Page 81 of Enemies with an Earl
“Thank you, my lady,” Sam murmured. “I think we can all agree the Duke is quite unusual himself. I am here to be of assistance in any way you need.”
“Oh, you are, are you?”
Felix didnotlike his mother’s tone.
She gave a loving pat to Felix’s arm and then stepped away. “Well, our servants have the packing covered. I’ll be ensuring nothing gets forgotten. But I do believe Lord Bentley here needed some help back in his study. Perhaps you could go with him, and he could find…some way for you to lend a hand.”
Felix nearly choked. On nothing. Heat spread up his neck. And the devil standing across from his mother only made things worse.
“I would love nothing more than to be of service to His Lordship.”
Felix’s mouth flattened, and he glared at Sam. Who only grinned wider.
“Excellent. Off you boys go.” Mother clapped her hands and then waved them off toward the house.
Felix frowned at his mother. This wasn’t an easy day for her. “Are you certain you will be well seeing to this on your own?”
She gave him a gentle shove. “All of a sudden, I am feeling much revitalized.” Her gaze flicked to Sam quickly. “Sometimes circumstances change. One must be quick to adapt.”
He nodded and swallowed hard, heart lodged in his throat. He pivoted without a word and strode toward the manor.
Every thump of Sam’s boots landed straight in Felix’s chest. What was he doing here? Felix squeezed his fists at his sides, his feet eating up ground on the way to his study, unsure if his quick pace was him trying to outrun the man behind him, or anticipation of being alone with him again.
As soon as the door clicked shut, Felix spun on Sam. Felix opened his mouth, but nothing came out. Their gazes clashed, and Sam’s confident mask slipped for the barest of moments. Felix’s heart stalled. Because in that brief slip, something raw and vulnerable sparked in those grey irises.
A spark that ignited something that felt very much like hope.
40
Sam
Samwastrappedina burnt-honey gaze. God, he’d forgotten how mesmerizing those eyes were. And right now, they swirled with something that had Sam’s wits fleeing the building.
“What are you doing here?” Felix blurted, his words hoarse.
Which was why he responded with pure brilliance. “You.”
Confusion passed over the amber irises locked on him.
Sam dropped his head back with a groan. And his head smacked into the door behind him. “Arghh!” He gripped the back of his skull.Bloody fuck.
Felix was at his side in one step. “Hell, Sam. Are you hurt?” In the next moment, the man had tugged off his gloves, his hands drifting into Sam’s hair, fingers gently probing Sam’s smarting skull. Sam no longer cared about the pain, though. He’d gladly bash his brains in a thousand times over if it meant Felix’s hands on him again.
Felix’s fingers stilled. His gaze slowly slid from where it rested on his hands down to meet Sam’s eyes. His breath puffed over Sam’s cheeks, over Sam’s lips. Sam let out his own unsteady exhale, their breaths mingling. He licked his impossibly dry lips. Felix’s eyes flashed, features tightening. An expression that felt so bloody familiar to Sam. Pain. Anguish. Need. All wrapped up in one.
“You didn’t forget about me, then?” Sam whispered.
Felix’s hands slid from Sam’s hair, one coming to curl gently around his nape. “Forget you?” He shook his head, amber curls bouncing softly. “Impossible. Trust me, I’d know. I tried so damn hard.”
Sam’s frame eased, and his forehead fell against Felix’s. “Thank fuck,” he said thickly. “I was afraid it was just me.”
Felix pulled away, teeth sinking into that plush bottom lip. Worrying it. Like Sam wanted to. The adorable pucker was still scrunching his brow, uncertainty radiating from him.
“Whatareyou doing here, Sam?”
“The Duke presented me with an opportunity I couldn’t refuse. He gave me an excuse to see you again.”
Those amber irises warmed, bright as the morning’s first light breaking the horizon. And that warmth infused Sam’s chest.
