Page 74 of Sebastian's Secret
Sebastian noticed how Balthazar tensed as he spoke.
“But she doesn’t anymore,” Balthazar concluded.
“Did you offer her a job?” Cole grinned at Balthazar’s expense.
“He offered her a coffee.” Sebastian smiled, thankful to ease away some of his own tension. He and the others were only jibing Balthazar, but he had to admit it was entertaining to see their older sibling caught off guard.
“And dinner,” Balthazar added as he glanced at them each in turn. “I’m bringing her back here for dinner, so you all need to be gone by seven o’clock.”
“Wow.” Sebastian’s brow rose, surprised at how fast Balthazar was moving, but then who was he to judge? He’d already revealed their hybrid status to his woman and none of the others had any idea. A pang of guilt reverberated in his chest at the thought. Sebastian hadn’t intended to betray them, but the impulse to be honest with Rebecca was like nothing he’d ever experienced before. “You really like her, huh?”
“Yeah.” Balthazar met Sebastian’s gaze and for one fleeting moment, Sebastian wondered if somehow, Balthazar knew—about Rebecca, about what Sebastian had shared with her—all of it. But that was crazy. Balthazar couldn’t know.
“Erm…” Draco’s sardonic tone broke through their stare. “How is she going to get here?”
“Good point,” Cole agreed. “I assume you’re not shifting into dragon form and flying her up?”
“I was going to use the helicopter.” Balthazar slid his hands into his pockets. “Seems a little more conventional for a first date.”
“Sounds sensible. Go for it.” Sebastian agreed. “We’ll be out of here by five.”
“Says who?” Draco demanded. “I don’t have to dance to Balthazar’s tune just because he’s the eldest.”
“No,” Sebastian concurred, grinning at Draco. “But you will because you’re not an asshole.”
“Says who?” Balthazar repeated with a snort.
“Careful.” Draco smirked at Balthazar. “Maybe I’ll stick around and shift, myself. Bet that would give your woman quite the thrill?”
“I’d have thought you’d have been on board, Draco?” Cole’s tone was just as provocative as Draco’s. “The sooner one of us hooks up and gives dear old Dad want he wants, the better.”
“The deal says that all of us have to procreate,” Sebastian reminded them, surprised at how, for the first time, the mandate didn’t unsettle him. Rebecca was the difference. The idea of settling down no longer terrified him. With her, it was downright alluring. “That’s what we all agreed to before Dad died.”
“But Balthazar is the oldest.” Draco laughed. “He needs to get settled sooner, before he loses his looks.”
“Okay, fuck you.” Striding past Draco to the window, Balthazar shook his head.
“Why do you think he even made us?” Cole’s voice was pensive, disturbing the usual show of brotherly affection.
“He wants us to preserve the bloodline.” Balthazar turned to their youngest brother. “And decided marriage and kids was the best way.”
“What if one of us is gay?” Cole asked. “What then?”
“You can still get married?” Balthazar shrugged. “Then adoption, I guess.”
“Adoption doesn’t protect the bloodline,” Cole countered.
“No,” Balthazar blew out a breath. “You’re right. I don’t know. I don’t have all the answers.”
“And now we’ll never know.” Draco noted. “It’s not like we can just ask him, is it?”
Balthazar spun to face Draco, his stare wide. “I’m sure he had his own reasons,” Balthazar answered. “He only wanted to look after us. He loved us.”
The lodge fell quiet as all four men considered their father’s legacy.
“It’s not such a hardship, is it?” Balthazar glanced around as though he sought an ally, and Sebastian was happy to oblige him. After so long resisting romance, Sebastian was on the verge of falling hard and couldn’t have been happier. “To find someone to love and bring them into the fold?”
“Into the fold?” Draco cringed. “Who are you—Oprah Winfrey?”