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“We talked about the sexist name-calling, Boris,” she called flatly.
Hogbody grunted, not even looking up from his clipboard. “I say it with affection, Val.”
“We have all asked you to stop.” Kenneth looked up from his book on the couch, his brow rising sternly over his monocle.
Hogbody let out an impatient snort. “It doesn’t even mean nothin’. It’s just a word.”
Heidi stood from the bench and strode closer until she was looming over him. Her huge biceps flexed as she placed her hands on her hips. “It implies that women are weaker and is therefore an insult. Want to get in the ring with me and see how true that is, coach?”
Hogbody seemed to be getting a little flustered, because he snorted again, puffing smoke from his big flat nostrils. “Enough of this malarkey. You,” he barked, pointing a stubby finger at me, “cowboy. In the fucking ring. Now.”
“I dunno,” I drawled, leaning back against the kitchen counter. “Maybe you should do some practice with Heidi first, coach.”
She grinned wide, staring down at him as she cracked her knuckles menacingly.
Hogbody let out a series of irritated snorts before eventually spluttering, “So none of you maggots want to do your damn jobs today? Should I go tell Holt that this weekend is going to be a fucking flop because his bratty-ass wrestlers are acting like a bunch of little gi—” He stopped, his pink pig face paling as he shot Heidi a wary glance.
“A bunch of little what?” she asked, the hint of a threat in her voice.
“Babies,” he quickly amended. “Like a bunch of snivelling little babies.”
Kenneth sighed and removed his monocle as he looked up again. “I don’t really feel that any insulting names are necessary, Coach Boris. It isn’t the most effective way to motivate us, nor is it needed. We’re all already motivated to perform well.”
“Yeah,” Kit piped up, nodding eagerly as they bounced on one of the training ring’s ropes. “What Kenny said.”
“You wouldn’t like it if we started throwing ‘dickpig’ around as an insult,” Vince added, then snickered and nudged my arm. “Even though Ewen here definitely is one.”
I smirked. “It’s what your dad calls me, anyway.”
Vince cackled and slung his arm around my neck to get me in a headlock. “Fucker.”
Hogbody grunted. “Don’t know what that fuckin’ means, and I don’t give a shit. Moth, stop fucking around on the ropes. Dullahan, get your damn headless dickpig ass in the ring. We got a show to train for.”
—
A couple of hours later, I made my way to the other end of the building, intent on seeing if my prickly neighbour would be interested in fooling around a little in his office. I was pretty sweaty from practising with Kit—Hogbody always pushed us extra hard—but I didn’t care.
Maybe Rafe will like it, I thought with a dirty grin as I rounded the corner.
Seb wasn’t standing outside the door to Holt’s office like he always used to. Since he and Larkin had got together, we rarely saw them apart, so he was probably sitting inside with him. He was definitely a loyal, protective wolf when it came to the hyperactive fae.
It was cute. I’d probably hate it, personally, but each to their own.
I turned down the other corridor and beelined for the door Rafe had vanished through the last time I was here. Behind a door opposite that had a plaque with Taylor’s name on it, I could hear the human typing away on his computer. He paused a split second before I heard the distinct sound of a squeaky fart, followed by a relieved sigh.
I pursed my lips and suppressed a snort, gently rapping my knuckles on Rafe’s office door. After a few seconds, I heard him say, “Come in,” in a distracted voice.
I opened the door and slipped inside, closing it behind me so Taylor wouldn’t hear anything. When I looked at Rafe, he was frowning at his monitor, a pair of black-framed glasses on his face.
Damn, that was doing it for me. Hadn’t known he wore glasses.
“Hey there,” I rasped, my cock already twitching at the thought of sucking him off under his desk while he was wearing those sexy glasses.
His head jerked up. He froze when he saw me, his body stiffening and expression growing a little tight and pinched. My brows twitched.
Kind of a weird response to seeing me after we’d had such a good time last night, but he was probably just in work mode. Preoccupied thinking about nerdy computer shit. Memory or RAM or whatever.
After glancing around to make sure Frank and Beans definitely weren’t in here—it was unlikely, but I was on high alert around those two—I shifted into my true form and popped my head off my neck, tucking it under my arm.
