***
“Oh, wow!” Stan gasped as he watched Philip stand and move to his mate’s side. “He’s gonna do it…” All three men watched with amused excitement as Philip lifted his mate’s chin and kissed him with so much passion.
“Do you have any idea how I felt when you shifted and charged at Mary?” Philip whispered against Troy’s mouth when the kiss ended. “You were ready to kill her for me, baby. That was just…” The alpha looked lost for words.
“I’ll kill for you without a thought,” Troy murmured. “You’re mine.
“Aw, how sweet.” Stan drawled as he stretched out beside Jeremy on the bed. “But you might want to leave the rescuing and fighting to your mate next time. He’s supposed to protect you, not the other way round.”
“That’s bullshit.” Ryan snorted. “I vote you whoop this asshole’s arse one of these days, Troy.”
“That would be great actually.” Stan grinned. “How about picking me for your combat during the ceremony?”
“He’s not picking your bullying arse, Stanislav,” Philip growled. As part of the ceremony, Troy was supposed to pick anyone he wanted, for combat. He could even pick his own mate if he so wished.
“Aw come on.” Stan groaned as he poured himself some coffee. “Who do you plan on fighting, Troy?”
“I don’t know yet.” Troy shrugged. “Haven’t thought about it. You want me to…”
“No, you’re not choosing him.” Philip rasped, watching as Julia wheeled in a trolley that had on it more food. “What time are you guys leaving for Agyemang’s?” Philip asked as he flopped onto the couch and watched the four on the bed.
“Ryan and I will leave around noon,” Jeremy said as he poured some juice into a glass for Ryan. “We’re going to teleport.” Ryan wasn’t too comfortable with sitting in cars for long.
“The guys and I will be setting off in the next hour,” Stan said as he picked a sausage. “Do y’all know whether Paige will take a break from that kickboxer of a mate long enough to attend?” Everyone burst into laughter.
“Why don’t we call and ask her?” Philip laughed as he dialed Paige on the intercom. “Wouldn’t want to invade her mind and…hey sis.” He said too cheerfully when they heard Paige clearing her throat.
“What do you want, Lip?” Paige drawled.
“You’re on speaker.” Philip grinned. “Jer, Stan, Ryan, and Troy are here. We wanted to know whether you’ll be going to Agyemang’s for the ceremony.”
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Paige said. “Hi, guys.”
“Are you coming with…her?” Stan managed to sound like a sulking child.
“She’s Amber, Stan,” Paige said gently as though she were addressing a kid. “And no, I’m not coming with her.” She laughed softly.
“Good.” Stan grinned. “Will you join the guys and I?”
“No, I’ll drive.” Paige chuckled. “I might have to leave before you party animals finish partying.”
“Aw come on, Slip…” Stan groaned.
“She has a mate now, Stan,” Jeremy said. “You’re no longer going to get access to her as you used to. Get used to it. See you there, Slip.”
“Definitely, Jer.” Paige chuckled. “Troy?”
“Yes, Paige.”
“You kicked arse, darling.” They could all hear the pride in Paige’s voice. “I’m so fucking proud of you.”
“Thanks, Paige.” Troy grinned. “And thank you for saving the day.”
“Yeah, for once my big mouth paid off.” She chuckled. “Ryan honey, save me a dance, will ya?”
“You got it, Paige.” Ryan laughed. “Regards to Amber.”
“Will pass it on. See you guys soon.”
After finishing the food and having some laughs, Stan, Jeremy, and Ryan left, finally giving Philip and Troy some alone time.
“So…” Philip relaxed into the couch and looked at his mate…who remained seated on the bed, from beneath his lashes. He thought Troy looked amazingly sweet and sexy in his gray sweatpants, white socks, white t-shirt, and that adoring bedhead. “You’ve been ogling my dick huh?”
“Oh, my god…” Troy drew a pillow to cover his flaming face and let out an embarrassed scream, making Philip laugh. “What if I did…do?” His voice was muffled because of the pillow. Philip heard him just fine though.
“I’m not complaining.” Philip laughed softly as he left his seat and crawled into the bed between Troy’s open legs. “I’m just surprised I never noticed and Stan never mentioned it.” He muttered as he reached out to pull the pillow covering his blushing mate’s face away. “Hey…”
“Hey…” Troy responded softly, not meeting Philip’s eye.
“Know what would have been better than ogling?” Philip whispered.
“What?” Troy whispered back.
“Reaching out to squeeze or touch.” The alpha shrugged, the smoldering look on his face drawing an irrepressible moan from his mate. “That would probably…definitely had gotten me rock hard but who cares? I’d have loved that.”
“God, when you say naughty things like that…” With a helpless moan, Troy leaned down and captured Philip’s lips in a kiss that stole their breath. “Do you have any idea what you do to me when you talk like that?” Troy muttered against his mate’s wet lips when the kiss eventually ended.
“Oh, I can see and feel.” Philip husked as he grabbed and squeezed Troy’s hardness through his sweats.
“Oh, god…” Troy gasped, feeling himself jerk in Philip’s grip. “Philip…”
“Come on, let’s go take a shower so they can change the sheets and bring some sanity in here.” Philip released Troy to the younger man’s shock and rolled out of bed.
Troy stared at his mate’s retreating back in shocked frustration. Philip had woken him up with breakfast instead of his usual hand-job. He’d therefore thought Philip was going to take care of him like he always did. Clearly, he wasn’t going to get so lucky that morning Troy groaned as he got out of bed and followed his mate into the bathroom.
The alpha’s mate was definitely not a happy man that very moment.