by L. P. Maxa
Riley was abnormally quiet, his stomach in knots about his worlds colliding. He kept pacing the room while worst-case scenarios went through his head. By worst case, he meant Jasper and Blake immediately fucking on his full-size bed. He knew it was irrational, but that was where he was mentally. “Blake will be here.” She was always late. She probably walked out of her building and realized she’d forgotten her phone, or decided she was in dire need of caffeine on the walk over and decided to stop for coffees.
“Why do you seem so nervous? You’re giving off some odd-as-fuck vibes.” Jasper’s eyes narrowed, his hands going to his hips. “Did you flip your coin? Are you actually into this guy? I mean, I know you’re okay swinging your dick in front of me but—”
“Stop.” Riley rolled his eyes at Jasper’s ridiculous question. He wasn’t gay any more than Jasper was. They shared because it was what they’d always done. It started by accident, and they’d quickly realized neither of them had a problem with it. In fact, they got a kick out of it. They never bothered to get serious with any chick, they were shifters, what was the point? But him being comfortable like that with Jasper didn’t mean he’d ever allow it to happen with anyone else. Jasper was his pack, his family. “You know that’s not what’s up.”
“No?” Jasper’s eyebrow raised. “Because you’re on edge, and twitchy, like you’re afraid for me to meet this guy.”
He wasn’t wrong on that front. Riley was terrified Jasper would end up ruining his friendship with Blake—something Riley didn’t ever want to see happen. She’d saved him, she’d brought him out of his shell and demanded he start living like a college freshman. He owed her, and he liked her. He knew he’d miss the shit out of her if Jasper drove a wedge between them, and more than anything else, he didn’t want any animosity between him and his packmate.
Before Riley could shoot off a response, his door flew open dramatically, banging the wall behind it. “Sorry it took me so long, but I forgot my phone, and I brought coffees.” Blake came into the room like she owned it, which was how she entered most rooms, welcome or not. She was wearing tight jeans with a cropped sweater, her blonde curls bouncing on top of her head as she balanced a drink carrier with three large to-go cups.
Riley’s gaze flew to Jasper, wanting to see his immediate reaction. Jasper’s jaw dropped, his eyes wide. He was surprised, to say the least.
Blake stepped over to him, handing him a coffee and reaching out to close his mouth with the tip of her finger under his chin. “I know, I know. Riley let you think I had a big ol’ dick.” She giggled, passing a coffee to Riley as well. “As you can see, I don’t.”
Jasper glanced down to Blake’s crotch, then looked at Riley. “Blake is a chick.”
“Yep.” He took a sip of his coffee, hoisting the gifts off his desk with one hand.
Jasper held his hand out, shaking Blake’s. “It’s nice to meet you, no-dick Blake.”
She laughed again, dropping his hand to swing her duffle off the ground where she’d dropped it. “It’s nice to meet you too.” She cut her eyes to Riley. “I don’t know why this one never corrected you but—”
“I do.” Jasper reached out, taking Blake’s bag off her shoulder and transferring it to his own like the gentlemen he wasn’t, while he glared at Riley. “He didn’t want me to give him shit about whether you two were fucking. Plus, I’d have cyberstalked the hell out of you.”
Which hadn’t altogether worked because Jasper had accused him of hooking up with Blake with a dick. “Tell me you wouldn’t have constantly asked me if I was hitting it with her?” Riley held his door open for everyone to file out, wanting to get Blake home and away from Jasper. “You have a one-track mind, bro.”
“True that.” Jasper was walking backward, his eyes appreciatively assessing Blake. “And are you?”
“No, he’s not.” She hooked her arm through Riley’s, resting her head on him affectionately. “And neither one of us want to hear shit about it.” She fluttered her lashes at Jasper. “He’s the best thing that ever happened to me, no sex required.”
Riley kissed the top of her head, happy to see that she was cutting off Jasper’s bullshit at the knees. Predictably, he could also see Jasper’s reaction to and appreciation of Blake’s body in his packmate’s gaze. Gorgeous, sassy, outspoken. Like he’d thought, Blake was catnip to Jasper, who held his hands out, placatingly. “All right, I hear you. No questions about why the hell the two of you aren’t nailing on the daily.” He mimed locking his lips and throwing away the key.
Riley knew Jasper would keep his mouth shut until the moment after they dropped Blake at her front door. Then he’d be on him. He’d demand to know what the hell was going on, and he’d give him crap for keeping him in the dark to begin with. They had over an hour’s drive ahead of them. Riley would enjoy the peace while he could.
Blake wasn’t falling all over Jasper’s good looks, and she certainly wasn’t flirting. She’d shown her loyalty to Riley instantly. And, for the most part, Jasper was behaving.
Thinking back on it, Riley wasn’t sure why he’d made Blake’s gender a secret from his best friend. It seemed almost silly to be so possessive about his platonic relationship with Blake. Jasper was always going to find out, always going to meet her at some point. Riley wasn’t a selfish person, other than about Corey when she was pregnant with his cosmic sister. That was straight shifter nature there though, and his relationship with Blake had zero to do with his shifter.
Chapter Nine
Jasper was telling Blake embarrassing stories about Riley, stemming all the way back to their freshman year at St. Leasing. She was cracking up, begging for more as soon as he’d finished one humiliating story. Riley wanted to be irritated, but the fact that Jasper wasn’t outwardly flirting with her was helping. He’d been so worried, and it seemed it was for nothing. Blake and Jasper were getting along, but there was no sexual tension in the air. Riley’s senses would have picked up on it. His wolf wouldn’t be able to miss it.
It started to snow as soon as they pulled out the campus gates, and now it was really coming down. The flakes were large white blurs, and Riley needed to use the windshield wipers to clear them away. The sun was rapidly setting, and he was wishing he’d have checked the weather before getting on the road.
“Riley is everyone’s favorite back home. He dotes on all the females, and rocks all the babies. Peacekeeper and such an ass-kisser.” Jasper chuckled, using the term loudly while he could. If Dom or any of the other coaches heard Jasper refer to Riley’s relationship with their mates that way, they’d pop him for sure.
“No, he’s such a sweetheart.” Blake rubbed his shoulders from her spot behind him in the backseat. “The best friend a girl could ever ask for.”
“Sweetheart?” Jasper pursed his lips, his gaze meeting Riley’s briefly. “Maybe to you, and the women in our family, but make no mistake, I’ve seen this guy be a class A douchebag.”
Riley rolled his eyes. They both knew that wasn’t true. He was always kind to the chicks he and Jasper were with. He never made promises he couldn’t keep, never wanted anyone to get hurt. “Douchebag? No way, man. That’s you, and you damn well know it.”
“Well, someone has to be the bad cop with the girls.” Jasper winked at Blake, his oblique reference to their sharing making her smile grow wide and curious. “Otherwise, we’d never get rid of them. They’d become addicted AF.” Riley saw her reaction in the rearview mirror, and he stifled a groan.
“Wait a minute, good cop? You guys are into role play or something kinky like that?” Blake’s gaze was darting between them, her smile never faltering.
Jasper turned in his seat, mock indignation on his face. “Are you telling me Riley has been keeping secrets from you too?” He tsked at his packmate. “Bro, friends don’t keep—”
“Don’t, man, don’t go there.” Riley spoke softly, but put some force behind his words. Blake didn’t need to know anything about his sex life, or Jasper’s. She’d never be pa
rt of it, and Riley wasn’t about to share with her. “There’s no reason.”
Blake gasped, slapping both his seat and Jasper’s. “Well now I have to know. I’ll die from curiosity. You know I will.” Her tone was pleading in the extreme, and adorably dramatic. “Please, Riley.”
“No.”
Jasper’s cell blasted out a ring before Riley could shut her demands down any further.
“It’s Jace.” Jasper answered by the third ring, the lollipop Blake had given him from her purse still sticking out the side of his mouth. “Hey, man, what’s up.” There was a short pause. “Yeah, no shit, we’re driving in it.” Another pause. “Oh fuck, really?” Pause. “Send me the address.” He paused, his head nodding. “Yeah, I hear you. We’ll be safe.” He sighed. “Bye.”
“What was that about?” Riley glanced in the rearview mirror, checking Blake’s reaction to the one-sided conversation. “Everything okay at home?” Jasper had to get what Riley was carefully trying to ask, not wanting to alert Blake to anything she shouldn’t know. Like shifters were real, and Jace was fighting cruel underworld bosses at every turn.
“Yeah, man, everything is good at home.” Jasper leaned forward, peering into the now-dark night, trying to see through the large snowflakes like Riley had been trying to do for the last fifteen minutes. “Jace said the blizzard has closed a few roads ahead of us. We can’t get to Blake’s tonight, and we can’t get much farther. Forward or back. The roads are a fucking mess, man,” Jasper said. “Campus is getting hit hard too.”
Riley already knew he messed up by not checking the weather report before they left campus. “What address is Jace sending you? Did he find a motel close by or something?” Riley was already dreading the night ahead of them. How was he supposed to keep Blake’s curiosity at bay and Jasper’s mouth shut tight when they were all locked together with nothing else to do but watch cable or the snow continuing to fall?
“How did Jace know where we were? Or that roads were closed? Is this guy tracking your phones?” Blake glanced to Riley, then back to Jasper. “Are you secretly in the CIA? Good cop, bad cop?”
Jasper chuckled, turning around to tug on one of her blonde curls. “Nah, Jace is an extreme tech-y. He tracks everyone’s phones when we’re on the road, which turned out to be a good thing because he has a safe house just—”
“A safe house? Why does a tech-y nineteen-year-old need a safe house?”
Jasper’s gaze quickly met Riley’s, a wince on his face. “Jace is a bit of a doomsday prepper with too much money.” Riley shrugged like it was no big deal, going for casual to explain away his friend’s twin not only tracking them but sending them to a safe house. “He has houses everywhere and he plays with technology like Jasper plays with his dick.”
“Hey, don’t act like you don’t—”
“What’s the address?” Riley cut him off, grinning at his indignant expression.
Jasper leaned forward and entered the address into the truck’s navigation system. “It’s only a few miles away. He said it’s a little cabin in the middle of nowhere, but the truck should be able to make it there, no problem.”
Blake pursed her lips. “Are you taking me to a creepy cabin in the woods so you can murder me and bury my body?”
“No.” Riley expected nothing less from Blake. She was always dramatic and sarcastic. He also knew how weird the last-minute detour sounded. “Zero plans to murder you. Tonight.” He winked at her in the rearview mirror.
Jasper turned in his seat again, his tone playful. “Do you have any idea how lucky you are? I mean, a night in a secluded cabin with us. You just won the lottery, girl.”
Blake threw her head back, laughing loudly. “Oh yeah?”
“I have references. Would you like to speak to them?” Jasper pulled his cell back out of his pocket and Riley knocked it down to the floorboard before he could dial up any of their conquests.
Chapter Ten
The cabin was small, but clean. There was almost a foot of snow gathering on the side of the small gravel road leading to it. He’d put the truck in four-wheel drive to get them there safely. The cabin’s front door had an electronic lock, and Jasper entered the code then opened the door, letting Blake go inside first. The place smelled like cedar and old smoke. There was a long couch in the middle of the room, a large fireplace with stacks of wood on either side, and that was about it. It was one room, and the kitchen cabinets were empty except for one lone bottle of whiskey and a can of chicken noodle soup. As far as safe houses went, this one was a pretty bare setup, especially for Jace Franklin.
“Good thing I brought road trip snacks.” Blake closed the empty fridge and pulled a giant bag of cheddar popcorn out of her tote. “But the whiskey works.” She grabbed it off the counter and tossed it across the room to Jasper.
His packmate caught it easily and opened the cap, the sound of the plastic giving way filling the silence in the dark room. Jasper took a swig, then passed it to Riley. “I’ll start the fire, but we’re going to need to pull some warm clothes out of our suitcases since I don’t see any blankets.”
Blake took the bottle from Riley, eyeing the one lone sofa. “The three of us sharing that bad boy?”
Jasper glanced at her over his shoulder, winking. “Don’t worry, Barbie. We’ve got a system down.”
“Do I have Mattel stamped on my ass?” Blake spun in a circle like a puppy chasing her tail. “Or do the two of you share one brain? Doll Face, Barbie. I’m dyeing my hair.”
Riley sighed deeply, taking the whiskey back from Blake. “Enough, Jasper.” He took another long swig then bent down to open his suitcase, pulling a large sweatshirt out and handing it to Blake. Then a sweater for Jasper and another pullover for himself. Since the one-room cabin was small, once they got the fire going, they should all stay plenty warm. “Blake, you can take the couch, Jasper and I will be fine on the floor.”
Jasper stepped back when the fire caught with a whoosh and warm light filled the room. He peered down at the floor, a frown on his face. “I’m not sleeping on this floor.” He shook his head. “There aren’t even any pillows, bro.”
“Don’t be a spoiled brat.” Riley threw a pair of sweatpants at his packmate harder than necessary. “You can make your own pillow.”
“Riley, it’s fine.” Blake sank down onto the couch. “We share a bed all the time, and I’m sure we can make room for Jasper. No one needs to sleep on the hard cold floor.”
Jasper’s eyes widened. “Besties who share a bed but don’t fuck in it? Seems suspish.”
“Give it a rest, man. I thought you said you’d keep your mouth shut.” Riley could feel a headache coming on quick. He’d been prepared to spend two hours in the car with Jasper and Blake, but not an overnight in a secluded cabin with no Wi-Fi. Jasper was going to get bored, and the more bored he got, the more he was going to run his mouth. He was like a toddler, constantly needing entertaining.
Jasper got behind the couch, pushing it closer to the fire with Blake still on it. He sat on one side of her and reached across her lap, patting the other side for Riley. “Come on, I’ll be good. Scouts’ honor.”
Riley joined them, kicking his long legs up to rest his feet on the fireplace hearth. He put his arm along the back of the couch and Blake settled into his side. It was natural, it was normal, the connection the two of them had formed almost from the start. Now though, there were three, and they stayed silent for a few minutes, watching the flames and passing around the now half-empty bottle of whiskey. Riley was happy to be with two of his favorite people; he adored Blake and he’d missed his packmate. So he laid his head back, letting himself absorb the moment as the whiskey warmed him from the inside out.
“I’m bored.” Jasper clapped his hands, putting an abrupt end to Riley’s peaceful moment.
“Same.” Blake bounced in her seat, her curls moving with her.
Great, now he was surrounded by toddlers who needed constant stimulation to stay out of trouble. Riley swore if he t
urned his back, one of them would be climbing the walls while the other set fire to the couch.
“Truth or dare.” Riley outwardly groaned at Jasper’s suggestion. Truth or dare wouldn’t lead anywhere good, that was for fucking sure.
Riley shook his head, removing his arm from around Blake. “No way.”
“There are no cards, no board games. We’ve got hours until any of us are going to feel tired enough for sleep thanks to Blake’s evening coffee run. So. All in favor of truth or dare, raise your hand.” Jasper put his hand in the air, smiling wide when Blake did the same.
Riley glared at both of them, making Blake giggle. “Oh, come on, sourpuss. Jasper is right. There isn’t really anything else to do.” Blake got on her knees, her hands on Riley’s shoulders, shaking him playfully. “Let’s play. It’ll be fun.”
Riley knew truth or dare with Jasper and Blake would be a lot of things, but fun was not one of them. Nope. It was a disaster waiting to happen. Jasper would get horny, Blake would get curious, and Riley would grow more irritated with the whole situation until it combusted. This, this right here was why Riley had longed to keep his two worlds separate. Part of him knew the moment they came together it would be a crash that shook him to the core.
“I’ll start.” Jasper stood, backlit from the roaring fire. “Riley, truth or dare?”
Riley sighed. He’d be damned no matter which option he chose. Neither Jasper nor Blake accepted the word no all that well. “Dare.”
Jasper tapped his chin, his eyes narrowed, like he was trying to come up with something good. “Go piss your initials into the snow.”
Riley snorted, getting to his feet. “Really? Done.” He was pleasantly surprised by Jasper’s easy juvenile dare. He was sure his best friend was going to say something completely sexual having to do with Blake. Riley undid his pants on his way to the front door, standing on the lowest porch step and pissed three letters into the snow. He didn’t do a bad job, but uppercase R’s were hard. He headed back inside. “Done.” He zipped his jeans and plopped back down on the couch. “My turn. Jasper, truth or dare?”