Saving Bennett Reid (Book 3)

Gaining Intimacy

I shrugged in nonchalance. "I didn't see a point in attending since I've had seventeen years of the same party."

Of course, being the sharp little shit he was, Vic saw right through my 'lie' even if it wasn't a total lie.

"Sure." He dragged out that one word as if subtly calling me out on my bullshit.

"I'm not lying, Vic." The younger dominant only grinned secretively, successfully getting on my nerves.

Where the bloody hell is Asher already, dammit? We're going to be late and I'd rather be there to greet Bennett when he arrives.

Vic shrugged. "Didn't say you were." Both hands wringing at the strap of the bag, Vic's smirk mostly disappeared if it hadn't been for the almost invisible curl at the corner of his mouth. "Well, I'm off. Happy birthday, dude." He patted my shoulder before walking off as I gave him a suspicious stare that lasted only a moment before me called out to me again. He kept his back toward me, sending a wave of his hand my way which was swiftly accompanied by words that made my face heat up from embarrassment.

"Tell your boyfriend I said hello."

Oh my gods! Does everybody know about my sudden obsession with Bennett? Have I really been that noisy about my attraction to him?

Then again, it was impossible to be quiet when he's related to someone like Mandy. And it was impossible not to draw attention when he's diagnosed with severe PTSD and constantly surrounded by fools who trigger it. Mostly, it was incredibly impossible to stay away and keep quiet when my attraction toward him was through the roof.

"Ready?"

Turning at the sound of Asher's voice, the sub gave me a curious frown when he caught my expression. No doubt my embarrassment shone through.

"Finally! Hurry up!" I breathed in relief. The sub only rolled his eyes but got into the front seat anyway.

The ride to the beach house was mostly quiet, save for the music playing. My nerves were all over the place jumping from anxiety, to happiness, to complete and utter shit. We had just crossed into the human populated part of town when Asher finally broke the tensed silence, turning to pin me with a disapproving, irritated glare.

"Can you stop that?" he blurted, making me jump slightly as my mind had stayed- for the better part of the drive- fixated on the idea of getting to spend an entire weekend with my mate. Albeit, we would not be alone, but just having him there would mean everything.

"What?" I queried, truly confused and startled by his sudden sharp scolding.

"Calm down, man. Your anxiety reeks."

Wait...

There's only one other person I know of who can pick up on those things. I gave Asher a skeptical glance from the corner of my eyes, and he rolled his having caught me trying to figure out from where he'd attained that particular skill.

"Jax taught me."

I raised an eyebrow at that. "It took you less than two weeks to learn how to track through chemo signals?" The sub shrugged his shoulders in a nonchalant manner, keeping his eyes trained on the road ahead of us.

"It isn't that much different to tracking through scent. Just requires a little more focus."

"From what I remember Bennett saying, it's more complicated than the usual."

Asher shook his head. "It sounds like that. But it's really simple. And it becomes as easy as breathing once you keep doing it everyday." He paused for a moment, glancing to me for a bit before he exhaled sharply. "Just don't fuck up this weekend."