Chapter Seven

Taylin

"We need to consider a different supplier for the innovative designs that Booker sent through to me for the accessories, shoes, belts, and bags. The intricate design on the leather needs hand tooling and our current supplier doesn't have the Artisans to do the level of detail we'll need."

Taylin blew out a frustrated breath at the extra workload Booker was causing for his department in less than a damn week. "Josh, the manager at Cross Leathers, the firm we usually use, emailed this morning and recommended a couple of smaller firms for us to potentially use. They focus on bespoke pieces. I've forwarded the email to you."

Taylin turned his attention to the divine smelling man opposite his desk. His hair swept back more than usual, Hollis's glasses were a navy frame today—suggesting he'd still not had his glasses fixed—adding something to the look of a professional businessperson. "If you could reach out to them and arrange on-site meetings, that would be great. We need to see their operation firsthand before we can make any concrete decisions on who we should consider, if any."

When Hollis never so much as spared him a glance, Taylin's lips thinned.

To distract himself, he picked up his tablet to make a note to speak to Booker about coming on the trip with him, not sure he'd remember otherwise. Because he needed his brother to see just what a mess he was causing by insisting on this specific designer for their new spring range. "I've expressed my concern about these designs and its impact on my division, but Booker isn't listening!"

"Yes, Sir."

Taylin ground his back molars. Hollis's damn polite tone sounded like he had developed a nasal problem with how stuffy he came across, but Taylin kept his snippy remark to himself. It was all his brothers' fault for goading him at the meeting on Monday. There was a standoff going on and Taylin had his money on Hollis winning. He just hated that he'd not noticed if Hollis had indeed been looking at him like his brothers ribbed him about after the man had left. Granted, there had been a brief pause while they all recovered from Hollis's parting threat.

Taylin had had to sit down to avoid anyone seeing his reaction to Hollis being all bossy. He had no clue he liked that sort of thing, but with Hollis it was very appealing!

Since the flirting with Frey incident—and in Taylin's defense, he'd only done it because of what he'd overheard and subsequently hadn't been able to clarify if Hollis was indeed dating someone—Hollis had used this particular tone when referencing him directly. Was it because of the meeting or the ‘Frey encounter'?

Quite the conundrum for Taylin, when it could be either. As he placed his tablet down with care, he ran his hands through his hair and tugged hard enough to distract himself once more—a habit that was possibly going to make him bald—when instead of working, he was tempted to grab hold of…

Stop that line of thought right now!

Shouting at himself? Yeah, this was a whole other level of exasperation after a week with Hollis looking and smelling so damn tempting. Right now, Taylin wasn't sure if he wanted to punch something or kiss Hollis until he surrendered. Both vied for equal attention, not that Hollis appeared to notice any of his frustrations.

Am I that good an actor?

Hollis finally deemed him worthy of a glance as he shifted his attention from his lap where the tablet upon which he'd been making his own notes sat. The navy-rimmed glasses perched on his nose had slid down and Taylin suspected sexy wasn't the look Hollis was going for, but those big doe brown eyes peering up at him made his groin tighten and arousal swirl through the pit of his stomach.

Back was an irresistible itch—that was never far away—to yank the other man over his desk and kiss him until he saw sense.

Taylin looked away first. Kissing Hollis until he moaned Taylin's name, the same as he did in his vivid dreams, really wasn't on today's agenda .

It should be! exclaimed his animal side.

Give me strength or I swear I'll find a way to mute you.

With the dreams becoming increasingly frequent because of his wolf's spirit feeding Taylin's desire to make a move, it was making Hollis's closeness daily torture.

"Do you want me to invite Rue and Kodi as well? This is going to influence the launch of the spring range and we need to know we can source the materials needed, too."

Taylin got up and stalked around his desk, stomping to the window, seeing nothing, only the extensive list of problems that were already giving him a headache when added to his own personal dilemma.

"How the fuck did Dad do this and make it appear so effortless?" Taylin didn't wait for Hollis to respond as he spun back, his annoyance driving him to suggest, "Add Booker to the list to stop any complaining. From what I've seen in our joint calendar, towards the end of next week looks better for us all to travel—"

"Us?" Hollis squeaked, pushing up his glasses, a nervous habit Taylin recognized after years of observing the other man when no one was watching.

He stepped to the chair Hollis was sitting in to rest his hands on the leather arms, caging the other man in, throwing caution to the wind with his scent driving him to distraction as he inhaled. Taylin came close enough that when Hollis gasped, he scented the coffee he had drunk earlier and something sweet he must have eaten, his breath hitting Taylin's lips .

Their gaze met and something flickered in Hollis's eyes, then was gone before Taylin could assess what it was. "Why yes, us . This is part of a PAs role and as you assigned yourself as my personal PA, you get to travel with me."

His grin was predatory, because that was significantly better than a pathetic begging look, when that's more how he felt. "This means you'll be there to assist me with whatever I need… " The pause was very deliberate, wanting to get a rise from Hollis. Anything was better than ‘politeness'.

Hollis's pupils dilated behind his glasses and his chest moved as fast as a hummingbird's wings. What could have been desire or…

Taylin wasn't sure what, and right then guessing wasn't an option with his wolf pushing at him, so he didn't.

A shiver ran down his spine at how his wolf surged with force, making him vibrate at being so close to Hollis. Taylin swallowed hard enough they could hear his gulp in the office's silence. Tension thickened the air the longer they held each other's stare. He scented… arousal. The sweet scent wasn't Taylin's.

Hollis is aroused!

Fuck! He's into me!

As it registered, his pounding pulse increased to supersonic speed. His tongue ran over his drying lips, a move Hollis tracked. A delicate flush appeared over the bridge of his nose, which flared.

Taylin faltered for a second, trying to bring his thoughts back to the thread of the conversation. "When it comes to business, you know that includes travel ," he stressed, then realized he was repeating himself, noting Hollis's brow furrow.

For the first time in days, Taylin felt some amusement at the confused look Hollis now wore. Had he also lost the thread of conversation?

Hollis's facial armor—one that Taylin had grown to recognize and hate—slipped into place. For now, Taylin took that as a win because it proved that beside the scent, Hollis was working to hide his reaction to Taylin. He moved back, reminding himself he wasn't an aggressor and that diving in to kiss lush, tempting lips would only create a problem for both of them.

Sink your teeth into him and taste his sweetness, his wolf snarled. Do it!

Those same teeth ached in his gums, and it took sheer determination to not overstep when his pushy fucker wolf side made demands. The sweet smelling arousal filling Taylin's office heightened his wolf's baser need, making the large office feel he had no room to move—to breathe.

Hollis's head dipped and he stared fixedly at his tablet, his cheeks remaining a delectable shade of pink. Taylin desperately wanted to cup them and feel the warmth against his palms.

I'll not take what isn't offered freely! He added more for his benefit than for his pushy wolf side.

An angry growl was the response before his wolf began pacing inside his mind. Then figure out how to get him to offer it freely before —

There's no ‘before' here. I'm in charge, not you, and he has to want us before I'll bite him and claim him the way you want.

We want.

"—so as I said I hadn't updated that part of the calendar, so I can't come. The other PAs can fill in for my absence and assist you."

Taylin's thoughts shifted back to Hollis as the man rose and his words registered.

"What… wait… no!" he barked, then took a breath to get himself back under control, pushing aside thoughts of losing out on the opportunity to have a trip with Hollis in the hopes they might spend some of their down time together… maybe a dinner out.

Hollis was clearly trying to wrangle out of it and Taylin could only guess at what excuse he'd come up with, having missed that part of the conversation while arguing with his wolf side.

See what you did, he snapped.

What would be a valid enough reason not to come with him? He rifled through reasons that popped into his head to prevent Hollis from traveling with him. Coming up with nothing that would warrant it, he stared at the man hovering in the middle of his office. Was this a ‘boyfriend' thing?

Not liking that idea at all, an idea took root. His father had always looked at ways to keep traveling costs down. A suite would have separate bedrooms, yet still give Taylin closer contact with Hollis.

"Book four suites. One for us, Booker, Rue and Kodi and their PAs. I need you with me, and I'm sure we'll cope with whatever issues arise. Together. " He added the latter, hoping it would maybe tempt Hollis from his excuse—whatever it was. Happy he'd covered all his bases, he grinned.

"Seriously?" Hollis said, eyes popping wide. "You… want… me there… when…"

He didn't let Hollis finish, seeing no point in arguing when, in his mind, it was a done deal.

"Of course I do. I'm sure everything will be fine." He waved off the ridiculous idea they wouldn't be able to cope.

Taylin returned to his seat, feeling it was safer for some reason when Hollis, whose animal half had two tongues, they popped out of his mouth, licking at both corners of his lips at the same time. Another spike of arousal shot through Taylin, his mind heading straight for the gutter.

Hollis's tongues were a source of endless hours of speculation about the sexy things they could do at the same time.

" Fine … why…" Hollis' knuckles turned white, and he got a thoughtful look that actually made Taylin wary before he muttered, "Let's hope you're prepared because you have no idea what you're letting yourself in for!" His head snapped forward, eyes flashing a warning that Taylin couldn't grasp. "You've been warned."

On that, Hollis clamped his tablet to his immaculate navy suit jacket and, head held high, he sailed out of Taylin's office without a backward look, the door shutting with a definitive click.

"Prepared? Warned? What the fuck does he mean by that?" he spoke to the empty room, getting a tight feeling at the base of his neck that suggested he'd missed something vital.

Something important.

He stared at the closed door, stubbornly refusing to go after Hollis to ask what he meant after finally hoping he had a chance to break through the other man's barriers by sharing a space outside of the office for a few days.

Instead, he reached for his phone, opening up his WhatsApp to click on Alphaholes group chat. A chuckle tickled the back of his throat at Julian's last attempt to come up with a name that fitted them all.

Julian had created the group chat, saying it was too tiresome to individually message each one when he wanted to ask something that maybe one or more of his other brothers could help with. This name had stuck the longest because Jupiter had explained he'd overheard one of the PAs had called them Alphaholes—they'd called Julian Alphahole because none of the brothers were stupid not to know it wasn't them they were referring to. It was kind of funny in a weird sort of way, so instead of ragging on Jupiter for it, Taylin simply referred to it as the Alpha chat. It meant far fewer questions to answer when it got mentioned in polite conversation. The one time he had tried to explain it, he'd given up trying to explain Jupiter's sense of humor, which turned out to be an impossible task.

Alphaholes Chat

Taylin : Have any of you heard of any reason Hollis doesn't want to travel with me? And Booker you are a pain in my ass with your demands, so what's coming is all your fault!

Booker : Christ Tay, why can't you just jump his bones and be done with it? You're pining worse than Jup did when he mooned over that skinny, cross-eyed Twink who took Milan by storm last year. And what the fuck are you moaning about? Is this to do with the impromptu trip that's just got added to my calendar?

Jupiter : Fuck right off. And I mean all the fucks away, you jealous asshole. He was not cross-eyed! And I never moon. Not unless it's over a fit man who might want to eat my ass.

Rue : Gross! And that explains the added trip to my calendar I can ill afford. Booker, is this your fault?

Jupiter : It's only gross cause you ain't getting any little bro.

Rue : How would you know what I'm getting?

Jupiter : I've got eyes and ears…

Taylin : Could you two stop having a pissing match for a second and answer my question?

Silas : Ask Monica, she's his best friend. And I'm kinda with Booker, just ride him for a while then get off when his ass aches.

Taylin : Silas what the fuck man… ride him… you've been at that ranch too long or it's Jup's influence! I'm not sure which is worse. But I blame you all for what happened on Monday! He won't even give me the time of day.

Jupiter : Fuck, don't do the best friend thing. It'll come across as sadsville and desperate. About time I rubbed off on one of you.

Silas : Christ Jup, that's even low for you. Do not listen to Jup for dating advice.

Jupiter : Why? Is that cause I'm always right… and I wasn't the one who said to ride him till his ass aches!

Kodi : First, why am I getting dragged on a trip away too? And second, always right! Jup, you have a short memory, bro. I seem to remember a time you were very wrong and got your ass thrown in jail overnight and if Dad hadn't saved you, you'd have been ass fodder for all the big hairy alphas who wanted to play hide the sausage.

Taylin : I'd forgotten about that… …

Jupiter : You can keep on forgetting it! I thought you wanted to know if anyone had any gossip about Hollis?

Taylin : Now you wanna change the topic of conversation. You hate to be called out. Rue and Kodi take it up with Booker, he's been the difficult one and insisting on using the designs our current manufacturers aren't skilled for.

Booker: Blame me, like always!

Jupiter : You hate it when Hollis smiles at me… I might need to get an invite on your little trip just to show you.

Silas : Stop winding him up Jup, or I'll prove that Wilder prefers to ride cowboys!

Rue : What wait… what am I missing here?

Taylin : Yeah, what's this?

Jupite r : Nothing!

Kodi : Nothing, my cute little ass. You got the hots for our little raccoon? This is news. I thought it was our little fox you were…

Booker: Yeah… what the fuck Jup?

Jupiter : Give the fuck over. There is no ours. Now shall we get back to Tay's problem? Some of us actually have a ton of work to get done by the end of the day.

Taylin : So, has anyone heard anything relating to Hollis dating?