Page 24 of The Alpha Option
Marvin tilted his head to get his antlers though the doorframe, quickstepping out the door without a word of complaint. Grunt. Whatever.
At the last second, Delaney snatched the final garment off Marvin’s antlers. “I am more than surprised by this twist to be honest.” He stepped toward Stephanie, offering the lacy bra to her on the palm of his hand like a jewel. “And you are?”
His voice had gone lower. Even deeper and somehow even sexier, and Cassidy enjoyed it despite herself. Damn, these wolves—because he had to be a wolf—needed to find a way to give sexy talking lessons to the rest of the male population.
The sex appeal was wasted on Cassidy’s best friend, though. She tugged her bra free and eyed him with curiosity. “I’m Stephanie. One of the other names on the deed.”
“Hmmm.” His gaze lingered on Steph longer than it had on Cassidy. He took a deep, deep breath, and his eyes widened. “Interesting. Very interesting.”
The front door slammed open again—she was going to need to reinforce the wall behind it if this kept up. “Jeez, guys. It’s a door, not a jousting target,” Cassidy growled.
“Get away from them,” Jace ordered, skidding to a stop face-to-face with Delaney.
What a freaking nightmare.
Jace had spent a few minutes longer at Blue’s that morning than intended, and now, for some reason, his cousin Del was alone with the ladies.
“This isn’t the place,” Jace began, but Cassidy caught his arm and jerked. Hard.
When he glanced back, her glare could have cut glass. “My house. Want to step back a bit? Get out of my guest’s face?”
“Your guest?” Jace whirled on his cousin. “Why are you here?”
“Started as a courtesy call.” Del’s expression grew more thoughtful, and his gaze took in the women in a way that pushed too many of Jace’s buttons. “Now I’m angling for a cup of coffee and a long heart-to-heart conversation.”
“No time for heart-to-hearts,” Stephanie informed them. She scooped up a pile of clothes and whirled toward the basement stairs. “Nice to officially meet you, Delaney. Laundry duty calls. You kick ass, Cass. Love you. That’s to Cass, by the way.”
“Love you, Steph. Keep it sunny-side up.”
“Always.”
Then they were down to three—him, Cassidy…
And his cousin. Who was not raving or foaming at the mouth as expected at their first reunion. How wonderful.
How odd.
Jace risked taking a half step back. “I can make you coffee,” he offered Cassidy. “In fact, let me make you breakfast. It’s the least I can do after sleeping in your bed.”
There. Perfect. And to make his claim crystal clear to Del, Jace slipped an arm around Cassidy’s waist and smiled down at her.
She didn’t smile back.
Instead, she jabbed her fingers into his ribs hard enough that he let go. He kept in theoofof pain, though. Some rules had to be respected, and showing weakness in front of his cousin was not an option.
“Don’t be rude. And don’t assume.” Cassidy spoke softly, but with Del’s wolf hearing, she might as well have shouted. “You act like an ass much longer, and last night, and your wolf, will be theonlytime you’re in my bed.”
The grin on Del’s face was unspeakably annoying.
Fine. Time to pull it together. If Del could act in an unexpected manner, so could Jace.
He still stood within lunging range of the bastard. “So. Heart-to-heart? Any topic in particular?”
“Not with you,” Del said smoothly, stepping back like he was dancing. He peeked down the stairs where Stephanie had vanished then focused again on Cassidy. “You arrived yesterday. Anything I can help with?”
“Not so far.” Cassidy wrinkled her nose in an adorable way. “I think you just met the fine print in the contract leaving on hoof.”
“Ah. Yes. Sorry.” Del had the grace to look guilty. Bastard managed to make it look classy, though, and Jace wanted nothing more than to plant his fist in his cousin’s smug face.
