Part 11 (1/2)
Ash's expression softened. ”Sloane? What's going on?”
”He's an easy target now,” Sloane said with a sigh. He soothed the Felid inside him, a.s.suring him everything was all right. Dex was safe. There were no threats. ”Guys want to f.u.c.k him just to show off. To say they f.u.c.ked an Alpha's mate.”
Ash looked surprised by Sloane's words. ”I've never heard you call yourself that.”
No one really used the term outside of the THIRDS, and generally it was used only to reference their unit. It was called Unit Alpha for a reason, but Therians didn't like using terminology that reminded them of their less than Human halves.
”Doesn't stop it from being what it is. Me, you, Hobbs, Seb, we're Alphas, apex predators. If you've marked your lover and made them your mate, other Therians are going to want to take what you have. The majority don't really give a f.u.c.k about who they're hurting. It's about fulfilling a need. A baser instinct. I didn't understand a lot of it until now, and it's f.u.c.ked-up that as a society we excuse the behavior. h.e.l.l, I still don't understand a lot of it.” Sloane looked over at the bar where Dex and Cael were laughing with the barman, a bear Therian who was obviously flirting.
”I never realized how f.u.c.king terrifying it would be. Cael's a Therian, so the rules are different. If he were marked, Therians would be more cautious about approaching him, because he could go feral. Dex is Human, and that puts him at a disadvantage from the start. The more aggressive the Therian, the less he's going to put up a fight against his Therian half. Just thinking of Dex out there without me, with a bunch of wild animals, makes me sick to my stomach.”
”Hey, whoa, buddy.” Ash reached across the table and put his hand on Sloane's arm. ”You gotta have faith in your boy. He might be a Human, but he is one tough son of a b.i.t.c.h, and with the training Sparks is putting us through, any a.s.shole who tries to mess with him, you can bet Dex will teach him some manners. I had no idea you were worrying about this. Are you having second thoughts?”
”What?” Sloane frowned deep and shook his head. ”No. I might be unsure about a lot of things, but what we did....” A smile came onto Sloane's face, his heart filled with love as he watched Dex. ”I've never felt more sure about anything in my life.” He turned his attention back to Ash. ”I think... I think this is it, Ash.”
Ash sat back. ”It, as in the one? You really believe in that?”
”When I was with Gabe, I thought that was it for me. I thought I'd found the guy I'd be spending the rest of my life with. But whenever I pictured the future, I couldn't. I couldn't see us growing old together. Couldn't see us doing the whole domestic thing. I figured it was just me getting used to the idea of us, worrying we'd get discovered at work.”
”And you can see all that with Dex?”
Sloane's face felt hot. ”I can see a lot with Dex. Some of it scares the s.h.i.+t out of me.”
Ash went pale. ”Don't you f.u.c.king say it. Don't even think it.”
”What?” Sloane rolled his eyes. ”I'm not saying it'll happen. I'm just saying I don't see it as being out of the question. I can see that. I can see him being a father.”
Ash leaned in, whispering, as if the mere mention of a kid might conjure one up. ”Dude, you realize what'll happen once you have kids, right? No more THIRDS. I know you. What are you going to do, take a desk job?”
”First of all, I'm not saying it'll happen. I mean, Jesus, Ash. We just moved in together. I'm saying that it's not outside the realm of possibility, because with Dex, I can see us having a family. Besides, you plan on being a THIRDS agent all your life?”
”f.u.c.k, man. You're talking like we're ready to retire. We're not even forty yet.” He sat, narrowed his eyes at Sloane, his arms folded over his chest and a pout on his face. ”I don't like this grown-up talk.”
Sloane chuckled. ”Sorry.” They were both quiet for a second when Ash spoke up, his gaze on the table.
”Guess it wouldn't be so bad.”
”What's that?”
”Having a family. You really think we can manage it without f.u.c.king it up? I mean, we never really got to be kids.”
”Well, we learned about what not to do, so that's a start.”
Cael and Dex showed up with a tray of drinks and snacks.
”f.u.c.king h.e.l.l, took long enough.” Ash took his beer, thanking Cael, who gave him a kiss before taking a seat beside him.
”We thought we'd get some snacks,” Dex said, taking a seat beside Sloane.
He took a black olive and turned. Sloane opened his mouth, and Dex popped it in.
”You two are disgusting,” Ash huffed.
Sloane just laughed. As much as his friend protested all the lovey-dovey stuff, Sloane knew Ash was as head over heels in love with Cael. Sloane could just imagine how sickly romantic and cute the two were in private. After all, Ash was a lion Therian. He had an image to uphold. Luckily, Cael thought it was adorable, and Ash's tough-guy exterior melted away if Cael needed something from him.
The music got loud, and a synthesizer kicked in before drums and the tapping of cymbals soon followed. It was a disco tune Sloane had heard before. Most likely from Dex's iPod.
Dex jumped from his chair with a gasp. ”Abba!” He ran to the dance floor, and Sloane shook his head in amus.e.m.e.nt before getting to his feet.
Ash stared up at him. ”You're actually going to dance to this?”
Sloane turned, watching Dex on the dance floor as he moved his body to the sensual sounds of the song. His jeans hugged him in all the right places, his s.h.i.+rt clinging and stretching across the muscles of his chest as he danced. Several Therians had taken notice.
”You bet your a.s.s, Keeler.” As Sloane drew closer to the dance floor, his senses were a.s.saulted. A s.h.i.+ver went through him, and it was like he was high on Dex's scent. Dex crooked his finger at Sloane, his full lips quirked and a ”come hither” look in his dazzling blue eyes. Fiery heat blazed through Sloane, and he crossed the floor in two strides. He stood there for a moment in front of Dex, watching him dance. Sloane loved to watch him, and Dex got off on it as much as Sloane did. Dex put his arms up, his swaying hips and perfectly rounded a.s.s capturing Sloane's attention. Unable to keep himself from touching his man, he grabbed hold of Dex's belt and jerked him back so they could dance pressed together, Sloane up against Dex from behind.
Sloane slipped his leg between Dex's and wrapped an arm around his waist, the feel of Dex's body causing a low growl to rise from his chest. Dex pressed his a.s.s back on Sloane's leg, his hands taking hold of Sloane's hips as they moved together.
Dex met his gaze, his eyes hooded with l.u.s.t as he reached up and looped his arms around Sloane's neck, lacing his fingers and holding on before he closed his eyes, his head resting back against Sloane's shoulder and his neck exposed. f.u.c.k, Sloane was hard. He bent his head and kissed Dex's neck before running his tongue up to his jaw. The music was entrancing, and the taste of Dex was intoxicating. Sloane slid his hand from Dex's hip, up over his chest, his other slipping down to Dex's inner thigh. He gave it a squeeze as he covered Dex's mouth with his. Dex's whimper awakened the feral beast inside Sloane. His inner Felid wanted to claim his mate, to take him right here, bend him over, and pound into him. Everything about Dex was driving Sloane crazy. The softness of his lips, the blue of his eyes, the way he gave himself up to Sloane with complete abandonment.
”Sloane.”
Ash's hiss cut through the s.e.x-filled haze consuming Sloane, and he pulled back, a groan escaping him at the sight of Dex's kiss-swollen lips and dilated pupils. He looked drugged and absolutely stunning.
”Sloane,” Ash growled.
”What?” Sloane snapped, surprised by Ash's dilated pupils. ”Ash?”
”His scent. It's changed.” Ash rubbed a hand over his face and shook himself out of it. ”f.u.c.k, it's....” He cleared his throat. ”It's f.u.c.king suffocating.”
”Is it affecting you?”
”Hey, you know it's not like that for me. It's just, it doesn't smell like Dex. It's something else. It's almost like a... pheromone.”
”That's not possible. Humans don't give out pheromones.”
Ash motioned past Dex to the half a dozen Therian guys standing there, their gazes on Dex as they all but f.u.c.ked Dex with their eyes. Their pupils were so dilated their irises were almost black.
”Tell that to them.”
Sloane should have been worried, should have backed away. Instead he was p.i.s.sed. He pulled Dex behind him and bared his now-elongated fangs at the six men.
Ash grabbed Sloane's arm. ”We need to go. Now.”
Dex looked as if he'd just woken up from a dream. ”Sloane? What-”
One minute everyone was dancing and having a good time, the next Sloane was planting a fist across some guy's jaw. In Sloane's defense, the a.s.shole had tried to grab Dex. Chaos erupted on the dance floor as Therians flooded in from all parts of the bar. Ash let out a roar as he threw one guy into a nearby table. Dex stayed close to Sloane, with Cael at his side, both of them holding their own against Therians bigger than them, thanks to Ash and Sparks's training.
Sloane's feral half was furious, and his gaze landed on one jaguar Therian in particular facing him. He was about Sloane's height and build, and the way he licked his lips when he looked at Dex had Sloane hissing at him.
”Those lips are going to look so f.u.c.king hot wrapped around my d.i.c.k,” the guy said with a leer.