolled posters under one arm and the bowl tucked against her chest.
“Final decision!” Tessa crowed. “It’s a four!”
Dixon grumbled something and moved his piece; he landed on Tessa’s property, and she demanded one of his socks.
“How about my shirt?” Dixon countered, waggling an eyebrow.
“Nope. I want a sock. One. Single. Sock. You’ve got very sexy feet.” She teased back.
“You’re doing this on purpose,” Dixon scowled.
“Maybe.” Tessa winked. She knew Dixon hated losing and would much rather be already naked like me.
Dixon begrudgingly handed over his black sock, she tucked it into the waist band of his sweatpants she currently wore over my joggers and her own athletic shorts. Jesus, she was in her element. Freaking stunning, even sweating in layers of our stolen shirts and hoodies. She was, per her claim, reigning queen of board games. I’d happily lose to her for the rest of my life.
‘Sinner’s Kiss’ was softly pouring through the ceiling speakers, surrounding us with the reminder that we’d gone platinum again. We were accepting a local award next week for the song, and MCing the KMAs next month.
“Give me the dice,” Ryder prodded Dixon, who was still scowling. Our lead singer, always roguishly glamorous, was left with only a tattered Ford Mustang shirt and banana boxers hiding his sleek body. He still donned both socks and sneakers though, so he was six articles away from his birthday suit. He looked disgustingly comfortable in defeat. Dixon launched the dice at our pack brother before shifting to stretch one giant,tree trunk leg out, bending the second leg to sprawl one arm atop it, and staring at Tessa with a wild gleam in his eye.
Tessa waggled her shoulders, then puffed out her chest, proudly displaying her winnings. “I feel like Joey in that one episode when he wears all of Chandler’s clothes out of spite.”
“Not out of spite,” Mac corrected, “Chandler hid his underwear.”
“Did he?” Tessa cocked her head, thinking. “Well, whatever. Could I be wearing anything more?” She said the question in a mocking, sarcastic tone trying to imitate the show character.
“You could be,” Mac once again corrected. “You’ve not beaten us all yet, our dear Omega.”
“It’s only a matter of time.” Tessa said with a shrug. “You may have the age, but I have the experience.”
Ryder rolled the dice, hitting a solid seven, though he didn’t land on anything spectacular. His own property, nothing to lose or gain.
I peered around the room again, wondering what mischief we’d get into once the board game wrapped. Last time, we’d played Slickster, a sexy version of Twister. Naked. Wrapped around one another, hands slipping and sliding across large colored dots.Ahhhhh.I sighed mentally.What a time to be alive.
"Your turn again, Tessa," Ryder announced. “I’m happy to talk a piece of clothing off regardless though.” His voice was hopeful.
“Nope,” she said sharply. “We follow the rules. No cheating.”
“Come on, Tessa,” Ryder pushed, “you know this would be more fun if we were all naked.”
"You’re going to tick her off," Dixon warned, but there was no real heat behind his words. Just the playful tension that always existed between pack mates. “You know how she gets.”
“How do I get, Dix?” Tessa peered at him, eyebrows arched. “Care to elaborate?”
Dixon grunted. “Absolutely not.”
We all knew what he meant though. Tessa had a stubborn streak, and she could hold a grudge. We all found it fucking adorable when she got angry. So. Damn. Cute.
Tessa rubbed her hands together, her eyes gleaming with that competitive spark that was so endearing. "Time to show you boys how it's done." She scooped up the die, shaking it dramatically between cupped palms. She closed her eyes, murmuring a little for good luck, and then she rolled.
I shifted my position on the rug, adjusting the neon blanket over my lower half. The way she bit her lower lip in concentration made my pulse quicken. There was something so captivating about her focused determination, even over something as silly as strip Matchopoly.
