Page 36 of Crushes and Confections

I could feel his excitement and hope in the bond, see it in all of their eyes, and I didn’t want to let them down. While I was still cautious, our past experiences leaving a sour taste on my tongue, I reminded myself I had yet to encounter that here.

“Oui, consider me in.”

“You won’t regret it,” Claire said. “One more, and then we’ll go.”

I looked pointedly at the roaring fire, and Riley rolled his eyes. “Don’t worry about that, alpha. We’ll put it out and come pick up the pit later. It’s safe here.”

With a chuckle, I held up my hands in defense. “You can’t blame an alpha for wanting to keep their pack safe.”

“From fires, thieves, and anything in between?” Riley teased. “When really they should worry about our impending meet and greet with the family. Technically it’s a future pack until y’all get through the shenanigans of courting in Holiday Hollow, you might change your mind.”

“Is it wrong that I’m so excited for that? It’s going to be the entertainment of the year,” Claire grinned as she prepared another round of strawberries, this time drizzling chocolate sauce over it and packing the leftovers away.

I vowed the next time she used chocolate sauce it would be of my own making. Preferably we could enjoy it off of each other.

When we’d finished the treat, and I felt more than a little overloaded with sugar, we finally started packing up. Before Claire could pass me, I stopped her. She looked up at me, lips parted in surprise.

“You’ve got a little something here,” I teased, brushing my lips over her lips before darting my tongue out and clearing away the chocolate. She deepened the kiss before I could, and it took everything in me to pull away before we ended up with grass stains on our bodies.

“So, where to next?” Riley said as he cleared his throat and adjusted himself in his pants. “And why is no one cleaning my lips?”

“You didn’t have chocolate on them,” Vance teased.

With that challenge, Riley dropped the cooler, opened it, took out the chocolate, dabbed it on his fingers and spread it on his lips like lip gloss. The level of dedication to his teasing was admirable.

“Whoops,” Riley said.

“Oh, here, let me get that.” Vance’s words were little more than a possessive growl as he pulled the beta to him. Riley let out a shocked yelp that quickly turned into a moan. Vance’s lips could render you speechless, and it seemed they affected the beta the same.

“Well, damn. Now I need a cold shower,” Claire muttered as she took the cooler before I could grab it and finished putting it in the truck bed.

"Follow us,” Riley choked out as Vance released him, and he staggered away. It was the first time I’d truly seen him stunned, and we were both laughing softly as we closed ourselves in our car.

“They are playing with fire,” Vance said with a sigh.

“Oh, they know exactly what they’re doing,” I chuckled. “I think they’re growing tired of taking it slow.”

CHAPTER 14

Claire

The whole day had been nothing but a dream. I’d woken up freshly fucked with my best friend, our bites still lingering on our skin. Then, to top it all off, Adrien and Vance asked if they could court us.

The extravagant breakfast, our time by the pond, and spending the rest of the day with them was the icing on the cake.

“What are you smiling about?” Vance asked, nudging my shoulder.

“Everything,” I replied, feeling happier than I had in a long time. “Do you want to try one of the restaurants for dinner or go back to my place?”

He hummed. “How about both? We can grab something and bring it back to your place.”

“As much as I’ve enjoyed spending the day out and about with you both, I’d love that as well,” Adrien said, walking with Riley behind us.

“Thai or Barbecue?” Riley mused.

“A million percent Thai,” I said. “I want all the noods.”

Riley poked his head between us, placing a kiss on my lips. “Your noods are the best, Claire Bear.”

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