Page 60 of Enemies with an Earl
“What?” Thorne’s alarmed question cut through Felix’s fit of mirth.
“Are you…” He sucked in a breath, trying to calm his frenzied laughs. “H-holding me? What in the bloody hell are we doing?” Christ, they both must have lost their minds.
Thorne’s arms tightened, his soft breath dancing over the sensitive skin of Felix’s ear. “I have no fucking clue,” he murmured. “All I know is that it feels pretty damn good.” Thorne dragged his nose along the shell of Felix’s ear, and Felix shivered. “So, Bentley?”
“Mmm?”
“Shut your damn gob and just enjoy the moment.”
Felix let out a last huff of laughter and finally gave in, melting back against Thorne. “I suppose I can… Just for a moment, though.”
He closed his eyes and let go. Let himself enjoy being held, being safe in someone else’s strong arms.
“Just for a moment,” Thorne whispered.
And that was the truth, wasn’t it? All they had was a moment. So, he supposed he had to make the most of it.
30
Felix
Felixwanderedthehallon the ground floor of Devonford Castle. He’d already checked Felicity’s chamber—empty—and knocked on the Duke’s—no answer there. He wasn’t sure if his sister had decided she might as well move into the master’s chambers at this point. Felix wasn’t going to say anything. All etiquette had been tossed in the Thames at this point, anyhow, and after everything Felix had put his sister through…if she wanted to enjoy thecomfortsof marriage before the ceremony, he was the last one who was going to deny her that.
He stepped into the library, gaze darting around the room—and landing on his sister. Flick was snuggled under a blanket on a large leather couch, Pandora on the opposite end, both lost in a novel. He strode over to them, the light thump of his boots echoing softly against the carpet in the two-story space. Felicity glanced up, and her amber eyes brightened, a small smile tilting her lips.
Felix bowed. “Good morning, ladies.”
Pandora jumped up, her blanket falling away to reveal her breeches. Her book tumbled to the floor with a thunk. “Oh, bother.” She scooped up her book and dipped a curtsy, her lively blue eyes and wide smile landing on Felix. “Good morning, Felix. I’m so excited!” She hugged her book to her chest. “It’s almost time for the wedding and then we’ll all be family!” She wrinkled her nose and frowned. “I suppose before you were to be my brother, but now you’ll be my uncle.”
He exchanged a smiling glance with Felicity. The situation was most definitely not conventional.
“I think this works out much better,” Pandora said thoughtfully. “I already have two brothers. I don’t have any uncles.”
Flick snorted. “I adore your logic, darling.”
Pandora grinned and then plopped back down on the couch, settling in with her blanket and book. “Obviously, I am beyond happy for you and Papa, too, Felicity. You two are a much better match than you and Colby ever were. Anyone but a featherwit could see that.”
Flick burst out laughing, and Felix choked. Felicity caught his eye as she wiped a tear away. He rubbed a hand down his face. Apparently, he really was daft.
“I should leave you two ladies to your reading. But I was wondering if you knew of the Duke’s whereabouts?” Or more specifically, a certain valet’s whereabouts. He kept his face neutral, but naturally, his sister didn’t miss his true intentions.
Felicity lifted a lone amber brow. “Subtle, brother,” she murmured softly. “He and Mr. Thorne rode out to the gamekeeper’s cottage. I believe there was some damage to it during the storm. From what I understood, they are in need of muscle. Perhaps you could assist.”
Felix rocked back and forth on his heels. “Excellent. I think I’ll do just that.”
He left the library, his sister’s knowing laughter floating behind him.
31
Sam
“Allright,men.Thetricky part is going to be the rut that limb has lodged itself into,” Barrow, the Devonford stable master, called out to the group of tenants.
A massive branch had crushed part of the outer wall of the gamekeeper’s cottage, knocking some of the field stone that made up the house’s exterior clean off. A good arm’s length of the branch protruded off the building, the roof dipping precariously.
“Made a nice little home for itself in the stone wall,” Barrow was saying. He swung toward Ash and Sam. “Thorne, that’s you.”
“Obviously,” Sam said, casually flexing his arms. He was rewarded with a chorus of hoots and hollers from the rest of the men.
