“They aren’t that bad,” Scott said.
“Yeah, tell me that the next time your grandfather, Vladimir, comes to town. I swear when people see him, they want to bow at his feet and ask him for forgiveness. If I didn’t know any better, I would have thought he was a mob boss in one of his many lives.”
“You’re an idiot,” Scott said chuckling. “I’ll tell him what you said the next time I speak to him. He’ll get a kick out of that.”
“I’m sure he will. Anyway, back to why you were smiling.”
“We’re going around in circles on this. For the last time, I wasn’t smiling.”
“You know what one of the cool things about being a werewolf is?” Chance asked cutting, into his thoughts.
“What?”
“Knowing when someone is lying. So come on, tell me what’s got you so happy.”
“I’m not lying, I swear.”
“Fine, don’t tell me,” Chance said after a few minutes. “I’ll end up finding out sooner or later.”
“Chance, seriously. There’s nothing to tell,” Scott tried to assure his friend.
“If you say so,” Chance said, shrugging his shoulders.
“It’s good to see you smile.”
“Shouldn’t you be getting home? Your boy must be waiting for you,” Scott said as a way of changing the subject. Any mention of Grayson was always a way to get Chance to drop any subject.
“Shit, you’re right,” he said, looking down at his watch. “And for the record, you look better when you’re smiling.”
“Shut up and get the hell out of here. I’ll close up for you,” Scott told him.
“Thanks, man.” And with that, Chance was gone to be with his boy.
Scott looked around there were only a couple of stragglers still around, and he knew they’d be leaving soon. The summer planning activities were well underway. It was going to be an electrifying time of year—from the festival, to the fair, and the Fourth of July celebration. Vale Valley was going to be known as the little town that never sleeps.
A few minutes later, the last of the meeting stragglers had gone home, or he assumed they had. Scott was about to turn off the lights when the door to the conference room opened, and he came face to face with the man he’d been staring at all night. Quintus stopped when he saw Scott was still in the room.
“I…um…I forgot my tablet,” Quintus stammered out.
“I’ll wait while you get it,” Scott told him.
Quintus nodded and walked over to the table. Scott’s eyes automatically went to his swaying hips. Scott wasn’t sure if Quintus knew he moved like a cat hypnotizing his prey with the slow sway of his tail.
Simply sublime.
He didn’t want to question why he was suddenly finding everything about Quintus interesting. It couldn’t be because of what happened in front of his house. He didn’t want to admit it, but his cousin was right.
Scott hadn’t stopped thinking about how into it he had been, or how sweet Quintus had felt in his arms. He had felt a small bit of the man’s passion and wondered how it would feel to have it all. Scott could also tell Quintus was embarrassed by what had happened between them when he had no reason to be.
“I’ll stop,” Scott said when Quintus stopped in front of him.
“Stop what?”
“I’ll stop teasing you. What happened was a mistake, and I didn’t mean to make things uncomfortable for you. But in my defense...you are adorable, and seeing you blush is very appealing.”
Quintus smiled and looked down at the tablet in his hands, hiding his reddened cheeks. “I…you…thanks,” he said after a few moments of trying to find the proper words.
Quintus went to walk away but stopped and turned to face Scott. “Do you want to get a cup of coffee sometime?”
