Page 128 of Enemies with an Earl
Sam grinned at his best mate. He had a feeling the horses weren’t the only ones having difficulty being cooped up in a city. Ash was a country cove through and through. But he was here for Sam. Always had been. And now Sam’s throat was getting tight.
“I hadn’t realized you were stopping by,” Ash said as he halted next to his wife and tucked her to his side, pressing a quick, hard kiss to the top of her head.
A deep, aching yearning pierced through Sam’s chest, and his hand flexed, his body desperate for his own Jennings to touch. Ash must have seen it on Sam’s face because the smile in his blue eyes faded. But there wasn’t anything to be sad over. Not yet, at least.
“I was actually stopping by because I need your help—the both of you.”
Felicity perked up in Ash’s arms. “Oh?”
“I know your brother is always the one with a plan, but there was a big bloody flaw in the one he cocked up for me.”
A knowing smirk slid onto Felicity’s face. “Does that flaw happen to have anything to do with a list of potential wives?”
Sam growled, and Felicity bounced in Ash’s arms. “Oh, I told him, Sam!” She leaned forward, and Ash’s grip tightened to keep her from toppling over. “I told him he was a daft bloody sow for thinking that wasn’t the most terrible of ideas. Not that he listened. Let us just hope he doesn’t push this for four blasted years.”
Sam’s exact thoughts. This was Felix’smodus operandi. Felix came up with a plan, narrowed in on it like it was the only possibility. It was what he had done with his sister’s betrothal, and it was what he was doing now. Sam had thought, with their time together, Felix had realized he didn’t have to shoulder obligations alone any longer. That’s what Sam’s big broad shoulders were for. They were partners who worked together to determine a solution.
But right now? Sam could see it, hiding underneath the tense exterior, Felix’s armor was fragile, the man was barely holding it together. His Fee wasn’t thinking clearly, running scared, blind and deaf to anything other thanthe planhe’d come up with. His lifeline.
And, yes, it made Sam want to throttle the man. Grip that soft jaw and shake it.Stop making all the decisions. You don’t have to do this alone.For so long, that man had taken care of everyone by himself. Four-and-twenty was impossibly young to start running an estate and head a family.
A part of Sam wondered if Felix was still stuck back in that time, a grieving son, a still-broken young man trying to recover from the horror life had dealt him. Then a mountain of responsibility had been heaped upon him, and he’d grasped desperately for anything that would keep the ones he loved safe.
Sam just needed to break Felix free from that. He knew he could. He knew he’d made progress showing Felix he could rely on Sam. But Sam inheriting, his neck on the line… Could he truly blame Felix for slipping back to his default, latching onto his old habits? After what they both had been through in this life…he could never fault Fee from resorting to what made him feel safe.
Ash’s deep baritone rang through the entry. “So, what do you need our help with?”
“I have an…amendment to the plan. One that might allow us to be together.”
If Felix was willing to try.
Felicity’s gaze turned resolute, chin lifting and eyes flashing. “Whatever it is, Sam. We’ll help you do it.”
64
Sam
Laterthatday…
Sam halted in his tracks a step inside the Bentley townhouse study. A blue and a green gaze glinted back at him.
Sam’s eyes narrowed on the man standing in the middle of the study. “I wasn’t informed anyone had arrived yet.”
A wolfish smile flashed at Sam. “I tend to avoid using the front door,” Ryker said. He examined his nails with disinterest. “It’s so…typical.” His gaze flashed up. “I prefer to be unconventional.”
Yes, no one would argue with that. “Apparently, the Jennings need to invest in better locks.”
Ryker’s smile grew. “No lock can keep me out, Thorne, or I suppose I should say, Dalreoch.”
Distaste climbed up Sam’s throat. Every time someone called him by his title, panic jolted through him. A cruel reminder of the pain of losing Felix. Unfortunately, it was all he heard lately.
Footsteps sounded behind Sam, and he turned to see the Kozington brothers striding down the hall. Well, Lord Kozington was. His brothers were wrestling with each other while they walked.
Lord Kozington swept by Sam. “I heard you failed to use the front door again, Ryker. What was it this time?”
“Bentley’s bedchamber window.” He winked at Sam, and Sam shot him a glare that threatened death. He lifted his hands. “Jesting! I was jesting!”
“Is there any food?” the twins asked at the same time.
