Page 61 of Dangerous Heat

Then his eyes flew open abruptly, hands slamming down on the desk as he frantically looked around the room. His panic lessened when he spotted Ozzy in his lap, and dissipated when he noticed Emmett and I standing in the doorway. Freckled cheeks flushed with embarrassment, he settled back into the chair. “Um, good morning. I hadn’t realized I’d fallen asleep.”

How late had he been up? I didn’t know what his sleep schedule was like, but he didn’t look very well-rested. The violent wakeup might have been a nightmare, but unless he’d been dreaming all night, he should still look less tired. Without noticing, I’d projected the mental question and my familiar answered me.“Until three in the morning. What time is it?”

I cringed.“Six in the morning.”

“Angels, you’re never awake this early. You picked a really annoying day to start.”

“It’s not like you need much sleep.”

“He does,”Oswald said protectively, jumping from Nolan’s lap and onto his desk. The main screens were asleep, but the security feeds stayed awake through the night.

“Good morning,” I said to Nolan. My response had taken too long after speaking with Oswald. “I was worried about Ozzy, so I came to find you. He was supposed to bring you to see me last night.”

“I didn’t want to go,” Nolan said. “I think you forget I’m your boss, and not the other way around. You can’t summon me like an obedient soldier.”

“We need to talk about the plan for killing Kylan.”

“It won’t happen until after your heat, so there’s no point in talking about it now.”

Reaching up, he wiped the back of his hand across his mouth. His cheeks flamed more when it came back damp with drool. Standing from his chair, he stretched both arms overhead, making his shirt ride up and expose a strip of flesh on his torso. “I’d like to know what to expect,” I said, trying to avoid looking at the bare skin.

I stared at Emmett instead, who was giving me a knowing look. He was also not looking anywhere near Nolan, which made sense after Oswald had growled at him last night. My familiar had claimed Nolan as his, as weird as that was. Would he do with Nolan what he’d done with me during my heats? Coax him to touch himself, and murmur to him through an orgasm? Did that thought irritate me or turn me on?

It turned me on, but I should probably wait until I wasn’t hours away from being in heat to take a closer look at it.

“You’re very high maintenance,” Nolan said. “Terrible prisoners and employees, honestly. If you insist on talking about this, I’m showering first. It’s the only way I feel alive in the mornings.”

His fingers undid the buttons of his Hawaiian shirt, exposing a slim chest with a black line dragon on one side. He dropped the shirt unceremoniously to the floor, moving on to the buttons of his pants. Oswald let out a threatening little rumble and Emmett threw his hands up in surrender, stepping out of the room.

I didn’t move an inch, watching him.

“Don’t I get some privacy?” he asked, glancing between Oswald and I. He was staring, too.

“If you want privacy that much, get undressed in the bathroom.”

I gestured over his shoulder at the door, which was ajar. It was one of two doors into the bathroom, the other one in the living room.

Sharp teeth sank into his bottom lip and he forced a grin. Beneath it, he was nervous. “I don’t like having clothes all over my bathroom floor, so I suppose I’ve got to deal with the audience.”

His fingers hooked in the waistband, pushing his shorts and boxers down in one motion. Cock bobbing free, it was rock hard and a few shades darker than the rest of his pale body. The tip was red and shiny, begging me to lick it, but I avoided doing anything other than looking. Ozzy looked too, a loud purr vibrating from him that got even louder when Nolan turned to walk to the bathroom. His ass was fucking fantastic, plump and round and possibly a nicer shape than mine. I was damn proud of my ass, so that was a hell of a compliment.

“Jerk off in the shower for me,” I said teasingly to his retreating back.

Nolan walked faster until he vanished behind the door, the water starting to run.

* * *

We waited for him in the living room, helping ourselves to some coffee in his kitchen. He’d need it when he got out of the shower, so we were being helpful by making it before he finished. So helpful we also drank half the pot between Em and I.

“You struck me as more a tea guy,” I said, noting the speed with which he chugged his second cup.

“I prefer tea, but when I’m awake at six in the morning with six hours of sleep, I prefer anything that will keep me awake and alert. Especially because we’re in hostile territory.”

“Calling this hostile territory is a bit of a stretch,” I commented. “We’re not imprisoned or enslaved or abused. Would you seriously classify Nolan as hostile at this point?”

Emmett shrugged. “All true, but sometimes the proper strategy is to lull your opponents into a false sense of security. I’m not convinced he’s going to stick to his word.”

“I will,” Nolan said from the entrance to the bathroom, the door swinging open to reveal him in a pair of low-slung cargo shorts.

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