I sighed and sat up fully, staring at him as he crossed the room, grabbing a shirt out of the closet. I could help but stare at his muscles as he put the shirt over his head. I wanted to reach out and touch him. My heart was racing so fast, and I just needed to be close to my mate. My wolf needed it too.
“Stop looking at me like that, baby,” he said, staring at me with a dark and lust–filled gaze. “Or we’ll never leave this room. Get dressed. We really have to get going.”
I rolled my eyes as I got out of bed.
“It’s your private plane. They take off whenever you tell them to take off,” I remind him as I grab my
own clothes and head towards the bathroom.
“Even my private plane has a schedule to maintain,” he calls after me just as I shut the door.
After I showered and got dressed for the day, I finished packing up the rest of my last–minute stuff. Gavin went to wake up Matt and finish getting him packed as well. Nan and Chester arrived within 30 minutes of me finishing; they had all their belongings and were eagerly waiting for the rest of us. Irene was the very last one to finish packing. In a typical Irene fashion, she packed her entire life
away.
“You don’t need all that stuff,” Gavin said, rolling his eyes at his daughter.
“Um, yes, I do,” she said, raising her brows. “I’m going there to see my mate; I need to look my
best.”
“He’s your mate. He’ll love you no matter what you look like,” Gavin told her, tucking her hair behind her ear. “You don’t need to try that hard.”
She smiled at him, but I didn’t miss the flicker of doubt in her eyes and a bit of sadness on her face.
When we got outside, Erik was waiting for us in front of a shuttle bus. I was honestly surprised to see a bus and not a limo. When I looked at Gavin to ask him about it, he just shrugged.
“I figured it’d be better to transport our belongings in a bus than it would be in a limo.”
I nodded in agreement.
We got into the bus and Erik drove us down to the Silver Crescent airstrip, where Gavin’s plane
stayed.
There were a couple of gammas there as well, waiting for us. They helped us load our luggage into the plane, and then we boarded. I forgot how luxurious Gavin’s plane was. The polished mahogany trim, the soft leather seats that wrapped around you like a warm hug, and the faint scent of cedar and Gavin’s cologne lingering in the air. Everything about it screamed Gavin’s name.
Eliza and Taylor had already found their seats; she was going over medical notes on her tablet while Taylor was pretending to nap, but his eyes opened slightly as Matt darted past him.
Nan and Chester had just found their seats as well, and he was wrapping his arms around her protectively, like he feared what might happen if he didn’t hold her. Then there was Irene, who was sitting alone, clearly lost in thought, and Erik, who was also sitting alone, but I didn’t miss the way he kept glancing at Irene, and it made me raise my brows. This was something I hadn’t considered; he’s worked alongside the Gavin family for so long, could he possibly have feelings for Landry
Heiress?
Gavin pulled me into a seat and wrapped an arm around me. I smiled up at him, all other thoughts leaving my mind the moment his lips were on mine.
“So, are you going to tell me what this is really about?” He asked, once we pulled apart.
I blinked at him.
“What do you mean?” I asked him, trying to sound as innocent as possible.
“Alpha Jeremy has held this masquerade every year for over a decade, and he’s never once invited outsiders, even other Lycans. Then suddenly we are all invited. It’s not a coincidence, Judy,” he says as he bends down and brushes his lips across mine in a sweet and yet quick kiss. “This has your name written all over it. Now, tell me what you did.