Page 60 of Captivated By Alphas 1, Fated (The Blood Moon Chronicle #4)

“In the back,” Adrian added, appearing on my other side. “Where we can all appreciate the view properly.”

“All?” Cole’s eyebrow shot up in a way that suggested he was reconsidering his life choices. “There are three of us and one back seat.”

“Exactly.” Jace smiled with enough teeth to make a shark jealous. “And since I made the reservation, I get priority seating.”

“You made the reservation after I mentioned the restaurant,” Adrian argued, his fingers brushing against my arm in a touch that seemed deliberately casual but sent electricity shooting up to my shoulder.

“My car, my rules,” Cole interjected, stepping closer until I was effectively surrounded by three ridiculously attractive men having a territorial dispute with me as the prize. Which was both flattering and slightly terrifying. “And I say Eli sits with me.”

I watched this ridiculous standoff with growing amusement because three successful, gorgeous men were literally fighting over who got to sit next to me in a car. It was absurd. It was also kind of hot in ways that probably said disturbing things about my psychological state.

“Gentlemen,” I interjected, “it’s a thirty-minute drive, not a cross-country road trip. I’m pretty sure I’ll survive regardless of the seating arrangements. Though I appreciate being fought over.”

All three turned to look at me with identical expressions that made my knees go weak.

“It’s the principle of the matter,” Cole stated with the seriousness usually reserved for international peace negotiations.

“Exactly,” Adrian agreed. “It’s about fairness.”

“And priority,” Jace added, his eyes locked on mine with an intensity that made it hard to remember how breathing worked. “I asked you first.”

“Oh my God.” I laughed, unable to contain it anymore, and if I didn’t laugh, I might do something embarrassing. “Are you actually pulling the ‘I saw him first’ card? What’s next? Rock, paper, scissors for who gets to hold my hand at dinner? Drawing straws for who pulls out my chair?”

Adrian’s face lit up. “That’s not a bad idea—”

“No,” Jace and Cole said simultaneously with the kind of perfect timing that suggested they’d had this conversation before.

“Look,” I said, taking pity on them despite how entertaining this was becoming, “why don’t two of you take the back with me, and one drives? That way most of you get what you want, and we might actually make it to dinner before the restaurant closes.”

The suggestion sparked another round of silent communication between them, complete with raised eyebrows, subtle head tilts, and what appeared to be some form of telepathic argument that I was definitely not privy to.

“Fine.” Cole finally relented, though the way his eyes lingered on me suggested he was already planning his compensation for this sacrifice. “I’ll drive.”

“Excellent choice.” Adrian beamed, opening the back door with a flourish that belonged in a period drama. “After you, little snow kitten.”

“Call me that again and I’ll make you walk to the restaurant,” I threatened without any real heat. Though, honestly, the nickname was kind of endearing in a ridiculous way. “Through poison oak. In your underwear. While I film it for social media.”

Jace and Adrian practically dove into the back seat after me, each claiming a side. The spacious back seat suddenly felt very small with me sandwiched between them, thigh to thigh, shoulder to shoulder.

“Comfortable?” Jace asked, his breath warm against my ear in a way that made my entire nervous system short-circuit.

“Like a sardine in a very expensive can,” I replied, trying to ignore how good he smelled—sandalwood and cedar and something uniquely him that made my head spin. “Is this how you three usually travel?”

“Only when the company’s worth it,” Cole replied from the driver’s seat, his eyes meeting mine in the mirror with enough heat to melt steel.

“You could always sit on my lap if you need more room,” Adrian offered with a wicked smile that made my face heat instantly.

“Don’t tempt me,” Cole warned from the driver’s seat, adjusting the mirror to glare at Adrian. “I will turn this car around.”

“No, you won’t,” Adrian replied with the confidence of someone who’d clearly won this argument before. “You’ve been looking forward to this as much as we have.”

As Cole pulled away from the estate, I became hyperaware of every point where my body touched theirs.

Jace’s thigh pressed against mine on the left, while Adrian’s arm had somehow found its way across the seat behind me, his fingers occasionally brushing my shoulder with touches that seemed too deliberate to be accidental.

“So…” I cleared my throat. “Ravenswood Heights. I’ve never been, but I’ve heard it’s impressive.”

“It’s adequate,” Jace said with the casual arrogance that only the obscenely wealthy could pull off.

“Adequate?” I laughed.” “It’s the most exclusive place on the coast. Don’t they have a waiting list for their waiting list?”

“Someone wanted the entire east wing for a weekend,” Adrian explained, his fingers now definitely playing with the hair at my neck in a way that made it hard to concentrate on anything else. “Unfortunately, it was already reserved.”

“Let me guess,” I said dryly. “A Carmichael event?”

“Mom’s birthday,” Jace confirmed, amusement coloring his voice. “She likes their spa.”

“Of course she does,” I muttered, silly me for thinking normal-people rules might apply to the Carmichael financial empire.

“You’ll love it,” Adrian promised, leaning closer until his chest pressed against my arm. “The restaurant is built into the cliffside, with glass walls overlooking the ocean. When the sun sets, it’s like dining among the stars.”

“That sounds beautiful,” I admitted, momentarily forgetting my nervousness.

“Not as beautiful as you look tonight,” Jace said quietly, his eyes tracing my face with an intensity that made heat crawl up my neck.

Not to be outdone, Adrian leaned even closer, his lips nearly brushing my ear. “The way that shirt brings out the lavender in your eyes is absolutely criminal. Makes a man think very… inappropriate thoughts.”

Cole’s eyes met mine in the rearview mirror again. “They’re both right, though neither is being particularly original.” His voice dropped lower. “But then, it’s hard to be clever when you’re distracted by perfection.”

“I— That’s—” I stammered, caught completely off guard by the triple assault of compliments that my brain was completely unprepared to process. “Sheena did most of the work. I’m just the canvas who was threatened with bodily harm if I didn’t sit still.”

“No,” Cole disagreed with the authority of someone who’d clearly thought about this. “The canvas was already perfect. Sheena just added a frame.”

My face burned hot enough to fry an egg. What was I supposed to say to that? Thank you? You’re exaggerating? Please stop looking at me like I’m something you want to devour before the appetizer course?

“You three are going to give me a complex,” I managed, trying to laugh it off before my ego actually did require its own zip code. “Keep this up and my ego won’t fit in the car for the ride home.”

“We’re just being honest.” Adrian shrugged. “Though I have to say, those pants are particularly… flattering.”

“Blame Sheena,” I said, tugging futilely at the fabric. “I’m pretty sure they’re classified as a medical device at this point.”

“They’re perfect,” Jace agreed, his voice dropping to that register that made my insides turn to liquid. His hand settled on my knee, burning through the fabric. “Though they do look… restrictive.”

“Maybe we should help you out of them later,” Adrian suggested with a wicked smile that short-circuited what remained of my higher brain functions.

“I— What— That’s—” I spluttered, my face now hot enough to be visible from space. “There’s literally no other way to interpret that unless you’re offering to be my personal valet service.”

“I’d make an excellent valet.” Adrian grinned. “Very attentive to detail.”

“Adrian,” Cole warned from the front seat, though he sounded more amused than actually concerned. “Behave.”

“I’m always behaved,” Adrian protested with the innocence of someone who’d never met a boundary he didn’t want to cross. “It’s not my fault if Eli interprets my helpful suggestions inappropriately.”

Jace’s hand slid slightly higher on my thigh, his thumb tracing small circles that sent heat racing through me. “I think we’re all being remarkably restrained, considering.”

“Considering what?” I asked, then immediately regretted it when all three gave me identical heated looks that made me feel like I’d just asked a very dangerous question.

“Considering how you smell,” Cole said from the front seat, his knuckles white on the steering wheel. “Like moonlight and something sweet that makes it very hard to focus on driving.”

“Moonlight doesn’t have a smell,” I pointed out, trying to sound reasonable despite the way my heart was hammering.

“Yours does,” Jace countered, leaning in to brush his nose along my jaw in a gesture that was both intimate and strangely primal. “Right here, especially.”

A small sound escaped me before I could stop it—something between a whimper and a sigh that I immediately wanted to take back because it sounded far too encouraging. I felt rather than saw his satisfied smile against my skin.

Adrian’s fingers tangled in my hair, gently tugging my head back to expose more of my neck in a move that should have felt threatening but instead sent shivers of anticipation down my spine.

“Careful, Jace,” he murmured, his breath warm against my other ear. “You’re leaving your scent all over our date.”

Our date? Since when was I their collective date? And what did he mean by scent? Before I could ask either of those very reasonable questions, Adrian’s lips brushed just below my ear, a touch so light I might have imagined it if not for the way my entire body shivered in response.

“There,” he said, sounding satisfied with whatever he’d just accomplished. “Much better.”

“You’re both impossible,” I muttered, unable to stop my smile despite the confusion swirling through me.

“Yet here you are,” Jace said, his hand still burning into my thigh. “Out with three impossible men.”

“Clearly I’ve made a series of poor life choices.” I sighed dramatically. “Starting with letting Sheena dress me, followed by getting into a car with three men who look at me like I’m the last cupcake at a bake sale.”

“I’d say your choices are excellent,” Cole commented, taking a turn faster than necessary which sent me sliding against Jace’s chest in what I was beginning to suspect was not an accident.

I could have sworn he and Adrian exchanged smug looks over my head as Jace’s arm slipped around my shoulders to “stabilize” me.

“Though I doubt you’ll see much of the restaurant with these two hovering around,” Cole added, his eyes meeting mine in the mirror with heat that suggested he wasn’t planning to be left out of whatever this was becoming.

“We’re not hovering,” Jace protested, his arm staying firmly around my shoulders even after the curve. “We’re appreciating.”

“Very thoroughly,” Adrian agreed, his hand finding mine and turning it over to trace patterns on my palm that sent shivers up my arm.

Jace’s fingers began playing with the hair at the nape of my neck, the gentle touch at odds with the possessive way he held me against his side.

The tension in the car was building with each passing moment, the air heavy with something I couldn’t quite name but that made my skin feel too tight and my heart race.

Every curve in the road pressed me more firmly against one of them, and I was starting to suspect Cole was taking them faster on purpose because there was no way this many curves existed on a mostly straight coastal road.

The car filled with their scents, the heat of their bodies, and a tension that had nothing to do with dinner and everything to do with how they kept looking at me.

“Almost there,” Cole said, though his voice had gone rougher than before. “Try to behave back there.”

“We’re being perfect gentlemen,” Adrian protested, though his fingers had moved to trace the inside of my wrist in a way that felt far from gentlemanly.

“Exemplary,” Jace agreed, though his hand had somehow inched higher on my thigh in a way that made it very difficult to focus on anything else.

I caught Cole’s eyes in the mirror again, and the heat in his gaze made me swallow hard. For someone who’d given up sitting next to me, he was certainly making his presence felt from the driver’s seat.

“You three are going to be the death of me,” I muttered, earning identical smiles that did nothing to dispel the notion that I was sharing a car with predators who’d decided I looked particularly tasty tonight.

Extremely attractive, well-dressed predators who apparently had a thing for snarky graphic design students with questionable survival instincts and a tendency to make very poor life decisions. What even was my life at this point?