Page 105 of Pin My Alpha
It’s slow.
His lips are soft. His fingers curl against my chest, right over my heart, and he tastes like cold coffee and the cinnamon gum I know he keeps in his bag. Sandalwood and dark chocolate rise around us, no longer edged with fear. Just Shay. My mate. My partner.
Mine, says the part of me that has never been subtle.
Ours, something quieter answers.
That one nearly brings me to my knees.
A muffled sob comes from the hallway.
“Was that you?” Shay asks against my mouth.
“Absolutely not.”
“Callum?” Jude calls.
“Not me,” Callum says, sounding offended.
“It was Milo,” Benji says.
“It was not,” Milo protests, but he sounds very much like it was.
Shay laughs into my beard, and I’m done for. Completely. There’s no recovering from a sound like that when it belongs in your life.
He pulls back first, cheeks warm, eyes bright. “We should probably let them know before Jude starts picking the lock.”
“I don’t think you have a lock on this door.”
“That has never stopped Jude from acting like a Victorian ghost.”
Shay stands, then reaches for my hand.
That small move gets me worse than the kiss did.
I let him pull me up.
When he opens the door, the whole damn Swipe Squad is crowded in the hallway like they’ve been waiting outside an operating room. Jude has both hands clasped under his chin. Rhys is behind him with an expression that says he loves his mate dearly but is prepared to physically remove him from the premises if necessary. Milo is holding an empty soup bowl. Benji has a napkin covered in black-ink doodles clutched in one hand, Knox’s arm tucked around his waist. Soren hovers near the stairs with his eyes suspiciously shiny.
For half a second, nobody says anything.
Then Jude sees our linked hands.
“Oh my God,” he screams.
Shay winces. “Indoor voice.”
“No. No, absolutely not.” Jude launches himself forward, wraps Shay in a hug, and drags me halfway into it because apparently personal space has died. “You signed it? You’re back? Did he cry? Declan, did you cry?”
“I’m not answering that.”
“He cried,” Shay says.
Traitor.
Jude lets out a noise that could wake the dead.
Rhys catches his elbow before he can throw himself into a full-body celebration. “Easy.”
