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Grady turned to grab the tortillas out of the oven, where they’d been keeping warm, and locked eyes with Felix, who was watching him carefully. Grady didn’t know what to make of Felix. He seemed mild mannered and friendly, but there was something behind his eyes that had Grady on edge. Maybe it was just his job; Grady had gotten the same feeling from every single one of the special forces guys that he’d met at the basketball game. Peyton didn’t have it, but Grady wasn’t sure if it was just because he knew Peyton in a different setting, or possibly he was better at hiding it now that he no longer put on the uniform.

Felix’s smile was knowing before he returned his focus to Avery, who was stirring the mixture in a bowl. He moved it to the middle of the table, and Lake set up plates and the glasses. Grady put the warm tortillas beside the mixture and then slid into a seat beside Lake.

“Guess who ate my shoe yesterday,” Avery said grumpily as Zach seated him between himself and Felix.

“Felix, I’ve told you before that you need to house-train Zach,” Lake said cheekily.

Avery glared at him, and Lake smiled wider, his eyes brightening. His entire face transformed when he smiled, and he was devastating. Grady couldn’t look away.

“I take him to a class, but a week later he’s back at it again,” Felix said, shrugging. He spread his arm across the back of Avery’s chair, and Zach laced their fingers together, resting them on Avery’s shoulder.

“This isyourfault,” Avery told Lake.

“Why are you blaming me for the fact that Zach got a dog?” Lake protested. He tilted his head at the large chunk of filling he’d put in his tortilla. Then he shrugged and kept going.

Grady sighed and shifted his chair closer. He put an arm around Lake’s shoulders and took hold of the spoon Lake was using. “Don’t need so much,” he murmured. He scooped some of the mixture and put it back in the bowl. Lake turned and grinned at him, and Grady couldn’t resist leaning down for a short kiss. Well, it was supposed to have been a short kiss. All thought fled when Lake leaned into it, opening his mouth just a fraction, enough for their lips to slide together and their breath to mingle. It was intimate and warm, and Grady had no desire to deepen it, only to enjoy the sense of closeness the way it was.

“You two are stupidly adorable, and I think I might throw up,” Avery interrupted. “Don’t forget the rules about hands.”

“What rules?” Zach asked, smirking.

“And,”Avery continued, ignoring Zach,“it’s your fault because you should have told Mum not to even mention it. Youknewthere were puppies, and you let her just spout off about them willy-nilly.”

Grady wondered if they were always like this because he had a feeling he was going to be exhausted by the end of the night. How were they alwayson? They needed locks for their mouths.

“Keeping secrets is uncalled for,” Zach said, pouting.

Avery pointed at him with a wrapped tortilla. “Not when there are cute, fluffy things involved. In that case, it ismorethan called for.”

Zach cupped Avery’s cheek and winked at him. “I think you’re a cute, fluffy thing.”

It was Avery that gagged at that, not Lake. Lake turned and grinned at Grady. “Ready to run yet?”

“Baby, I was ready to run the first night I met you,” Grady drawled.

Lake didn’t seem to take offense at the words if the kiss he laid on Grady was anything to go by. He tasted of chicken and vegetables and something just him. Something Grady chased after even as Lake pulled away.

“We should tell them to leave so we can have sex,” Lake said. Grady didn’t know whether he’d meant for that to be a whisper between them, or if the octave of his voice had been on purpose.

“At least let us eat first,” Felix said in amusement.

“How fast can you eat?” Lake asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

Grady slid his hand around Lake’s nape and squeezed. “Behave.” He kept it there as he ate. Having his hands on Lake always gave him a sense of calm, a contentedness deep in his belly. “Do you have the dog enrolled in puppy school?”

“Yeah, he has his first session next weekend,” Felix said. “It’s actually specialised training with the guy that trains our military canines, so hopefully”—he gave Avery a wry smile—“he gets out of the habit of eating footwear.”

That seemed a little like overkill to Grady, but what did he know? The only dog he knew was Persephone, and she’d been full-grown when he and Quinn had found her.

“She’s a menace,” Avery grumbled.

“Don’t even,” Lake said as he placed his hand on Grady’s thigh, too close to his dick for comfort. “You love Ares.”

Grady put a hand on Lake’s, stopping the way his fingers were inching higher. He did not need to get a boner—more of one, anyway—while he was at a table with Lake’s brother and his two best friends. It was bad enough that Zach knew that Lake had sucked him off in the public showers.

“Apparently there’s one more that the woman can’t sell,” Felix mused, tapping his chin. Zach switched their plates so his empty one was in front of Felix and picked up the uneaten half of Felix’s tortilla.

“Why not? Malamutes are highly sought after,” Lake said. “Aren’t they show dogs or something? Worth like a gazillion dollars.”