Page 15 of The Surrogate Omega, Part Two

I finally let him pull away but don’t let him get far, keeping an arm wrapped around him. He’ll tell me if he needs space, but for now, I know he appreciates the closeness.

After a while, I get us some drinks and the three of us chat with Zach. Once the guy opens up a bit, it’s easy to see why Ev wants to try to become closer friends with him. I’ve never met him before today, but Ev has mentioned that he was essentially forced to come tonight, and it shows by his hunched shoulders and the expression on his face. He’s a sweetheart and pretty fucking funny. It’s clear he’s painfully shy and has some social anxiety, but I think us just treating him like a fucking human being and not judging his insecurities help him relax enough to keep up a conversation.

Just as I think the guy is starting to enjoy himself, he freezes. Zach’s whole body is stiff, his drink halfway to his lips. His eyes are wide and staring at something beyond my shoulder. On high alert, I spin around. There’s a guy standing there with the same frozen expression on his face. He’s a good-looking, sharply dressed man in his mid-thirties, and his focus is locked on Zach. Neither man moves. Hell, I’m not even sure if they’re breathing. What the fuck is happening here?

I look over to Ev, who looks as confused as the rest of us. Before it can get any weirder, though, he steps over to the other guy, hand extended for a shake. “Hi, I’ve seen you around before. You work in the marketing department, right?” Ev asks, his smile friendly.

My eyes bounce back and forth from Zach to the new guy from the marketing department. I’m fascinated as the new guy has to physically force himself to drag his gaze from Zach to Ev.

With a slow blink, the guy seems to regain his focus and returns Ev’s grip. “Yes, I’m Alexander. Alex is fine. And you’re in the editing department?” He has a deep, gravelly voice that I can feel deep in my toes, even with the music blaring. Lake shudders next to me, and I don’t blame him. I’m deeply in love with my guys and have zero interest in adding to our throuple, but even I must admit that is a fucking sexy voice.

Ev continues the introductions.“Yes, I’m Ev.” He gestures toward Zach. He’s stopped staring now and is very obviously doing all he can not to look at Alex. Do they have history, or is this some kind of instant attraction moment? “Zach also works in editing with me. And these are my men.” Ev pauses, making eye contact with Alex, a challenge in his stare. I tense and wait for the guy’s response, wondering if we’re about to throw down in the middle of a holiday party. So far, we’ve been fairly lucky about people’s responses to our unusual relationship, but I know we won’t always meet open-minded people. Alex doesn’t blink, though, clearly unphased. Ev visibly relaxes, and even Lake breathes in a sigh of relief. “Logan—” Ev finishes, nodding toward me, “—and Lake.”

Alex squints and tilts his head slightly at the mention of Lake’s name, but not in judgement, more like he recognizes it and can’t quite place it. I’m not surprised since Lake and River were blasted all over the fucking place a few months ago. Alex doesn’t ask, though, so of course, we don’t mention it. We all just shake hands and move on.

Even as Alex continues to talk with us, I see him constantly glancing over to where Zach is standing. The guy has edged himself slightly out of our circle and is looking everywhere but at Alex. I won’t lie; I’m fascinated. I’m not usually one to care about other people’s drama, but I’m invested.

After a while, though, once I’ve eaten more than my fill and probably drank more than it too, I stop focusing on the two of them so much and turn my attention back to my men. My sex drive hasn’t been great since the day I knotted. I still haven’t tried again, and thankfully, neither Ev nor Lake have made a big deal about it. I think they’re trying to give me time to work it out on my own. I know their patience won’t last forever though. Not that I think they’ll pressure me to have sex, but they will want me to talk to them out of concern. I’m not ready for that. Between the drinks and how sexy my guys look, though, I may be getting that drive back without needing to talk about my feelings.

I’m lost in my own thoughts and fantasies and am completely startled when Alex stops talking mid-sentence, his head whipping back and forth. “Where did Zach go?”

I look around and realize Zach is nowhere in sight. Fuck, I feel like such an asshole. I kind of forgot about him and didn’t even notice when he walked away. By the guilty look on Ev’s face, and the panic on Alex’s, I’m clearly not the only one.

“He left a few minutes ago. He headed that way,” Lake tells him, gesturing toward a hallway that most likely leads to offices. Lake’s sitting on one of the barstools, sipping on a caffeine-free soda. I’ve noticed he’s been rubbing his stomach the last few minutes and wonder if he’s starting to feel sick again. Even so, I feel like a bigger jerk that he’s the only one who saw Zach slip out. Guess I don’t catch everything going on around me after all.

“Fuck.” Alex looks like he’s about to lose it as he spins in a circle, trying to spot the shy man. He whips his head back to us. “It was really nice to meet you guys, but I-I gotta go do something!”

None of us even get a word in before Alex takes off in the general direction that Lake mentioned. Ev turns back toward Lake and me, amusement showing on his face.

“What just happened?” Lake asks, confused.

“Pretty sure we just saw a real-life meet cute.” Ev is grinning as he steps up to us, wrapping his arms around both of us. I have no idea what that means, but I get the feeling that Zach and Alex won’t be leaving the party alone tonight.

I wrap my arm around Ev as I kiss Lake’s cheek. “You’ll have to keep us updated. I’m invested.”

Ev laughs. “I know. Me too. Zach is a good guy. I hope things work out.”

I agree silently as I take in Ev and Lake. Their unique smells surround me, and I know longer remember I’m at a busy work holiday party. My bulge starts to grow inside my dress slacks, and I know we need to get out of here quick.

“Hey, babe?” I whisper into Ev’s hair.

“Hmm?” His head is resting against my chest. One arm is wrapped around me while the other is squeezing and caressing Lake’s thigh.

“Is there somewhere private we can go?”

Ev tilts his head up, his gaze heated. He sucks his lip piercing in between his teeth as a small shudder runs through his body. “Yeah, I know a place.”

Grinning down at him, suddenly feeling naughty, I reply, “Lead the way, babe.”

NINE

Evander

Itake Lake’s and Logan’s hands as I lead them out of the main party area. I glance around to see if anyone sees us, but it seems like no one is paying attention to our trio. Everyone is focused on their own thing. I head right for the staircase, not wanting to bother waiting for the elevator and risking someone catching on.

I feel like shit about it by the time we reach the third floor and Lake’s struggling. It’s still so early on in his pregnancy, so I didn’t think about things like this taking their toll yet. He has, however, been tired and sore lately, and I should have taken it into consideration.

“Sorry, sweetheart,” I say guiltily as I push a stray hair out of Lake’s face. “We have just two more floors. Would you like to take the elevator?”

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