Chapter Nine Sam

I wasn’t sure how Vincent talked me into joining the poker tournament. Of course, the entire hotel was going to be there, so it’s not like I had much to do at the front desk. And he was hosting it in the banquet hall, so I didn’t have far to go either. Even if someone, by some miracle, did show up at the hotel, I wouldn’t be too far away to help them out.

Still, I found myself stalling when the time came and there was only one reason left. I knew Calum and Erick were going to be there and I was trying my damnedest to steer clear of them. It wasn’t that I didn’t like them. In fact, it was just the opposite. Every time I was near them, I could barely contain myself. Even after they’d both tried to cheat on one another with me, I couldn’t stop liking them. I knew I should, but my brain, my heart, and my body especially just wouldn’t listen. Sure, Erick mentioned that the pair of them had admitted everything to one another, which was great. But they decided they were still mates and that meant I’d never be anything more than a fling to them.

And honestly… I wasn’t sure I wanted to do that. Yes, I was lonely, horny, and aching for some attention even if it was only temporary. But I was afraid too. I didn’t want to just be someone’s good time. I’d done that enough in the past. I wanted something real , something that would last for more than a night or two. And I wasn’t going to get that from those two Alphas. The best I could hope for was fun and then they’d leave.

But that wasn’t even the biggest issue. For some unknown reason, I was growing attached to them. Even with as little as we’d interacted, I couldn’t help feeling something more toward them both. They were gorgeous, their scents drove me wild, and there was an electric burst through my body every time I touched either of them. I couldn’t explain why it happened, but it did. And it was creating some feelings that I knew I should not be having. So, if I let myself have them, even just for one night, I knew my heart would ache afterward, and I just didn’t want to deal with that.

And that’s why I didn’t want to go to the tournament. But if I didn’t, it would throw off all the brackets and Vincent would give me a hard time. However, I tried to reason with myself. There was a very good chance that I’d never have to play a game with Erick and Calum. Not when there were going to be nearly fifty players competing. Chances were that they or I would be dropped out of the competition before we even saw one another. In fact, I’d pretty much decided to purposefully throw the first hand so I could get out of there quickly and still keep my obligation to Vincent.

So, with that plan in mind, I headed into the banquet hall five minutes before the tournament was due to start. I found Vincent standing behind a table with a clipboard, giving the other wolves their table numbers and decks of cards. As I approached, he ushered the others off to their table and shot me a big smile.

“Well, hey there stranger,” he grinned. “I almost don’t recognize you without a desk sitting in front of you.”

“Ha-ha. Very funny,” I snarked back. “And you look so weird without your usual splattering of sauce and flour.”

“Clever comeback.” Vince gave me a smile as he glanced down at his sheet. “You’re at table five.”

“Thanks.” I started to walk away, but Vince grabbed me by the shoulder.

“And try to have fun?” he said. “You need some time to unwind. Just be yourself for a bit instead of everyone’s savior, huh?”

“Thanks, Dad.” But then I stopped myself, nodding back to him. “You’re right. I’ll… try.”

He gave me a smile and sent me on my way. I found my table and sat down, resting my forehead against the cold hard surface. I was only there for a moment before I heard the chairs on either side of me screech against the floor as they were pulled out. I looked up to find myself surrounded by none other than my newest residents. The mated Alphas.

“Hey there,” Erick said, taking his seat on my right.

I couldn’t help but notice the skin-tight black t-shirt he was wearing. It highlighted him in all the right places.

“Guess we’re all playing together,” Calum added on my left.

He had decided to wear a tank top that was hardly more than string. Not only was it not the season for such clothing, but I could see both his nipples and practically everything else too. And let me just say… my mouth was watering. The dude was fucking stacked.

“Oh no…” I muttered, the words slipping out of my mouth before I could stop them.

“Are we that bad?” Erick asked, the grin not fading from his face. “Did we really mess up dinner that much the other night?”

“The dinner was fine,” I replied, trying to cover myself. “I just… I’m tired and I didn’t mean to–”

“Didn’t mean to say it out loud?” Calum asked, reading between the lines, his shirt shifting to reveal his abs.

“Y-Yeah…” I swallowed hard, the sensation of having both of them so close sending a jolt straight to my groin. My jeans were tight in an instant and I was deeply grateful for the table hiding my arousal. Although the table did nothing to stop their scents that were slowly overwhelming me. “Sorry.”

“What can we do to make you more comfortable?” Erick asked, leaning close, his muscles shifting under the tight fabric.

“I…”

“You know,” Calum said, leaning closer himself. “Maybe you could come up to our room after this for a drink or something? We’ve been wanting to get to know our host a little better, anyway.”

The suggestion hit me like a freight train. The idea of being alone in a room with them filled me with dread and an immeasurable amount of excitement at the same time. Suddenly I wanted to throw the tournament for totally different reasons. The wolf inside me was running in circles, screeching for me to go with them now and let them have whatever they wanted. And then, when I tried to take a deep breath to calm down, their scents made it even worse.

Just as I was about to open my mouth and accept their invitation without thought, a fourth man took a seat at the table. His presence broke the spell the Alphas had over me and I put on my customer service face immediately, stamping every other feeling back into the bottle inside me.

“How are you doing, Gary?”

He was one of my older residents. Not by much, but he was in his mid-forties. He was still a good-looking man though and, as far as I knew, didn’t plan on leaving the hotel anytime soon. He’d been there for almost three years now and if he wasn’t so good at running the janitorial staff, I might’ve tried to give him a bigger shove to go out on his own. But, as it was, he was an asset to the business, and I didn’t want to let him go.

“I’m fine,” he replied, returning my polite smile. “Another day, another dollar, right?”

Gary was full of blue-collar-isms. I didn’t know much about his life before the hotel, but I always imagined him as a plumber or an HVAC guy.

“I hear you there,” I nodded, watching Erick and Calum lean back into their own seats. “Living the dream, right?”

“Every day.”

“Did Benny ever come out and fix that washing machine?”

“And then some,” Gary replied. “Got here yesterday morning and he stayed almost all day. I had lots of… uh… projects for him.”

I raised my eyebrow at that. “Projects, huh?” I leaned a little closer, my natural matchmaking instincts kicking in. “What kind of projects?”

I’d been under the impression that Gary wasn’t looking for anyone, especially not a man. He’s seemed a little too small town and old-fashioned for that sort of thing. But then again, I’d met plenty of wolves who seemed one way on the outside and turned out to be another. I tried not to judge, but I was still surprised to see Gary’s cheeks blush bright red.

“Oh, you know,” he said quickly. “This and that. Maintenance. Some of those old machines hadn’t been worked on in a long time.”

“And did you get them worked on?” I asked, grinning from ear to ear. “That old machine of yours?”

“Y-Yeah. All fixed up now.”

I just kept smiling. “Benny is good with his hands from what I hear.” I leaned back, giving him a wink. “Among other things.”

Gary was at a complete loss for what to say when Vincent’s voice rang out over the room, saving him from having to explain further. Gary gave me a polite nod and turned to listen as Vincent spelled out the rules for the brackets. I, on the other hand, couldn’t help but chuckle to myself. It seemed like I might lose my head janitor after all. And to the repairman no less. It was a blue-collar match made in heaven.

“Huh,” Calum said, leaning into my periphery. “Those books just aren’t enough, are they?”

I glanced over at him, brows furrowed. “What do you mean?”

“He means,” Erick said, leaning close on my other side. “Not only do you love to read smutty romance, but you like to make sure it happens in real life too.”

I scoffed. “I… don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Your reputation precedes you, matchmaker,” Erick replied. “We’ve already heard about how much you like to…”

“Meddle,” Calum said, filling the gap.

“That’s it.”

“I don’t do anything like that!”

It was a bald-faced lie and I knew it. Everything and everyone pointed to the contrary. I’d been hooking people up for over a decade. I figured someone might as well get a happily ever after because I sure as hell wasn’t. And, to be honest, it made me happy to see my wolves not only given a home, but someone to share it with. That was important, right? They deserved to be happy in every way possible.

But Calum and Erick just grinned at me. They knew that I was lying. It was far too obvious to be anything else.

“Okay, fine,” I huffed, keeping my voice low. “I want my people to be happy, okay? Is that a crime?”

“Not at all,” Erick said, giving me a warm smile. “I think it’s kind of cute.”

“I think it’s adorable,” Calum added.

Erick got closer, his face only inches from mine and my heart began to race. “The way you care for these wolves is saint-like.”

Calum got just as close, my skin prickling from the heat rolling off his body. “It’s hot.”

“Sexy.”

“Just…”

“Like…”

“You.”

That last word was whispered into my ear, Calum’s lips nearly brushing against my skin. My entire body erupted in goosebumps and heat pulsed off my neck in waves. I was regretting wearing jeans, my cock so hard it was almost painful against the tough denim fabric. I nearly gasped in relief when the two of them pulled away just in time to avoid being seen by Gary. He, however, took one look at me and my flustered state and cocked his head to the side.

“You okay, Sam?” he asked, genuinely concerned.

“Y-Y-Yeah,” I replied, stammering far longer than I meant to. “Just really excited for this poker game.”

Erick and Calum exchanged a knowing look and grinned at one another. Then, Erick picked up the deck of cards and began to shuffle. And I sat there, watching him deal as I tried to figure out how the fuck I was going to survive having these two in my hotel.