Page 61 of Cohesion

“I want to speak to Sebastian. Alone.”

Caleb looked to Sebastian, who mumbled, “Just… give us a second. Please. Can you keep looking up those records? See if you can find any discrepancies we might have missed.”

“Fine,” Caleb bit out.

Jericho moved out of the way, giving Caleb a wide berth as he went out the door. Hunter had told him all about this firecracker’s temper. He liked his shoulders unbruised.

“You just make friends everywhere you go, don’t you?”

“I don’t have time for friends.” That wasn’t strictly true. He had friends. He just happened to work with them. And they were just like him. If he’d told Six to get out like that, he would have gotten the bird and a creative insult before Six had left.

“Thought you being here was risking my safety,” Sebastian said. He looked tired. Nothing like he’d been only that morning, leaving the house with wet hair, a skewed tie, and a bruise on his throat. The bruise was gone. Makeup?

Jericho flicked the lock on the door, ensuring they wouldn’t be interrupted, and then circled around to stand behind his lawyer. He pressed his nose to the top of Sebastian’s hair and breathed deeply, the soft scent of his shampoo lingering. “Spence and Ken won’t have gone far,” he whispered. Likely had pilfered a laptop from somewhere, hacked it, and set themselves up at a desk or in a room where they could still see everything. They had access to every security camera in the building. No one was getting the drop on them in here.

He brushed his knuckles down Sebastian’s cheeks and then back up before massaging his temples gently. Sebastian moaned and rested his head against Jericho’s chest.

“Have you taken something for this?”

“Not yet.”

Jericho moved across Sebastian’s forehead, rubbing circles, then over the muscle that went around his ears, one of the biggest sources of tension headaches. “Do you have anything?”

“Top drawer.”

Jericho stopped only long enough to pull it open, find the packet of Nurofen, and dump it in front of Sebastian. “Take two.”

“Yes, sir,” Sebastian said lazily.

Jericho massaged under Sebastian’s chin and then up his cheeks and back to his temples.

“I should be paying you by the hour,” Sebastian slurred. He took a sip of his water bottle and swallowed down two of the liquid capsules.

“I take payment in the form of sexual favours.”

“Figures,” Sebastian said with a snort.

Jericho kissed the curve of Sebastian’s ear and then the sensitive skin below it. “It’s a special offer, only available to four particular men.”

“Lucky men.”

Jericho smiled. “I believe you have it backwards.”

Sebastian turned his head, and Jericho couldn’t resist. Sebastian kissed like a dream. They all did. So different, so similar. Made for Jericho’s lips to taste. Made for him on the most basic level. A dangerous thought. One he was allowing to swallow him whole.

“What are you really doing here?” Sebastian asked.

“Well—” Jericho stopped abruptly as the lock on the door flicked open, and the door swung free. Monica and Riley stood on the threshold. Riley’s expression was thunderous, and Monica’s was the same no-nonsense scowl she had on earlier.

“We could have been having sex in here,” Jericho said flatly. If they’d been a few minutes later, they probably would have been. He and the others had fucked Sebastian thoroughly enough last night that there would be at least a lingering tenderness. Not enough that Jericho couldn’t make it good for him right now.

“Good thing for you that you weren’t,” was all Monica said before leaving them alone with Riley.

Riley, who was looking at Jericho like he wished he could murder him with his eyes alone. If any man in the world were capable of it, it would be this one. Jericho moved to the front of the desk and leaned back against it, waiting. He knew what was coming.

Riley advanced, and whatever Sebastian said to him was lost as a fist slammed into Jericho’s jaw, forcing his head to the side.

“Riley, what the fuck?” Sebastian growled. He scrambled around the desk and put a hand on Riley’s chest, shoving him back and shielding Jericho. “The hell is wrong with you?”

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