and the story is that she was working on a tension headache, so Pax invited her to relax in the hot tub."
"And she likes the wine you picked," Pax added. "Also, you will not say a thing to her unless she brings this up."
"I won't?" My tone made it clear I'd need more than that.
Pax unwound his towel to rub at his trunks before they started dripping. "She was horrified about what you'd think. I promised her that you wouldn't be upset."
"Gotcha. Just tell me you were all careful with her?"
Trent scoffed. "Of course."
"He means condoms," Pax clarified, "and it didn't get close to that, Ian. Just a little kissing. Not even second base, man."
"I'm changing," Trent said. "You fill him in."
"Grab me some PJs," Pax demanded before looking back to me.
I just pointed at his waist. "Put those in the laundry and Lane can fill me in. Seems he was out there too, and I'm dying to know how that happened."
"All you, dogface," Pax teased as he ducked around the corner to strip.
First, Lane sighed. Then he began his shift. Since he did it more than the rest of us, he was faster at it. The massive red wolf slowly stood and twisted, his hair smoothing as his proportions changed into that of a man until his fur vanished, leaving him in the middle of the living room completely naked and partially aroused. Not caring at all, he just flopped down on the sofa with the same grin he'd worn as a wolf.
"I was marking her house when she got off work. Guess I lost track of time." He shrugged like he really didn't care - or like it had been intentional, which was probably more true. "Anyway, the night those boys howled for Gabby? Yeah, Seth told her we had a dog named Red because I'd just run out to see who was that close."
"And you're the dog named Red?" I asked. "How? You look nothing like a dog!"
Lane chuckled. "She didn't seem to have a problem with it. Maybe humans can't tell?"
"Huskies and Malamutes," Pax said as he came back in wearing nothing but his towel. "They're used in movies to portray wolves, so most people don't know anything else. They've never seen the real thing. She also said she's not about to shoot one, and that she loves dogs."
"I'm definitely sleeping on her bed," Lane joked.
I pointed at him. "Don't even try it."
"Man, I shoved my nose right between her tits and she didn't clue in. She also kissed on me a lot more than she ever has the rest of you." He smiled, looking almost relieved that he'd finally been able to steal a moment with her.
"And she smooshied his face," Pax teased. "Gave him the baby voice and everything, but hey, if that's what you're into, Lane. I kinda prefer her moaning."
"I'll take what I can get right now," he said.
About that time, Trent came back downstairs carrying a pair of plaid pants. "Pax," he said before throwing them.
Pax caught them and pulled them on without shame. Nudity wasn't something wolves worried about when it was a necessary step between the two stages of their body. Usually, it was harder to remember that we shouldn't let others see us like that.
But none of this was answering the millions of questions I had. "So, how did Trent end up in all that?"
Pax chuckled as he claimed a chair. "Um, it's your fault, actually. Seems she heard us talking Monday night. Not all of it, but enough to repeat the phrase that two was easier than five."
I just groaned. "Damn it."
"No," he assured me, "it's fine. Thought I was going to give Lane a heart attack, but I told her I have a kink, put myself out there a bit, and asked if she was curious. She was, so I may have used that to get her pretty hot and bothered."
"And I heard people in the hot tub," Trent explained. "Thought it was just us, so almost walked in. Pax gestured for me to wait."
"Then," Pax said, picking up where he left off, "I gave Elena the choice. She's into it, man. Completely new to the idea, but she's not opposed. Kinda seems like our girl wants to do some experimenting."
"So this is going to happen?" I asked, starting to actually hope.
Pax lifted a hand, calming me back down. "Slowly, Ian. Granted, the part of our conversation she heard? It was mostly about Gabby. About us