Page 21 of Enemies with an Earl
They stared each other down, barely an inch separating them, the only sound in the room their harsh breathing. Neither willing to back down. Thorne’s nostrils flared with each tense breath. The man’s dark gaze ate away at Felix, ate away at his barriers, and he was terrified that Thorne could see the truth. Could see the sodomite Felix hid within.
Felix struggled to swallow, his throat tight with too many emotions to name. The instinct to always be the bigger man, the stronger man, melded with the fury and fear festering inside like an ever-worsening infection. It all coiled inside him, and he wanted desperately to scream.
He tried to swallow past a chalky throat as emotions churned, as he tried to hold on to control and not break composure in front of this man. To win whatever this standoff was. He licked his dry lips. Thorne’s gaze dipped to Felix’s mouth, pupils flaring. Those dark grey eyes grew darker, a different storm rising in their depths.
Felix’s chaotic emotions came to a screeching halt and his mind went silent. The world seemed to tilt even as his feet remained planted firmly on the ground as he tried to make sense of what he was seeing.
“I… I assure you,” Felix said, stumbling over his words. Thorne’s gaze snapped back to his, heavy-lidded and filled with a searing heat. “N-no matter what you believe you saw, there was nothing untoward taking place.” Felix searched those enigmatic grey irises, trying to find answers to the flurry of questions that had just taken root in his mind. Was his mind playing tricks on him? Did it even matter? “But that’s all I can say.”
Thorne abruptly stepped back. Watched Felix silently. “Glad to hear it,” he said tightly, slowly walking backward.
The air crackled and sparked between them. But now Felix wasn’t so sure it was from animosity. But something far more…animal.
Thorne snatched the waistcoat from the back of the dressing table chair and made his way out of the room, not once dropping Felix’s gaze.
The doorsnickedshut, and Felix slumped back into the wall, out of breath, and he had no idea why.Fuck. He dropped his head in his hands. What in the bloody hell just happened?
9
Sam
Sam
“IcaughtLordBentleytrying to take advantage of one of our footmen,” Sam burst out after he slammed the door to Ash’s chamber shut.
Ash blinked at him from where he was nursing a drink before the fire. Damn these abnormally cold September nights. And this big bloody castle that Sam had just stormed all over until he finally found out his best mate had retired to his chamber.
“Bentley was…taking advantage of one of our footmen?” Ash arched a skeptical brow.
“Yes.” Sam glared at his always composed friend. “Earlier today. They were standing close to each other. Speaking hushed words.”
Ash gasped, eyes going comically wide. “No! They were standing and speaking. How utterly wicked of them!”
Sam’s expression went flat, and he closed his eyes, praying for strength. “I realize,” he said through his teeth, “that they were not in a compromising position, but it was quite suspicious. If you had been there, you would have definitely felt it, too.Somethingwas going on between them.” Sam wouldn’t tolerate anyone taking advantage of his fellow servants. And what was Sam supposed to think? They’d been much too cozy, huddled together. What on earth would a lord need a footman in his bedchamber for? Besides something nefarious.
Ash’s blue eyes turned thoughtful. “Which footman?”
“Robbie.”
“Interesting,” Ash muttered.
Sam failed to see what was so interesting about one of their staff being preyed on.
“We’ll need to replace him soon, then.”
“What?”Sam’s eyes popped out of his head. Rolled right along the floor and settled on the plush Aubusson. Because what in the bloody fuck? “You’re just going to let that man abuse poor Robbie?”
“Sam, calm the theatrics—”
“Theatrics? I know exactly what lords do in situations like this. When they’re caught,” Sam gritted out. Panic was sliding through him, coating over his insides and twisting, tightening. “And Bentley wascaught.” It wasn’t Bentley who would pay the price. It was Robbie. Shite. What if him confronting Bentley made all of this worse?
Ash’s eyes softened. “Sam…”
Oh God.Was he going to be the reason Robbie—
“Sam.” Ash’s firm tone brought Sam back from his spiraling. “Your staunch support is admirable, but you’re jumping to conclusions,” Ash said gently. “I find it interesting because Lord Bentley heads an organization that specializes in assisting men and their partners relocate to the continent in order to pursue…a freer, safer lifestyle.”
Sam blinked. Some crickets chirped in his brain. What now?
