Page 100 of Reactant

Quinn gave Sebastian’s tongue one more lick before he lifted himself up.

Will stood at the edge of the bed, holding a plate that held the entire still-warm baked cheesecake, covered in fresh strawberries, and with three sporks.

“Dessert twice in one day seems self-indulgent,” Sebastian said with a light laugh. He sat up, resting his back against the headboard.

Will handed the plate to Quinn and then crawled between them, settling comfortably in the middle space. He spread the three sporks in his hand. “Sounds perfect.”

Sebastian smiled and took one. It cut through the cheesecake like butter. The rich aromatic scent with the potent strawberry was mouthwatering. He lifted the spork to Will’s lips. Watching them wrap around it and take the piece was the real indulgence here. He teased Will’s mouth open and shared the taste. He did the same to Quinn, gathering more of the taste from his lips as well. He’d never be able to have dessert any other way after this.

He took the plate and the spare sporks, deciding that he liked doing it this way too much to let them do it themselves. They had nowhere to be, and he couldn’t think of a more perfect way to spend the rest of the night.

They’d leave some for Peyton, and between the three of them, Sebastian was sure they could find a way to make him scream—and feed him at the same time.

Chapter Ten

Hunterwasalreadywaitingfor Jericho when he got home, hunched over the kitchen counter and stirring a spoon in a mug. “Other one’s yours,” he grunted, not even looking up.

“What’s got you in a mood?” Jericho asked. He dumped the bag of warm jam donuts he’d gotten on his way there beside Hunter’s mug and picked up his own, taking a long drink of the peppermint tea.

“Nothing.”

That was a lie. “What did I teach you as a kid?”

“Don’t piss on the fire hydrants?”

Jericho pulled out a donut and took a bite, almost too-warm jam squirting out onto the corner of his mouth. He swiped it with his thumb and sucked it into his mouth. “That’s all you remember me teaching you?”

“Where to piss, how to get food, that possums are friends, and no one ever looks up.”

Jericho shrugged one shoulder. Those were important lessons. “And liars’ pants light on fire… or was it that their noses grow?”

“Pinocchio would attest to it being the nose thing, but if you can’t even remember, then I’m shit out of luck,” Hunter said. “Should have written it down.”

“A handbook. Smart. Donut?”

“Sure.” Hunter pulled a piece off instead of painting his face like Jericho. Dainty bastard. “We’ve been looking into Howell’s finances.”

“And?” Jericho asked through a mouthful.

“Money was transferred from a shell account that leads nowhere.” He glared at his tea as though it had personally offended him. Probably had. Peppermint wasn’t his favourite, but he wasn’t always able to get the weird one he liked. They bought it in bulk when they could find it.

Jericho tapped the mug away from the edge, lest it become a victim of Hunter’s irritation. “It had to have come from somewhere.” He hadn’t been undercover with the organisation long enough to get access to any of their accounts or even where they kept them.

“Physical money was deposited in one go, at a Commonwealth Bank in Melbourne.”

“Just strolling around with a couple hundred thousand dollars in his pocket?” Jericho asked. Briefcases of money, or bags, were fairly noticeable. How had they transported that kind of cash, and no one noticed?

“It was in Sunshine, specifically.”

Well, that explained it. If there were ever a prime crime suburb in Australia, it was Sunshine in Victoria. “It gives us a starting point.”

Hunter nodded. “If Spence and Ken can’t find anything more, I’m probably going to need you and Six to go.”

The idea of being away from home for a few weeks, or possibly months, following up leads, was both daunting and tempting. He’d only just gotten home and had barely had a few nights in his own bed before he’d been put on babysitting duty. And now a trip to Melbourne?

He’d be lying if he said some of the apprehension wasn’t from the men he’d met. There was something about them that was slipping under his guard; his instincts were failing him. Part of him wanted to sink into them and take everything they were offering. The other part wanted to run as far and as fast as possible. They were dangerous and had the potential to break him in a way he didn’t know how to handle. Had neverhadto handle. If he didn’t get close, then there wasn’t a risk. He’d closed off those vulnerable parts of himself a long time ago. He’d had no time for it when survival had been his only thought. Even less when he’d been building this team with Hunter and carving out a place in the world that was theirs alone and couldn’t be taken from them on some asshole’s whim.

“I slept with them,” he blurted out.

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