Total pages in book: 56
Estimated words: 54759 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 274(@200wpm)___ 219(@250wpm)___ 183(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 54759 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 274(@200wpm)___ 219(@250wpm)___ 183(@300wpm)
Fuck, how did one even talk about something like this? It seemed unthinkable. Something that was never supposed to happen.
But it had happened. Not just once. Many, many times. And if Jules didn’t do something, it seemed neither Liam nor Anthony were going to stop that madness. The way they had been fucking when he’d walked in on them… Jules flushed, his discomfort increasing. He was very far from being prudish, but what he had seen looked so obscene, pure animal need. It seemed as though Anthony had been trying to hammer himself into Liam’s body, and Liam had been no better.
Goddammit. Jules wished there was a suitable older relative who could speak on Liam’s behalf, who could protect him. In any other circumstances, it would be Anthony doing that. Uncle Wayne wasn’t an option. He didn’t give a shit about any of them. So Jules it was. There was no one else.
Jules reached Anthony’s office and pushed the door open without knocking.
Anthony was seated behind his desk, but he didn’t seem to be working. He was staring at the flames crackling merrily in the fireplace while the rain drummed against the window. It should have been a cozy picture. It wasn’t. There was darkness in the general mood of the room, something Jules could almost taste.
He eyed Anthony, trying to see him as a man, not a brother—tried to see what would make Liam commit such a sin, repeatedly.
All right, he was a strikingly handsome man, that was undeniable, but Jules still couldn’t see him that way. All he saw was a brother. A brother he’d come to really like. It was hard to believe Anthony was capable of seducing his own little brother. If Jules hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, he would have never believed it. Anthony just seemed so good. Jules usually trusted his instincts, and they insisted that Anthony was a good person.
“I don’t want to have this conversation, Jules,” his brother said, not even glancing at him.
Jules pursed his lips and stepped into the room, ignoring his own discomfort. He determinedly didn’t think about what Anthony and Liam had been doing in this very office an hour ago.
“Neither do I, but we’re having it,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest and staring at Anthony’s hard profile. “How can you do it? It’s—it’s so wrong I don’t even have words for how wrong it is.”
A muscle flexed in Anthony’s jaw. “This conversation is pointless,” he said in a clipped tone. “You can’t say anything I don’t already know.”
Jules shook his head, scoffing. “If you understand how wrong it is, why are you doing it?”
Anthony finally turned to him and stared him down, his face impassive. “Don’t be a hypocrite, Jules. You stole your brother’s fiancé, despite knowing perfectly well how wrong it was.”
“It wasn’t like that,” Jules said, flushing. “And Devlin wasn’t Liam’s fiancé!”
“They still had an understanding,” Anthony stated, his voice flat and hard. “Everyone expected Westcliff to propose to Liam. He was publicly humiliated when Westcliff ended up switching his choice to you.”
Jules opened his mouth and closed it, unable to speak. Anthony was right. Of course he was right. Although Jules had never wanted to hurt Liam, he’d ended up hurting him nonetheless, however inadvertently. He had hurt Liam’s pride and made him a target for gossip. It was hypocritical of him to judge Anthony for hurting Liam when he’d done exactly the same.
“The difference is, I love Devlin,” Jules said quietly. “I couldn’t help falling in love with him. This—thing between you and Liam seems… very base. Can’t you get your dick wet in someone who isn’t your own brother?”
Anthony’s cheekbones colored a little. He looked at the fireplace again. “It’s not that simple.”
Jules sighed. Was it ever? “I just—I guess I just expected better from you. I was so happy when you turned out to be alive, but now I wish…”
“You wish I were dead?”
Wincing, Jules shook his head. “No—of course not. I just…” He ran a hand over his face. “I don’t know.”
Silence fell between them, strained and uneasy.
Jules was the one to break it. “You should have agreed to Lord Terlaine’s proposal. He’s practically perfect for Liam. He was the best catch of the season—after my Devlin, obviously.”
Anthony’s face closed off. “That’s for me to decide.”
Jules huffed. “You’re being an ass. A dog in the manger.” He chuckled a little. “Though that’s not very accurate, either, huh? A dog doesn’t eat the hay. You sure do, even though you know perfectly well that you shouldn’t.”
“Enough,” Anthony said. Although he didn’t use his Voice and his tone remained quiet, his pheromones spiked. Alpha, they said. Obey.
Jules barely resisted the urge to take a step back. Fuck, sometimes he hated being an omega. “Just promise me you’ll stay away from Liam—that it won’t happen again.”