Alice reached out to touch his face. Gabriel had always been honest with her, so she believed him. But for some reason, this time… this time, it felt like a lie.

  22

  Changing the Tide

  Gabriel

  “You sound like you took a beating. Again.” Gabriel sighed.

  “You should see the other guy,” Matts replied with a bit of humor. The man was infuriatingly positive. Still, Gabriel could hear the pain in his voice, and his ragged breathing through the phone.

  “Any news on Sophie?” asked Gabriel.

  “Unfortunately, no. The trail has gone cold, and we ran out of leads.”

  Gabriel heard Matts taking a deep inhale, then coughing. Was the man smoking while he could hardly breathe?

  “Shit.” Gabriel rubbed his face with his free hand. He had hoped Matts would find Sophie, but if even he couldn’t find her… He shuddered to think what could have happened if the strays got their hands on Alice as well. “What are you going to do now?”

  “I talked with Jerome. He agreed I deserve some time off. These past few months have been taxing, to say the least.”

  “Understandable.”

  There was a hesitation on Matts’s end. Then, “I’m planning on spending time with Alice.”

  Fuck. Gabriel tried to keep a cool head. “You promised you wouldn’t interfere. We are still four months away from the deadline. There’s still time—”

  “We are only four months away from the deadline, Gabriel. And while I promised I wouldn’t interfere, and kept that promise, you agreed to let me be a part of Alice’s life.”

  Gabriel pressed his forehead against his office window. Matts was right. He had kept his promise, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t ruin things now, so close to the end.

  “If time runs out for you, and I know that’s a big if, I want Alice to be at ease with me. I don’t want to scare her again.”

  Eyes closed, one hand on the window for support, Gabriel fought to find his center. Alice was in her bedroom upstairs. If she sensed his turmoil, she would come down to check on him.

  “Do you still intend on not letting her know about our terms?” Matts asked. “You are doing yourself a disservice, you know that, right?”

  “If she stays with me, it should be for me, not to avoid changing mates,” Gabriel confirmed. “Why would you care either way?”

  “Because against my better judgment, I have somewhat developed a camaraderie with you. Shocking, I know.” Matts’s ironic tone made it hard for Gabriel to discern if he was being honest or not. “And if we did tell her, and she chose me anyway, well, I guess I understand your perspective more than you think.”

  Now, silence on both sides of the line, both men hesitant to agree with the other. Gabriel understood what Matts meant about camaraderie. If not for Alice, they could have become friends. But they were too close to their goal now, too close to the finish line to acknowledge any other feelings other than rivalry.

  Gabriel broke the silence first. “I guess I will be seeing you soon, then.”

  “I guess you will.”

  Matts ended the call.

  Matts

  Alice greeted Matts at the apartment door. He had expected a maid or her bodyguard, and was surprised to see her instead.

  “Hello, darling.” Matts greeted her with a kiss on each cheek. How he loved the Portuguese way of greeting. “Where is Gabriel?”

  “In his office, pouting over some late work,” Alice replied with a laugh.

  “Pouting?” Matts whispered to himself as he made his way to the office and knocked on the door.

  “No time for anyone today, unless you have coffee,” called an angry voice from the inside.

  Matts looked at the door, confused for a second. “I can ask Alice if she can make some.” He laughed.

  A groan came from behind the door. “Come on in, Matts.”

  “What’s with all the work overload?” Matts asked as he closed the door behind him.

  “Diego, the Spanish First Chair, has asked for our alliance to become official,” Gabriel explained. “I’m triple-checking all the High Court rules to see what we can do.”

  Interesting. Matts politely waited for Gabriel to stop working and properly greet him, but Gabriel ignored him and kept typing. Matts wasn’t even sure if the man was actually writing something, but he didn’t care. The silence quickly turned into a quiet power struggle between them, each not wanting to be the first to address the other.

  Matts looked around the office, not willing to give in first, and his eyes froze on a large photo of Alice on the wall.

  Alice was kneeling on black sand, looking out at the sea with a laugh on her lips as a wave crawled up her thighs and chest. Her dress was soaked. Matts took a step closer to the photo. Had the water made the dress transparent?

  The sound of a laptop closing startled him.

  “So how long are you planning on staying?” Gabriel fumed.

  Matts held back a smile. “At least for the summer. Unless there are any leads to Sophie’s whereabouts.”

  “And what are you planning on doing with Alice?”

  Matts smiled but resisted the temptation of making a joke. Gabriel knew quite well what he would like to do with Alice…

  “I’m not planning on getting in your way, if that’s what you’re afraid of, Gabriel.” He was honest with the other alpha. “I just want to hang around and relax.”

  Gabriel’s scowl told him that he really didn’t believe him. That was all right. Although Matts wanted to spend as much time as possible with Alice, he really didn’t want to interfere. If time was up and he took over as Alice’s mate, he wanted to say he won fairly.

  “I’ll leave you to your work, then,” Matts said before leaving the office in search of Alice.

  He followed the sound of a radio all the way to the kitchen, where he found Alice chopping up a mango. Something simmered on the stove behind her. She gave him one of her wonderful smiles when he joined her.

  “Is he still stressed?” Alice asked, concern in her voice.

  “Pretty much so.” Matts lifted the lid of the pot. The smell of the simmering meat made his mouth water. He looked for a spoon to get a taste, but Alice closed the lid.

  “If you are hungry, there is cheese in the fridge,” she scolded him.

  With a grin, Matts opened the fridge. There was a platter heavy with different types of cheeses. He placed it on the counter and helped himself to a beer also. Then he leaned against the counter, eating while he watched Alice cook. She was absentmindedly swaying her hips to the music, and pouring the chopped mango into a bowl with other fruit. She licked the tips of her fingers, and Matts had to stop himself from groaning.

  “If you’re going to stare, you might as well help,” Alice chided him.

  “I would love to help, but I think I’d rather watch you cook.”

  Alice gave him a droll stare, then she picked up a chopping board and placed it in front of Matts. “There is lettuce in the fridge. You can do the salad.”

  Matts gave her a mischievous grin. He took the lettuce from the fridge and pretended to look for a knife. He knew very well where the knives were—he had helped Alice cook here before—but it was much more fun to lean into her body to reach the drawers on the other side of her.

  “There is enough space for two alphas, Matts,” Alice scolded him with a laugh.

  “Looking for a knife, darling.” Matts took the opportunity to smell Alice’s hair. It had a warm scent mixed with the fruit she was cutting. He put a hand on her waist, pretending he needed her for balance. What was it that he had promised Gabriel? That he wouldn’t interfere? He wasn’t so sure about that now.

  “Matts…” Alice warned him.

  “Here it is.” Matts smiled coyly and showed her the knife he had taken out of the drawer before he started chopping the lettuce.

  No, he wouldn’t interfere. He would give Gabriel all the space he needed to charm the pants off Alice. But he sure as hell wasn’t going to make it easier for him.

  What was I thinking? Matts followed Alice through the club as the loud music and the flashing lights messed with his senses. He hated nightclubs. He hated the loud music, the cheap drinks, and, most of all, the horde of dancing bodies that tried to swallow him into their numbers. So why was he here?

  Alice punched a code into a keypad next to a metal door and entered the stairwell that led to Gabriel’s office. As she bounced up the stairs, Matts had a full view of her rear. The leather pants she was wearing molded the curves of her ass into two perfect pillows. He wanted to grab that ass with both hands and spend a couple of hours just nuzzling it.

  Alice stopped her climb and turned around, eyebrows raising in question. The stark contrast between the dance floor and the quiet of the stairs must have distracted him enough to let his lustful wishes slip. He feigned ignorance and Alice resumed her climb. They found Naomi at the top of the stairs, and he entered the office after her. She regarded him with suspicion. Both women dropped their bags on a chair and went back downstairs.

  Matts settled in one of the couches, ready to spend the night drinking and watching Alice dance with her friends. He heard Gabriel settle at his desk. Did he ever stop working?

  Matts took a deep breath. He understood all too well Gabriel’s drive to work. This vacation was God-sent, considering how much Matts had worked in the last four years. But his alpha nature resisted his relaxation, nervous energy begging to be spent. Typically, alphas would spend the extra energy between the legs of a beta, but that wasn’t an option right now, either for him or for Gabriel. They both wanted the same woman and wouldn’t take second-best in her stead.

  Matts watched Alice and her friends dance to the beat of fast-paced music. Gabriel was working quietly. Elijah was near the bar, keeping an eye on the women, but once every hour, he had to come upstairs to get a respite from the music.

  “I don’t know how she can tolerate the loud music for so long,” Matts mused.

  “She loves it,” Gabriel said from his desk. “Says it dampens whatever it is that makes others attracted to her and muddles the emotions she usually senses. She feels free there.”

  Interesting. So Alice wouldn’t be able to feel him or Matts down there? That was worth a test.

  Naomi and Marina were leaving the club, Alice’s driver ready to take them home.

  He quickly went downstairs and caught Alice on her way to the office door. The music was deafening, and the strobe lights were enough to send someone into a seizure, but he took Alice’s hand and pulled her to the dance floor. At least in the VIP zone, there was room to breathe.

  Matts brought Alice’s hands to his shoulders and held her by the waist. She looked nonplussed and gave a little laugh that was inaudible over the music. But she danced with him, her hips swaying in his hands and the low cut of her top offering a tantalizing view.

  He saw Elijah look at them as he went to the stairs. He would probably alert Gabriel to what they were doing, but Matts didn’t give a fuck. He released the walls over his feelings, let his lust and want run free, and marveled that Alice was indifferent to it. She truly couldn’t get his feelings in the chaos of light and sound around them.

  Matts tried to smell her neck, using the dancing as an excuse to get entangled in her personal space. Nothing but sweat and alcohol filled his lungs. She could be a beta for all he knew; right now, there was no difference.

  And he didn’t care. He was in love with her, not the omega. He wanted Alice, the woman with her hands on his neck, grinding gently on his leg as they danced.

  Matts caressed the exposed skin on her back. He wanted so much to explore, to let his hands roam all over her body like a potter over clay. He wanted to kiss her senseless. Lick her senseless. Fuck her senseless…

  They danced a couple of songs more, his annoyance at the loud music forgotten. He could have stayed there until dawn, giving free rein to his imagination. But Gabriel had other plans and cut his fun short.

  “Time to go home,” the other alpha boomed over the music.

  “Come dance with us, Gabriel!” Matts yelled back.

  “Yes, come dance with us, Gabriel!” Alice yelled also. Her back was to Matts’s chest, his hands on her waist. She might have had a bit too much to drink.

  Matts could see a vein pulsing in Gabriel’s forehead, or maybe it was the strobe light effect. Either way, Matts didn’t care. He liked dancing with Alice.

  With a mischievous grin, Gabriel grabbed Alice’s hips from Matts’s grip and swayed in place with her. Even with the lights and the smell, it was impossible not to notice the lustful thoughts racing through Gabriel’s mind.

  Her ass grazed Matts’s groin, and he could feel his jeans getting uncomfortably tight. She leaned back into him, trapped between the two alphas for a full song. Some very lewd thoughts filled Matts’s mind, and he let his imagination run with them. He was going to keep them hanging on the edge of his mind until he was alone in his bed. He passed his hands over her arms, stroking the skin. His eyes locked onto Gabriel’s for a moment, their alpha powers muted by noise but still there. For a moment they were just two men in love with the same woman. Matts couldn’t resist dragging his fingers along her neck.

  “It’s getting late.” Gabriel drew Alice gently to him and guided her from the dance floor. Matts joined them with an evil grin of satisfaction at taunting Gabriel. When Matts drove back to his house, he mused that Gabriel might not want to go to the club anymore as long as he was there, and he laughed.

  The summer days passed lazily. Gabriel took as much time off work as possible, but as First Chair, that wasn’t a lot. Unfortunately for Matts, that meant Alice also worked most of the week. But unlike Gabriel, she occasionally had the afternoons to herself, and Matts inserted himself as much as possible into her schedule.

  Alice took him to her favorite restaurants and showed him some amazing traditional shops that had wines and food from all over Portugal. Unlike the last time Alice was his tour guide, she took him along like a trusted friend, rapport building between them. Matts took every opportunity to mention how much she would love Norway, describing the wonders the country had.

  Weekends, however, meant that Matts had to share Alice with Gabriel and their friends. Gabriel had invited all of Alice’s friends to join them in the beach house in an attempt to buffer Matts’s attention to her, but it had sort of backfired on him.

  Matts was lying on a lounge chair, pretending to read a book, as he took advantage of his sunglasses to watch the women in the pool. Alice’s friends constantly side-eyed him and whispered to each other. Matts had to use all his self-restrain to stop himself from smirking. If he’d known her friends would appreciate it so much, he would have undressed for them much sooner.

  Naomi said something to Alice that made her turn to Matts and roll her eyes. Alice came out of the pool, and now Matts really had to control himself. He placed the book over his groin. Better safe than sorry.

  “Matts?” Alice asked in a coy voice.

  She was in a blue bikini that complemented her suntan, and dripping water everywhere. Her hair was soaked and clinging to her skin, and the rabbit necklace she always wore was shining above her breasts. He fought the urge to catch the droplets streaming down her legs.

  “Yes?” he replied politely.

  “Did you put on sunscreen?” Alice asked, glancing with concern at his chest. He looked down at himself. His skin was pale and didn’t tan, and he was getting red.

  “No, I hate the feel of sunscreen in my hands.” A devilish smile crossed his face. “Perhaps you can help me?”

  Alice smiled sweetly. “Sure.”

  Matts sat up straighter in the lounge chair, anticipating Alice’s touch, hoping she would do more than spread sunscreen on his back. She shook a bottle in her hands and sprayed it all over him, enveloping them both in a creamy cloud that smelled like coconuts.

  He coughed twice. “That’s not what I expected.”

  “I bet it’s not.” Alice chuckled. “But it’s what you needed.”

  She put the bottle on the ground and dived back into the water. Matts could see Naomi laughing in one corner of the pool.

  That one was going to be hard to win over. Matts was sure Naomi would resent him if he took Alice to Norway. He was counting on Daniel and Marina joining them there; the need they had for their omega would be strong enough to lure them. But Naomi? He would have to find some way to get through to her.

  “Why do you smell like a tropical paradise?” Gabriel’s voice interrupted his musings.

  “Your mate thought I was in danger of skin cancer, even though we have the Tube to deal with it now.”

  Gabriel laughed. “Well, we have regular sunscreen if you need it,” he said before jumping into the pool with the others.

  Matts watched over his book as Gabriel playfully flirted with Alice, his hands traveling from her shoulders down along her back until they disappeared underwater. Alice’s friends swam to another corner, allowing them plenty of space.

  Gabriel whispered something in Alice’s ear that made her laugh, and he gave her a gentle kiss on the lips. She looked at him in a way that made Matts’s heart skip. Alice was in love with Gabriel, it was fucking obvious to everyone. But there was something stopping her from giving in to him. Something Matts hoped he could take advantage of. As soon as he had the opportunity, he was going to remind Alice she had other choices. He was just afraid that Alice would put him in his place. Again…

  A few days shy of September, Matts received news from Henryk about an intense hacker attack on a Tube factory in Switzerland. He groaned and rubbed his face as he read the message. Terrible timing for the strays to pop up. He had to return to his team as soon as possible, but before he left, he was going to have an honest talk with Alice.

  Luckily, she had the afternoon off, so with an offer to cook lunch, he picked her up from the government building where she worked. Gabriel was at the entrance to see her off, and he gave her a passionate kiss in front of everyone before letting her go. When she entered the car, her face was red, and she was a little out of breath.

 

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