Page 41 of Shift Change

He chuckled. “What can I say? I’m a horny guy, and seeing you flustered excites me.”

Desire coiled in my gut, but I pushed past it. “We don’t have time to mess around. If I don’t go get him, he’ll be back.”

Holky got up, walked across the room, and put his hands on my shoulders. “I know. Promise me we’ll finish later?”

My dick started getting hard again. “Like I could resist.”

“Good.” He slid his hands down my back and pulled me into a hug.

I leaned against him, wanting to take the kiss we’d almost shared, but if I did that, it would shift us into high gear again.

“Look at me,” he said.

My heart sped up when I raised my head. I could see fire in his eyes, and I hoped he was about to kiss me. Riley could go to hell.

“I want you so much, but I guess we should wait.”

“Thought that was settled.”

He moved his head until our cheeks brushed, and the rasp of our whiskers made the back of my neck tingle. When I shifted, the hairs caught and tugged, and the slight pull sent a jolt of excitement through me. It was erotic in a way I hadn’t expected. The tingling spread like a slow burn, crawling down my throat and seeping into my chest, where it settled. “Incredible,” I mumbled. “Fucking amazing.”

He moaned softly. “Being with you like this is weird only because it doesn’tfeelweird.”

“Same.”

He let me go, and we gazed into each other’s eyes until an elevator dinged down the hall.

“We’d better get dressed,” he said. “I’ll sneak to my room, and you can meet Riley. I’ll follow you guys in a little bit.”

A few minutes later, I cracked the door and motioned for Holky to go first. He took one step into the hall and froze.

“What?” I whispered, but he didn’t answer.

I squeezed past him to look, and—fuck. My stomach dropped straight through the floor.

Riley was leaning against the wall a few doors down, arms crossed, with one foot kicked back against the baseboard. He was wearing the kind of grin that said “busted” and “this is gonna be fun” at the same time. It was the smirk of a man who’d caught a plot twist in real time and couldn’t wait to tell the group chat.

“You found Holky,” he said, starting toward us. “Good to see you, Nate. We were getting worried.”

“Riley, it’s not?—”

Riley held up a hand and said, “You came to find Dog while I was in my room taking a leak, right?”

He held out a fist, and Holky and I both bumped it.

“This way,” Riley said, turning to head for the elevator.

His shit-eating grin spoke for itself. I didn’t believe he’d gone to his fucking room at all.

14

holky

The second-floor loungewas like the scene of a beer commercial gone rogue—bottles clinking and guys laughing too loudly, with their cheeks flushed from booze and bullshit. The moment Dog and I stepped in, a wave of hoots and chirps rolled our way. We were late to the party, and everyone knew it.

I slapped Dog on the back. “Looks like we’ve got some catching up to do.”

Logan raised his drink with a grin. “Where were they, Riley? Nels just got back, but we were about to send the Saint Bernards out after you.”

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