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“Need a tissue?” Jeff asked in a tone that walked the line between affection and mockery.
“Piss off,” Alex told him and meant the opposite.
“If you think you’ll get rid of me that easily, think again.” Jeff smirked. “Look on the bright side, though—you won’t be facing any pressure to attend another fancy party anytime soon.”
“You’re just glad you won’t have to weasel out of being my plus one.”
“Babe, I’m nobody’s plus one. Not even yours.”
Alex could have come up with at least three celebrities who’d make Jeff change his stance, but that wasn’t the point, was it? So Alex settled for a smile that didn’t feel entirely fake, that didn’t slide into the empty spaces between his ribs and weigh him down even further. It took just a moment for Jeff’s smirk to soften into an answering smile.
“All right. Keep looking at me like that and I’ll reconsider.”
“Is it physically impossible for you to stay serious for more than fifteen seconds?” Oliver asked Jeff, sounding genuinely curious.
Jeff shrugged. “Pretty much, yeah.”
“All right, lads. So we’ve got a rough plan.” Kieran got up from his armchair. “Let’s get packing, yeah? Alex, thanks for trusting us with this.”
“Thanks for hearing me out.”
“That’s literally what I’m here for.” Kieran lifted one shoulder. “Remember what I said on day one?”
“You consider yourself responsible for us as more than just athletes.” Lee was the one who replied, and it gave Alex an excuse to look up at him—just a couple of seconds to take in his dark eyes and the prominent slant of his cheekbones, his plush mouth that Alex was coming to learn so well. Alex had thought him gorgeous even when they couldn’t stand each other, and now that he actually knew Lee, it seemed harder and harder to look away.
He had to though, and so he did.
A moment after Oliver got up, Alex did as well. He thanked Kieran again, and when Jeff draped an arm over Alex’s shoulders, it meant so much—friendship and comfort and gratitude.
Yet it didn’t come close to how Alex felt when Lee stripped him naked that night, one hand on Alex’s cock and the other carefully working a lubed finger into him, refusing to give him more than that. Lee kissed all protest and demands from Alex's mouth until Alex spilled over Lee’s hand, clutching at Lee’s bicep, silent fireworks as he shook with his release.
“I could have taken more than one,” Alex said later, after he’d come down, after he’d brought Lee off too with his hands and mouth.
“Another time,” Lee said and it sounded like a promise, as though the future was theirs.
Alex swallowed the words that pressed against the backs of his teeth and smiled.
13
The rumours started after dawn raids at the homes of four Members of Parliament and two Lords, including the Duke of Eastwyck’s manor. Arrests on unclear charges. Corruption? Foreign influence? Stay tuned.
Lee stuck close to Alex throughout their morning training session, and he could tell that Jeff did the same. Their gazes caught at some point and they exchanged a quick nod before returning to their respective exercises. Alex, for his part, kept his head down and followed Kieran’s instructions with single-minded focus, feigning ignorance to the curious glances from teammates.
He was quiet as they headed back to their room, then stepped out onto the balcony to call his mother. Lee made it a point to give him space, busying himself with a shave that he’d skipped earlier that morning, careful not to nick his skin with hands that were slightly less steady than usual. Half his attention was on the murmur of Alex’s voice that carried distress even though Lee couldn’t make out individual words.
It took conscious effort not to rush out there and just … do something, anything. Lee had always hated feeling helpless.
He stepped under the shower to remove himself from temptation, the rush of water in his ears blocking out Alex’s call. With his eyes closed, head ducked under the spray, he didn’t hear Alex come into the bathroom until the shower door slid open and Alex pressed himself up against Lee’s back, warm and solid. Lee leaned into him, covering Alex’s hands with his own.
“How did it go?” he asked softly.
He could feel Alex’s chest rise on a deep intake of air. “About as well as I expected.”
“What did you expect?”
“A request to come home immediately and help defend my father’s good name.”
Because clearly Alex had no life of his own—the fuckingnerve. Lee bit back a sharp comment. “So she believes he’s innocent?”
