Chad shook his head. “He’s so scared of you. He thinks you’re terrifying.”
Peter snorted. He was amused that Chad would find the perfectly normal reaction to being in his presence funny. Sometimes he wondered if Chad really understood how intimidating other alphas found him.
They climbed into the car, and much too soon they were pulling into the airport parking garage. Peter wasn’t at all ready to let Chad leave.
“So what do I tell people?” Chad asked, lifting his hand to the bite on his neck. “I mean… do I tell them about us?”
“You’ll be treated differently.” Peter parked the car and turned off the engine, watching Chad’s face to get a sense of what he was thinking. “But I don’t want you to hide it.”
That was an understatement. Peter wanted the whole world to know who Chad belonged to. But if Chad really wanted to keep their relationship on the down low, Peter wouldn’t like it, but he wouldn’t object.
“So you’re okay with me telling people I’m basically married to the boss?”
Peter grinned. “Very okay,” he said. He reached out and pulled Chad in for a kiss, nipping at his lower lip before leaning back.
“Do you want to get married?” Peter asked, curious. Getting married was a small thing compared to being claimed, but a man raised by betas might put more stock in it than Peter would. Plus, he sort of liked the idea of calling Chad his husband.
“Are you proposing?” Chad asked, grinning and bright-eyed. Peter’s lips curved up in a wicked smile.
“I guess I am. What do you say, Chad Brand? Will you marry me?”
Chad laughed and nodded. “Sure, why not?”
Peter growled, pulling Chad in for another kiss. He licked his way down Chad’s neck, clamping his jaws down on the claiming bite and letting his teeth reaffirm his claim. Chad cried out, grabbing Peter’s shoulders and arching his back.
When they finally pulled themselves together, the collar of Chad’s shirt was bloody and he only had half an hour left to check in.
It was much too soon.
***
Chad didn’t know why he was surprised that Peter had upgraded his ticket to first class, but he was. As he took his seat in the luxurious little pod that shielded his seat, he felt like a pampered sugar baby. It was nice, and something told him it wouldn’t be the last time he got the first-class treatment.
He got a few surreptitious looks from the flight attendant as she offered him a glass of champagne, but he didn’t mind. The blood on his collar and the raw bite on his neck were like a beacon, screaming out to the world that he had been claimed, and he didn’t blame her for being curious.
He wondered how the guys he worked with were going to react. He hoped that they wouldn’t be weird about it, but he knew that things might get difficult.
If it got to be too awkward he could always find a new job, but he really hoped it didn’t come to that.
The last time Chad had been sent out on the Desert Energy job, he’d been part of the protection detail of one of their executives. This time he was guarding the oil fields where they extracted the oil, which had the potential of being a much more unpredictable job.
Once his final plane landed, after layovers in both Frankfurt and Dubai, Chad collected his bag and made his way outside into the blistering heat to locate the Tank Security car that should be waiting for him. He threw his bag over his shoulder, but he miscalculated and the heavy strap scraped over his bite and almost made his knees buckle.
Embarrassed, Chad shifted the bag to his other shoulder and moved on, hoping no one had seen his performance. He lookedover the rows of cars lining the road outside the arrivals area, searching for his driver.
After just a second, he spotted him. The beta was short and stout, with a thick neck and a bushy mustache, and the sign he held up was painted with the stylized Tank Security logo.
“Hi, I’m Chad Brand, I think you’re here to pick me up?” Chad said, walking up to him and extending his hand.
“Mr. Brand, we are just waiting for your colleague and then we leave, yes?” the beta said, taking Chad’s bag and putting it in the back of his shiny SUV. Before Chad could ask which colleague, Mick ambled up next to him and clapped him on the back.
“Chad, hey! I didn’t know you were going back today. I didn’t see you on the plane, where were you sitting?”
Mick was standing so he didn’t have a clear view of Chad’s neck, and he obviously hadn’t noticed the bite. He looked fresh-faced and eager to get to work, his Tank Security uniform already in place.
Chad had made the trip in casual jeans and a button-down shirt.
“I got upgraded to first class,” Chad said, feeling a little self-conscious. “Aren’t you here a few days early? I thought you left after me last time…”
