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“It’s alright. We were just about to eat dinner.” Blake slapped him a little too enthusiastically on the back and Xander raised a brow at him. He chuckled nervously and said, “Please, get comfortable. The guys are out by the pool.” Xander nodded and walked briskly away.
Eleanor appeared at Blake’s side a moment later. “Well?”
“So far, so good,” he said. “Looks like we may survive the day after all.”
“Great.” She pecked his cheek and scurried off to speak with one of the elders, a big smile on her face.
She was the perfect hostess, mingling with guests and anticipating needs before people spoke. Blake was grateful for her; he had no idea how he would have handled everything all by himself.
As the hours wore on and everything fell into rhythm, Blake found himself beginning to loosen up and relax a bit. He still avoided Xander, but he was busy enough that no one could fault him for not stopping to chitchat.
The guilt about his intimacy with Eleanor was still eating at him, but he repeated Eleanor’s words to himself. They were both consenting adults, after all, and there was nothing wrong as long as they didn’t derail from their main task—changing the way their packs were run.
After dinner and the guests had departed for the night, Blake and his friends retreated to the backyard, where a fire was burning in a metal can and beers were passed around from coolers.
The guys settled into easy conversation and Blake listened with one ear as he settled heavily into one of the chairs. He accepted a bottle from Callahan and nodded his appreciation.
He took a deep pull from the bottle and nodded contentedly. He had been on his feet for hours, and this was the first time he could relax since guests had started arriving.
He watched Xander having a quiet conversation with Asher, and for the first time, wondered if Eleanor had been right all along. He’d spent days fussing over what would happen if Xander found out about them. From the looks of things, he’d been worried about nothing.
The relief he felt was palpable, and for one peaceful moment, he didn’t feel riddled with guilt and anxiety. He watched Asher and Xander, not interested in what they were talking about, but grateful that he had dodged a bullet.
Eleanor joined them last, and she stopped to say hello to her brother. He got up and hugged her, and they talked quietly for a few minutes. Blake tried not to eavesdrop, but he was pleased to see that she smiled a lot while she spoke to him.
She crossed the backyard toward where he was sitting and looked around. There were no more seats. Blake was about to get up and offer her his seat when she sat abruptly on his lap, wiggling about until she was comfortable.
His first reaction was panic, but he reminded himself that they were a married couple, and that all his friends were familiar with the arrangement between them. Subconsciously, his hands found their place on her hip and thigh.
Callahan reached over with a beer and she accepted it with a smile. She leaned backward and asked quietly, “Are you alright?”
Blake rubbed her back and smiled, nodding in response. They clinked bottles together and took a sip simultaneously. The day had gone perfectly. They had put on another impressive show for the elders and the pack, and were now enjoying a quiet evening among friends.
However, Blake’s contented smile disappeared when he looked up and saw Xander staring straight at him and Eleanor with a thunderous look in his eyes.Fuck.
Chapter 15 - Eleanor
By all indications, the day was a success—starting with the exhilarating hunt that Eleanor and Blake had shared, to successfully hosting the dinner party. She and Blake had seen off the guests together, then he’d gone out to join his friends, while Eleanor supervised the cleaners who returned the house to its pristine condition.
All she wanted to do was collapse in bed, but when she considered the effort required to climb up the stairs, she decided to join Blake and his friends in the backyard.
They had a warm fire blazing in the middle, and they were divided into groups, chatting quietly. She found her brother talking to Asher, the only person she knew who was quieter and scarier than Xander.
“Hey, Xander,” she said, smiling. “I got married and you forgot you had a sister? I thought you loved me more than anything else in the world?”
He grunted and glanced quickly around. She laughed wickedly. She knew she made him uncomfortable every time she did this, so she insisted on doing it to get on his nerves.
“Eleanor. You look well.”
“Screw that,” she replied dismissively. “Come give me a hug. I’ve missed you.”
He looked like he would refuse, but then he changed his mind. “Come here,” he said, getting up and opening his arms to allow her to wrap around him as she often insisted on doing.
“There. Was that so hard?” Eleanor teased.
“Are you happy now? Look, Asher and I are discussing something important, can I talk to you later?”
Eleanor rolled her eyes. She knew he just wanted her out of the way, and she was frankly too tired to torture him further, so she obliged him. “Sure, whatever. Hi, Asher,” she said with a wave before leaving the pair.
