Page 58 of Resisted

“Finalize some paperwork,” Silas added.

“Finish this book,” Vincent said, voicing his plans.

Boyce nodded. “Anyone want to go to the gym?”

“I don’t think I’ve ever been there, nor do I plan to.” Just the thought made me shiver, and not in the pleasant way.

“Suit yourself.” He sipped his coffee. “But when you all go flabby, don’t come whining to me.”

Flabby? I doubt any of these boys would ever go to flabby. They were as hard as granite, and their shoulders were as wide as house. I didn’t foresee that changing. At least I hoped that didn’t change, because they sure make a pretty picture to look at. The ass on Vincent… Well, it was like a damn shelf. Perfection. My mouth salivated just thinking of it.

“Don’t do that,” Silas instructed, and when I looked at him, his eyes were dilated and his nostrils were flared.

“Do what?” I sounded innocent, but inside, my heart was racing. Could they read my thoughts?

It was Vincent who answered, his fingers nearly splintering the wood of the table with his grip. “Whatever you’re thinking of, whomever you’re objectifying, stop.”

“I wasn’t objectifying—” I stopped because honestly, I really was. Just the thought of Vincent’s butt or Boyce’s biceps or even Silas’ thighs had me rubbing my legs together to ease the discomfort.

“That.” Boyce’s voice sounded pained.

“Don’t do that,” Vincent added.

I should’ve felt mortified that they could tell I was having inappropriate thoughts, but instead of mortification, all I felt was empowerment. “I’m not doing anything.”

Boyce swallowed down the last drop of coffee before standing abruptly. “You most definitely are doing something, and I can’t be in this room while you are.” He bent down, kissing my forehead. “Last call for a gym buddy.”

Silas stood. “Sorry, I’ve got actual work to do.”

Silas took his mug of coffee with him and walked away, disappearing without a glance back as Vincent replied, “I would rather pull out my own teeth.”

“Suit yourself, old man.” Boyce reached into his pocket, grabbed a handful of chocolate Kisses before placing them in front of me, then walked away. Why was a man who provided chocolate without asking infinitely more attractive than one who did not?

At that thought, Vincent stood suddenly, grabbing his and Boyce’s cups before taking them both to the sink. He rinsed them and placed them in the dishwasher, then casually strolled toward the table, but I could feel the tension in his body. When he got to the table, he reached out, grabbing the paperback he’d been so engrossed in this morning. He turned, walking away before he stopped. He pivoted back toward me, placed a hand on the table and another on the back of my chair, and my body became stiff, anticipation thrumming in me at what he was about to say.

“You don’t get to exclude me, Bella.”

Before I had a chance to even question what his statement meant, he gave me his answer by bending over, capturing my lips, and giving them the most erotic of dances before he pulled back, not uttering another word, and walked away.

Chapter 24

BOYCE

“Why doyou think Bella hasn’t shifted since she was a pup?” I mused, and Silas glanced my direction, annoyed. But he was always annoyed these days, so what difference did it make? Ever since Bella reentered our lives, he’d been a bear. Worse so since last week, when we all got a little taste of the sweet, sweet heaven Bella offered.

I looked at him expectantly until he finally grunted. “Bella hasn’t accepted us fully as her pack.”

“What does that even mean?”

“It means she still holds hope that her family is out there, and until that hope is squashed, she won’t shift.”

“But you could force her.” He could. I’d seen him do it when she was a poor, shivering little pup.

“I could, but I won’t.”

“Why?”

He let out an unchecked growl. “Why? Because it’s my job to protect her, isn’t it? A forced shift is fucking painful. Like all the bones in your body snap and break at once. Sure, when she was a pup, I had no choice and I knew she would never remember such trauma, but now? Now she would never forgive me.”

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