Fuck, I should have been watching the clock better. I was more focused on giving her time to process, not planning three steps ahead. Emmy makesnotshifting seem so easy because her wolf is incredibly docile, that I didn’t give enough credit to the fact that Sabrina might not have a choice in the matter.
Opening the door, I blink at my reflection, not seeing that one coming. “What are you doing here?”
Cin lifts two grocery bags that are full to bursting. “I figured my two favorite people would be so caught up working, they’d forget to eat like usual. Then I went back to grab some extra since I wasn’t sure who else was here and they’d probably guilt trip you into sharing.”
Jonathan doesn’t even look up from his screen as he deadpans, “Oh boy, another Hawthorne. How ever did I get so lucky today?”
Ignoring him, I let Cinjin inside, who sets the food in the center of the table. Sabrina nervously avoids making eye contact, but her fingers are moving slowly enough that it’s clear she’s only attempting to look busy as an excuse. Our sweet girl is treating this situation like the walk of shame after a hookup instead of nearly tearing Slade’s throat out and draining Cin’s wolf to the point-
To the point it couldn’t recover. Alpha’s suck in the volatile energy of our wolves to weaken them. If she drained it until there was nothing left, would it killus,or justit?
She might not be a soothing balm to our existence, but the actual cure, after all.
“Text me if you need anything, okay?” my twin tells her quietly, wise enough not to push the issue right now. “Slade’s treat.” The corner of her mouth twitches, and it only serves to encourage him. “Otherwise, I think I’ll head home so I can finish up my project. On a totally unrelated side note, make sure to jump over the top three stairs on all of the staircases for the next few days.”
Her curiosity finally gets the better of her and she glances up at him. “What’d you do?”
“Nothing yet, I just told you I have to go finish up,” he deflects, batting his eyelashes innocently. “And they say men never listen.”
She narrows her eyes. “You’re trying to get them to break their necks, aren’t you?”
He gasps, while simultaneously withdrawing a container from one of the bags and passing it her way. “That would be wrong, Sabrina, how could you suggest such a thing?” Lifting his hand to cover his mouth from the rest of us, he whispers obnoxiously loud, “Why, do you want me to? Because I’m totally on board, you know, if it’s whatyouwant.”
The tension bleeds from her shoulders with her chuckle, accepting the peace offering. “Play nice.”
He winks. “Always do, love.”
Groaning, Jonathan shuts his laptop and shoves it aside. “Get a room, geeze.”
“Yet another great idea! You guys are on a roll today,” my brother quips without missing a beat.
Shaking my head, I reach for some food, taking my seat beside Sabrina. “Thanks.”
“Any time.” He sends a longing look in our mate’s direction when she’s not looking before flipping a mental switch and wagging his finger on his way out of the room. “Have her home before dark now, you hear?”
“Wait, hold on.” Jonathan sets his chicken strip back in the container to look between the two of them, brow furrowed. “First off, love the contacts, Sabrina, that color really suits you. And second, I thought you were dating the other brother.”
Sabrina awkwardly clears her throat while Cin and I wait to see how she wants to handle the situation. “A bit of both. Long story.” Glancing up at Cin, she timidly offers, “If you don’t have anywhere you need to be, you’re welcome to stay. You brought the food, so it’s only fair you get some of it.”
Only because I know him like the back of my hand do I see the relief her words bring him. He plays it off flawlessly with a smirk as he grabs Jonathan’s chair to drag him away and make room for himself beside her, but it’s like an aura around him I watch release a pent-up breath. Sliding into his seat, he latches onto the fact that he’s getting some sort of positive reaction out of her, leaning into trying to make her smile and forget about the fact that she completely incapacitated him like it was nothing this morning.
The next half hour is spent eating and joking around, even Jonathan loosening up after a bit. It’s cathartic in the best of ways, even if three of us are well aware that we’re simply pretending that our problems don’t exist for a short while.
“I mean, can you blame me?” Cin scoffs, shaking his head at Jonathan. “Girl sucked the soul straight from my body and I was a goner.”
There’s a sharp smack as Sabrina swats his arm before going crimson. “He’s going to get the wrong idea, shut up.”
I smother a smile, already knowing how my twin will respond before he ever opens his mouth. Grabbing her wrist, he dramatically shoves it under the table onto his lap. “Oh, right, then just to be clear, I was talking about my penis.”
Laughter bounces off of the walls as Sabrina yanks her hand back and opens her computer, adamantly refusing to make any more eye contact with anyone, cheeks heated. It’s not like talking about sex or public displays of affection make her uncomfortable, but it’s different depending on who you’re talking to. Hard to keep things professional when your coworker is picturing you choking on a cock.
Fuck, now I’m imagining it.
She sets off a domino effect, and soon, Jonathan and I are following her lead, getting back to it. I’m vaguely aware of my twin pulling out his phone to play on, but he quickly fades into the background as I develop tunnel vision with my work.
An ache begins building in my chest and I rub the heel of my hand across it, pushing it back down so that I can focus. A few minutes later another pang lances through me and I sigh, annoyed. Glancing at the time, I bite the inside of my cheek, getting up to stretch and go grab something to drink.
“Be right back.”
