Chapter Twenty-Three
Dominic
Dominic looked up, a guilty look on his face when Keller threw open his office door. “Um, what’s up, Dom? You felt like your day needed a little Too Short?”
He winced, pausing it instantly. “Don’t you knock? And you know who Too Short is?”
“Even if I had knocked, you wouldn’t have heard me. The bass on that computer is bumpin’ surprisingly well. And of course I know Too Short, who doesn’t? He was the background music to many a make-out session in high school.”
“My bass is bumping? I guess I’m not as hip as you were.” Dom chuckled, his arms crossed over his chest. “I always figured you wore Wranglers and rode a horse to school.”
Keller snorted as he took a seat in front of Dom’s desk. “Why? Just because I grew up in Texas doesn’t mean I was a cowboy. I listened to rap, had massive speakers in my truck, and bought my jeans at American Eagle like everyone else. And I said bumpin’, no ‘g’ in there, white boy.” Keller stretched out his long legs. “I did plenty of riding in high school though, only not on a horse.” He raised one eyebrow and gave Dom a cocky grin.
“Corey mentioned this guy this morning,” Dom said, motioning toward his computer. “I’d never heard him before. I was curious.”
“Don’t try that with me, Dom, I know exactly which song you were listening to. ‘I gotta little story ’bout a nasty freak, she’s the kinda girl you think about in bed, blow job Betty giving real good head.’ You should be ashamed of yourself.” Keller shook his head in mock outrage. “Listening to such dirty things on school grounds. There are impressionable minds around these halls, Coach Hardy.”
“Shut up.” Dom looked from the door to the computer and back to Keller. “I want to hear the rest.”
“Sure, ’bust a left nut right nut in her—”
“No. You idiot, not from you.”
Keller chuckled. “Okay, but turn it down a little, I have the freshmen in the gym, it started to drizzle and I didn’t want them tearing up the practice field with all their fumbling around.”
Dom pressed play and Too Short’s poetic prose filled the air once again. He couldn’t help but laugh at the lyrics, and the thought of Corey rapping them made him laugh even harder. When his door flew open a second time, he growled, “Does no one knock?” He reached up and slapped the mouse, hitting pause once again. “Oh hey, what’s up, birthday boy?” Linc walked in and sat in the vacant chair next to Keller.
“Whatcha doin’?” Linc drew his words out, looking from Keller to Dom, a big knowing grin on his face. “You two look guilty. Could it have anything to do with the words ‘she can blow more head than a whale blows water’ coming out of your computer speakers?”
Dom threw his hands in the air. “Am I the only one who doesn’t know this ridiculous song?”
“Yes,” Keller and Linc answered at the same time. Keller shot Linc an eyebrow wiggle. “Apparently Corey mentioned it this morning and Dom was ‘curious.’”
“Dude, even your girl knows this song? You should feel like a lame-ass.” Linc smiled. “Play the rest, it’s been years since I’ve heard it. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. It reminds me of district playoffs my junior year. The coaches would get so pissed when we played Too Short on the bus.”
Dom hit play and they sat in silence listening, Keller and Linc probably reliving some backseat romps from high school. Dom, on the other hand, only had Corey on the brain. Her lips wrapped around his dick? Man, that would be an amazing way for her to make up for being such a crazy person this morning. Good thing he was seated behind his desk, his basketball shorts weren’t even trying to hide his wood anymore. Suddenly his door flew open for the third and hopefully final time as Baze came dancing in.
“She was in the bathroom saying one at a time, she wasn’t my bitch but she still was fine…” Baze kept dancing and rapping along with the song. He was usually so quiet and reserved, seeing him like this had them all cracking up. Dom let the song keep playing. Keller and Linc got up and joined Baze. They all finished the song together, in complete unison with lots of obscene hand gestures.
Dom shook his head. “You guys are insane. I feel more stupid for having witnessed that. And that song is nothing special.”
“Oh don’t sit there and act like you’re not itching to go find Corey and try for a blowjob.” Linc wrinkled his nose. “I talked to her though, I wouldn’t ask. She might bite your dick off.” He continued to dance around the office when the next song started.
“What do you mean? Was she mad? What did she say?” Wow, Dom hoped they hadn’t heard the fear in his voice. They all stopped their ridiculous dancing and stared at him like he’d grown another head. No such luck.
Baze narrowed his eyes, a look of disgust on his face. “Who are you right now?”
“Well, I went to thank her for the cupcakes and we got to talking and she mentioned the PMS comment. Rookie mistake, my man.” Linc shook his head sadly.
“You brought up PMS?” Baze looked at him, still clearly disgusted. “Why?”
“Well, she kind of flipped a switched and started acting all moody, she blamed it on stress and I threw it out there. I didn’t know it was going to make things worse.”
“You are so clueless. Never blame a chick’s behavior on PMS. Only they are allowed to do that.” Keller chuckled.
“How was I supposed to know that? I didn’t grow up with sisters. I was surrounded by dudes.”
Linc raised his hand. “Uh, I didn’t grow up around a lot of females and I still know that rule.”
Dom propped his head in his hands. “What’s done is done. I’ll apologize later. Although I don’t think I have anything to be sorry for.”
“Yeah, I wouldn’t say that to her.” Keller pursed his lips. “Ever.”
“So Kell filled me in on everything that happened this morning.” Linc turned to Baze. “Also, Corey told me you had a video to show me?”
Baze threw his head back, letting out a loud laugh. “Oh yeah, man, you have got to see the two of them freaking out over a snake. It was epic.”
“That can wait.” Dom used his sternest voice, the one he usually reserved for the team. “What did you think about Corey’s assessment of Jace?”
“I know I always try to brush off his behavior, but I think she hit the nail right on the head. After I left her office I went and Googled sociopath and psychopath, it’s all there, man. It was like every article about sociopaths could have been written about Jace. What’s the game plan?”
Dom cracked his neck. “We keep Corey out of this for as long as we can. We don’t tell anyone that she knows about us being shifters or about her thoughts and beliefs about Jace. We go about our business as if nothing out of the ordinary is going on. I want you three to help me keep an eye on her.”
“I saw her head toward the track. Was I supposed to stop her? To be honest, I don’t want her mad at me. Those cupcakes were amazing. So can we leave the dickhead stuff to you?” Linc gestured out Dom’s office window.
“Damn. She’s been running on the track with them all week. If she didn’t show up the day after she interviewed Jace, he might wonder why.” Dom stood, watching her run with Riley and Jasper. Jace ran a few strides behind them, no doubt listening to every word she said. “It’s all right, I’ll watch her from here. You guys go do whatever it is you do all day. I’ll see you at practice.” His friends left and he sat back down and angled his computer so that when he was looking at the screen his eyes only had to glance above the monitor to see the track. He watched them run, and he couldn’t take his eyes off Corey. Which seemed to be par for the course when it came to his mate.
Corey was laughing, really laughing, the kind of laugh where she tossed her head back and exposed her sexy neck. It turned him on when she laughed like that. He wanted to bury his face where her neck met her shoulder and bite, hear her make that soft gasping sound. He wondered if the boys thought of her that way. He fought the urge to go out there and stake his claim, show them that she was his. Nope. He didn’t need the team seeing him be so possessive. Jace had already made comments about Dom’s safety rules for Corey.
He sighed as he picked up his phone and hit the number that would connect him directly to Keller. “Man, will you go run with her? I can’t stand not knowing what they are saying and watching her with them is making me feel a little on edge.”
“Already lacing up my sneaks, bro, no worries.”
“Thanks, and don’t say sneaks. You sound like a soccer mom.” Dom hung up and kept his eyes on Corey until he saw Keller join them on the track. Her tight black pants showcased her perky ass, her turquoise long-sleeve workout shirt fit tight against her chest. And that long hair of hers looked like polished copper in the sunlight. He was the only bonded male in their group. His friends were all still free. Still themselves.
But as Keller placed himself between Corey and the guys, it became apparent that they all had a bit of a protective streak when it came to his mate.