Arik rose from his chair so suddenly that even Mezos flinched.
A barely visible tightening through the shoulders, one hand shifting toward the comm at his wrist, the smallest break in the stillness that made Mezos so useful and so deeply irritating.
But Arik saw it.
So did Damian and Gabriel.
Edward, unfortunately, saw everything and would no doubt record it under some household category with a name like bond-related loss of administrative compliance.
Arik did not care.
The mark on his inner wrist burned differently, and something in Arik tightened at the thought of his mate running away from him.
It was strange enough to still his breath for half a second because the bond was new, raw, and still learning the shape of both of them. Until now, Liam had been a presence close enough to feel like warmth behind Arik's ribs: irritated, alive, focused, and occasionally so emotionally defensive that Arik could practically hear him thinking in engineering terms to avoid feelings.
