They’d just made it into the house when Hadley came back from the bathroom.Tenley walked Mr.Fucking Perfect up to her and smugly said, “Hadley, this is my husband Knox.”
Hadley blinked up at him for a split second before blurting, “Jesus Christ!”
Tenley giggled and said, “I know, right?”
Knox sighed in a way that suggested this reaction wasn’t at all new to him.“It’s nice to meet you, Hadley.”
She didn’t respond, just nodded and blushed a little.Now Cole really wanted to rearrange the guy’s face.Because that was something he wassurehe was better at than Knox.
Tenley turned in his direction.“And this guy with the extremely tense jaw is Cole.”
“Hey, man,” Knox said, extending his hand.
Colewantedto deploy the most bone-crunching handshake he could muster, but he resisted the urge.After all, Knoxwashere to help, and he had no control over the face he’d been born with.“I appreciate you coming out to help,” he grumbled.
Knox ran a hand through hisridiculouslyluxurious black hair and chuckled.“Happy wife, happy life, you know?”
He glanced over at Hadley knowing full well that if she needed him to, he’d flirt with every man in Langley.“I get it,” he answered quietly.
That’s when Hadley seemed to shake off her Knox-induced stupor and gestured to the sofa.“I’m really sorry.Forgot my manners for a minute there.Have a seat, please.”
Tenley sat next to him and gave him a quick rundown on what they needed from him.To his credit, he showed not one flicker of surprise, annoyance, or concern.Just a bemused sigh of resignation and a, “When?”
Cole’s opinion of the guy shot up a bit.But only alittlebit, because that face really was just obnoxious.
“The guy’s social media suggests he’s at this fancy gay bar every Friday, so…tonight would be good,” Tenley said.
Knox blew out an exhausted breath.“Fine.What should I wear?Not sure I brought anything appropriate for flirting with men at fancy bars.”
Tenley snorted.“Your clothes won’t matter.”
Hadley frowned.“Is it safe to sendhiminto a bar?”She glanced at Cole.“Do you think someone like him can go to a bar on a Friday night without getting mobbed?”
Cole shrugged.“I mean,Iwouldn’t if I was him.But I don’t know.I’m guessing lots of dudes will be intimidated by his looks and won’t approach.”
“I can run interference for him if necessary,” Tenley said.“He’ll be fine.”
Hadley cocked her head to one side.“I mean, there’s a male loneliness epidemic, though.I heard about it on the news.This feels like sending a bunny into a wolf den.”
“Love how everyone is talking about me like I’m not even here,” Knox grumbled.
Tenley leaned into his side.“Aw, it’s so hard being stupidly hot, isn’t it, baby?”
“You tell me,” he growled down at her.
The conversation went on from there for about an hour.By the time it was all done, the plan was sketched out, all the players had their roles, and Tenley and Knox had adjourned to the guest room to get ready for the mission.Or to fuck.Probably the latter, Cole thought, based on how they’d been looking at each other.
“You were especially quiet down there,” Hadley said.
He sighed.Admitting this wasn’t going to be fun, but what the hell?He hadn’t lied to Hadley yet.He didn’t see any reason to start now.“I don’t want to sound ungrateful, because I’m glad Knox was able to step up and help us out.But…would it sound petty if I said I wish he was a little less attractive?”
“Welcome to exactly how I felt when I met Tenley,” Hadley admitted.“Being around supernaturally attractive people is always a little hard on the self-esteem.”
Not many things surprised Cole, butthatcertainly did.“You’re stunning.I can’t imagine whyyou’dever feel insecure.”
Her breath caught audibly and her gaze dropped to his mouth.“I could say the same.Especially since I prefer my men big, muscly, and trained in espionage.”
Most of his blood dropped to his dick at that point.But the few drops that were left in his brain felt compelled to say, “Speaking of espionage…I think you should sit out the rest of this mission.I want you in hiding before we get any deeper into this.Ren can get you a new identity and you can run if anything goes wrong.”
