Page 30 of Reactant

“Asset,” Jericho mouthed.

Sebastian glared at him. Those lips wereillegal,and he could take them, and the rest of him, out the fucking door. “I’m done helping you. Both of you. All of you? I don’t care how many of you there are. You can all find a new lawyer.”

Jericho ignored him and picked up Sebastian’s paperweight, a crudely multi-coloured painted rock with the words “worlds best unkel” written across it in black Texta. It had been a gift from his niece Claire when she’d been in kindergarten. It did the job, and—now that she was so old at the ripe age of eight and knew everything there was to know in the world—she was super embarrassed to see it whenever she visited. So naturally, he always kept it in view. “Nice.”

“I can’t be talented at everything.”

“Shame.” Jericho put it down in the exact spot he’d picked it up from. “Didn’t you know, Sebastian?” He licked his bottom lip enticingly. “You’re our favourite pet lawyer.”

“Your what?” Sebastian bit out. He was no one’spet.

Jericho circled the desk and rested his hip against the desk right beside Sebastian’s arm. It was close enough that Sebastian could feel the warmth of him.

“Our favourite,” Jericho repeated. He traced a finger across the curve of Sebastian’s neck and goosebumps rippled across his skin. He could have pulled away, but it felt like that was exactly what Jericho wanted. If he moved, then he lost. And Sebastian refused to lose whatever this was. “No one wears their collar as spectacularly as you do.”

Sebastian stood and realised instantly that he’d made an error. Jericho was a half head taller than him, and his mere presence was staggering this close. He refused to let any of that show. “Go play with someone else; I’m not interested.”

Jericho moved even closer, the tips of their noses brushing as he tilted his head, almost lining up their mouths perfectly. “You’re lying.”

The air in Sebastian’s lungs left him, punched out like a physical blow to his stomach. His heart thundered in his ears, and he could feel Jericho’s breath against his lips. This close, Sebastian could see that Jericho was wearingcontacts. Because of fucking course he was. He bet brown wasn’t even his real hair colour.

“I am not a dog,” Sebastian bit out.And get the fuck out of my space.

“Jericho.” Hunter’s voice was stern, with a clear warning and something else that Sebastian couldn’t interpret.

Jericho searched Sebastian’s eyes before stepping away. A hot flush ran over Sebastian as he exhaled and gripped the edge of his desk for stability.

“We’re offering protection,” Hunter said as though nothing weird had just happened. As though Sebastian’s whole world wasn’t moving underneath him. “We’ll keep you safe while we follow the threads.”

“Like you kept me safe yesterday?” Sebastian retorted without looking away from Jericho.

Jericho’s eyebrow rose in response, a perfect arch that was more impressive than it should have been. Sebastian swallowed hard.

“Did you die?” Hunter asked.

“Get the fuck out of my office.” Whatever game they were playing, he wasn’t interested in any part of it. It had already gotten him and Will shot at, and Peyton hurt.

“Don’t be stupid about this,” Jericho whispered. “I can protect you. All four of you.”

Surprise coiled in Sebastian’s gut.Jerichowas the one that Hunter would assign to him? That was the last thing that Sebastian wanted. Jericho was already making him feel off-kilter, and they’d been in a room together for less than ten minutes. Inviting him into the rest of his life seemed like the worst possible idea.

Jericho’s nostrils flared. “This is not like yesterday’s incident. They were amateurs, and you got lucky. You can’t handle what’s coming. I can.”

“How nice for you,” Sebastian said. By the flare of blatantwantin Jericho’s eyes, the husk to his voice hadn’t gone unnoticed.

“Take the protection,” Hunter said.

“No.”

Jericho ran his fingers down the inside of Sebastian’s arm, curling his fingers around Sebastian’s wrist and using the hold to lift it out of his way. The hair on his arm stood on end, and his gut clenched. Jericho twisted his fingers around Sebastian’s for a second, the warmth sinking into his bones before he moved away. Properly, this time, with enough room between them that Sebastian felt like he could finally breathe.

“We’ll be in touch,” he said flippantly.

“How about instead of wasting your time you just don’t?” Sebastian said, ignoring the way his voice wavered. If they knew what was good for them, they would ignore it too.

Hunter took a long look at Sebastian—Sebastian maintained eye contact because he wouldnotshow weakness to these men—before he followed Jericho out the door.

The second the door clicked closed, Sebastian wobbled, his knees buckling. He collapsed back into his seat and leaned back, staring at the ceiling.

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