Page 9 of Happily Ever After… Again and Again

Exhibitionism

Mild Alcohol Consumption

Baseball Puns

All Players On Deck

July 14

“Good afternoon, this is Captain Fox. We’ll be landing in Atlanta right on schedule. The weather is a sultry 100°F, but a peach of a day. Happy Birthday, Dr. Merritt, and thank you for choosing Herschell Charters.”

Turning to press kisses along Leo’s jaw, excitement swooped and soared in Finn’s belly, and he barely manages to hold back an undignified full-body wiggle.

His mate chuckles, placing a hand on Finn’s quivering thigh. “Excited, Finnie?”

Fuck yes, he was, his thighs tense, and he squirms under Leo’s sexy smirk.

He normally hates surprises, but the general mood has been high since the minute he woke up this morning in the nest. Everyone but Jay had been slamming through the compound, noise in the kitchen, on the stairs, and someone (Luca Wilde) singingHey, hey it’s your birthdayat the top of his lungs.

Rhodes Pack birthday celebrations were usually epic, both in scope and in general fuckery. Emphasis on the fuck part. It’s no surprise that everyone is riding the anticipatory high.

In fact, Gideon had no fewer than two suitcases packed at the front door for their two-day trip, and that could only mean good things.

Finn had been lying there with his head on Jay’s chest, wondering how his alpha might be planning to start his birthday, when Luca had poked his head in, carry-on bag in hand, and pants already covering his butt.

He threw himself on top of them, kissing Finn’s face and palming hismorning wood for a second before rolling back out in a flurry of elbows and knees. He’d yelled, “Let’s go, you two! No time for fucking—the car will be here in an hour!” on his way down the stairs.

“Sorry, puppy. I told them noon.”

Always so thoughtful is Finn’s Pack Alpha.

His shift at the hospital had ended after 2:00 AM, and it had been exhausting in its drudgery. Emergency rooms were hardly hubs of activity, and aside from the occasional MVA, nothing good ever happened. Yes, he knew that sounded weird.

“Maybe you can sleep on the plane, pup.” Jay sighed, pressing a kiss to Finn’s lips. “But for the record, I did have plans to blow your mind—and a few other things—today.”

He could hardly be upset about the missed blowjob underneath all the excitement about the day, so Finn happily accepted a soft kiss and a smack on the ass from Jay instead.

On his way through the kitchen, headed for the shower, Leo had taken pity on him and pressed a tall glass of iced coffee into his hand with a grin.

“You’re packed already. Thank Grayson for that—he won rock, paper, scissors at risk to his life. Apparently, Gideon had plans.”

It would have been an even bigger surprise if Finn had arrived at wherever they were going with only the shit Gideon thought absolutely necessary (a toothbrush) or humorous (edible underwear) in his bag. This, he knows from experience.

“And happy birthday, Alpha,” Leo added softly.

He’d barely had time to shower and slip on the navy shorts and white button-down someone had left on his bed, and get back to the living room in time.

With total disregard for the itinerary, the pack had converged on him for a group hug.

He’d relished the tweak to his nipple from Gideon, a squeeze on his ass from Grayson, and Rowan’s hand somehow already down the front of his pants. The press of familiar bodies, along with the scents of morning coffee and body wash, wrapped him in Pack.

The driver’s honk had gone unnoticed until he’d had to ring the gate buzzer twice.

Riding together had been a surprise—they all rarely get to ride together—but the big vehicle easily carried the seven of them and all their bags. It was a short trip to the Tune airstrip, where the mid-size private charter had been waiting in the early afternoon sun.

Even Gideon and Luca seemed relaxed for the sixty-minute flight, although the short time frame was probably the key. Last winter, they’d flown to Bali for Grayson’s birthday, and that had been a long, long flight for the antsy fliers.

The hum of descent pulls Finn back to the moment. He reaches across Leo to flip up the window shade so they can watch the runway rushing up to meet them as they land.