“No,” the lord agrees vaguely. “They won’t.”
I jump to my feet, head spinning from the sudden change in altitude, and bow deeply—from the waist, not the neck. So deeply that I almost bump my forehead on the table.
The whites of Lord Augustus’s eyes flash with something that looks a lot like fear. So much so that, for once, they hardly look dull.
I see myself to the library as fast as I can, closing the door behind me and locking it. I turn, leaning back heavily, and let myself sink into a heap on the floor. I don’t stop when I get to a seated position. No, what I’ve done is so heinous that it warrants nothing less than complete horizontalness.
I lie on my back, eyes fluttering open and closed as my cheeks burn.
I was doing so well.
I was being professional. I was rising above rudeness, and tallness, and black eyes that could be so beautiful if he smiled more. I was minding my own business admirably—especially if you take my morning visits to the stables out of the equation. Most of all, I wasn’t burdening my boring boss with a single fucking word that could be misconstrued as oversharing.
“I had myself in hand. I was in control,” I trill, borderline hysterical as I hold my phone near my face. Lucien doesn’t speak, but he nods his head solemnly. “I was behaving my ass off. I’ve been here for weeks, and I’ve, I’ve kept it together this whole time.”
“You’ve been doing so, so well,” Lucien agrees, adopting a hushed tone usually reserved for hospital rooms.
“I think that’s the problem.” I sniff. “I kept too much in for too long, and now look. I think maybe I should have talked a little more from the beginning. Let the poison out slowly, you know? Given him time to acclimatize.”
“I know, I know.”
“Now I’ve traumatized him, poor thing.”
“He needs to toughen up if he can’t handle a slight overshare,” bellows Branson from another room. “What’s wrong with him?”
“It wasn’t a slight overshare, baby,” Lucien clarifies gently. “Jensen told him he’s a hundred and seven percent sure Hutton-le-Hole was named by a horny omega, and he said he was disappointed when he arrived and didn’t see glory holes dotted all around town. He said it seemed terribly off-brand. Said that ifhenamed a town Hutton-le-Hole, it would be the kind of place that boasted bruised holes left, right, and center.”
“Oh God!” I wail as the horror of my behavior hits me afresh. “How do I fix this? What do I do? Tell me!”
“Resign and come home,” Branson says firmly. He must enter the room Lucien is in when he speaks because I see Lucien’s gaze drift and a smile pull at his lips.
“I think you should resign and come home, Jens,” Lucien says kindly.
He has the audacity to say it as though he’s the one who came up with the idea.
Fuck. I can’t stand being around newly mated couples.
“Yeah,” Branson doubles down. “Get the hell away from that man if he makes you act like this.”
On the screen, Lucien catches my eye, and neither of us utters a sound. His eyes bulge from the effort it takes to stifle his laugh. Lucien knows me well. Better than most people do, and as aresult, he knows that Lord Augustus didn’tmakeme do a damn thing.
I’m perfectly capable of acting like this all on my own.
It’s a fucking long day, and by the time I finally crawl into my nest, I’m exhausted. I’m so tired I can’t muster the energy required to take on my late-night wandering around Beaumont Craven House.
I suppose that’s for the best.
If Lord Augustus caught me at it tonight, there’s no telling what I would do. Or what I’d say.
I can barely move a muscle, and the worst of it is that I’m so bone tired that when I slide my hands into my pants, I don’t have the energy required to give my prostate the rough fingering it needs for me to get off. I’m so tired that I can’t even conjure a masked man. Or an overgrown maze. Or the night sky.
All I’m able to invoke is the same thing I’ve seen all day. A difficult man with a handsome face. Dark features and heavy brows. Surprisingly sensual lips moving, curling around words I can still feel at the base of my throat.
Under my sternum.
Low down in my belly.
I find that I enjoy your presence, Mr. Lawlor.
