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.”Some warning.It didn’t tell Axel why Dominic Blake was such a dangerous asshole.How could he be worse than the other alphas they’d dealt with?Worse than Cross senior or Magnus.Was that even possible?* * *Ben smiled when Quinton stepped into Cloud Nine.Even after the day he had, and the woman who complained about the weave of the Egyptian cotton while wearing an outfit that looked like she pulled it from the discount bin at Wal-Mart, he still needed to smile at his customers.And potential customers.All dreams came with a reality check at some point.At least he could handle the constant string of browsers and tourists who thought the prices were obscene.Axel would start a fistfight with half of them.Well, that wasn’t fair.He’d probably just scowl.Quinton’s long hair hung in his face, and he nodded stiffly as he looked around.He was dressed casually, jeans and a button up shirt (Calvin Klein) and those luscious Bacco Bucci loafers.Ben would’ve asked to try them on if they wore the same shoe size.“Thanks for giving me a ride home.Axel had to give a presentation to a client, and the car is gonna be in the shop until Friday.I didn’t want to put you out or anything.”“Like Gage said, I didn’t have anything better to do.” Quinton leaned against the counter.“Are you finished?”“Well, I have to cash out the register.It’ll take a few minutes.You can look around if you want.Actually,” Ben said and walked toward the section of menswear.“I think I have something you might like.Look at this blazer.It matches your shoes perfectly.”Quinton hesitated, and Ben didn’t think he’d bite.Then the beta stepped forward and ran his hand down the material.“It’s nice.”Ben grinned.“Local designer out of San Francisco.Look inside.Fully lined with silk and French seams.The buttons are mother of pearl for a bit of flare.My shoulders aren't broad enough for something like this.But I think it’d look great on you.”The side of Quinton’s face that Ben could see flushed slightly.He slipped the blazer on, moving his arms to see how the sleeves fit.Ben pulled him toward the full-length mirror.“See? Perfect.”Quinton tensed under his hands, staring at himself like he didn’t own a mirror.Or if he did, like he hadn’t looked at it in a very long time.“How much?”Ben rattled off the price like an afterthought.Not that it’d matter to a guy who lived in a huge Spanish mansion overlooking the ocean.In his wildest dreams, Ben never thought he’d step foot in a place like that unless it was a museum of some kind.And here they could’ve been pack mates with the owner.His chest tightened at the thought.Was it a good idea or not? Their last pack was less than ideal.Okay.That was an understatement.Their last pack was mostly terrible, save his own family and Anton, the kind-hearted beta.Gage and Quinton couldn’t be as bad as Cross Senior or Magnus.But getting in the middle of a pack war wasn’t what Ben and Axel had in mind.He deserved some peace.Some tranquility.They both did.Especially after they fought so hard to get here.“I’ll take it,” Quinton said, shaking Ben from his thoughts.“Great! Do you want to look at anything else? We have some clam diggers from the same designer.They’d look wonderful with the blazer.Perfect for sailing, if you sail.Do you have a yacht?”Quinton shook his head, frowning.“No yacht.And I don’t do clam diggers.”Ben looked down at his own high water pants.They showed off his skinny ankles and the fashionable oxfords.“Really? Why not? You have the perfect build for it.Gage couldn’t pull them off, too muscular, but on you they’d–”“I said no,” Quinton growled so suddenly Ben jumped.He stared at the other wolf for a moment.If Axel were there, he’d have said something about Quinton threatening his mate.But Axel wasn’t there, and Ben didn’t feel threatened.It was different than that.Maybe it had something to do with the scars.Did they go all the way down his legs? Poor bastard.Tattoos couldn’t cover those.Ben nodded.“Okay.They aren’t for everyone.How about a hat?”“I don’t wear–”Ben plopped the fedora on Quinton’s head before he finished his sentence.He set it at a jaunty angle so it cast the scar in shadow.“Now you look even more mysterious.Like a Latino spy or something.It’s sexy.”“I’m not trying to look mysterious,” Quinton grumbled, but he didn’t remove the hat.“Trying or not, that’s how you look.It’s not a bad thing.Better than my boyfriend who looks like he just got fired from Hot Topic,” Ben said with a grin.Quinton actually smiled at that.“So you want the hat too, right?”“Sure.”Ben rang up the clothes and glanced at the other wolf.On his own, Quinton wasn’t a bad guy.He was quiet and moody, but so was Axel.Ben’s own mate opened up once they got away from Magnus and their old pack, even if Axel would never be a people person.Maybe the same thing would happen to Quinton once he felt comfortable around them.They’d have to join packs to find out, and Ben doubted that’d happen now.“You’re more fun to have in the shop than Axel.He looks like he wants to cry every time he comes in here.I don’t think he’s changed his daily uniform since high school.”Quinton slipped a platinum credit card across the counter.“You’ve known each other that long?”“Our whole lives.We grew up next door to each other.Same pack and everything.Kinda like you and Gage.”Although most of their former pack was still alive.Axel wasn’t there to tell Ben to shut up this time, but from the haunted look on Quinton’s face, Ben decided not to ask how they died.Even if the question burned a hole in his tongue.“I doubt you were anything like us,” Quinton said and signed the receipt.“You two seem a lot closer.”Ben’s heart throbbed.“Yeah.He’s my best friend, but it doesn’t mean we always got along.We didn’t talk for almost seven years.I mean, we saw each other but we weren’t close back then.It’s a long story, and it really sucked.Sometimes it felt like my heart was walking around outside my chest with him.If I could do it again, I don't know what I’d do differently.Get out of Pittsburgh sooner, I guess.”Quinton stared, his brow knitting.“Did your old pack approve of you being mates?”Ben snorted, the memories flooding his mind.Magnus being a constant asshole.Years of Ben thinking Axel hated him.Even now, after everything, it stung.“They didn’t know.Well, my family knows now, and they’re happy for us.Axel’s family.” Ben couldn’t really explain that without admitting what he’d done – murdered their old alpha in self-defense.He forced himself to smile instead.“Is that why you didn’t want to join us? Didn’t want a gay alpha?”It was Quinton’s turn to snort.He moved his hand, like he was going to brush the hair behind his ear, but froze in the middle of the gesture.“No.That had nothing to do with it.I’m gay,” he said, but it took a great amount of effort to get the words out.Axel didn’t like saying it aloud either.“That’s why you should join us.We’ll have our very own gay wolf pride parade around your house.Think of the parties we could throw.The glitter, the rainbows, and the scantily clad strippers!”Quinton shook his head.“I’m surprised you didn’t mention piñatas.”Ben shrugged.“Only if they’re filled with lube.I don’t want to be culturally insensitive.”Quinton snorted, a smile tugging at his lips.While Ben liked the girls who worked with him, he hadn’t met another guy he had things in common with in a long time [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]