He’d not pushed to find out how Ledger truly felt when a part of him was anxious that, in the light of day, he might have some regrets.
“After giving you the cold shoulder, doesn’t that seem a little odd?”
Now that Dacian had put that thought out there, he couldn’t stop thinking about it, even hours later after returning to the office. He’d not resolved anything with his brothers, in reality. He had tried to reassure Dacian—or maybe himself—that he’d act as normal as possible around Calvert to prevent any more distress. That didn’t mean he also wouldn’t work on keeping what was happening between him and Ledger low key.
He stared at the computer screen, not seeing anything but Ledger’s eyes recalling how he’d begged—demanded—that Thorn become fully vampire. What had triggered the demand? Was the insecurity around his past conquests, what drove the need?
Thorn wasn’t so sure he liked that idea at all, despite how much he’d wanted to be that way with Ledger. Should the reason matter?
A tap on his office door was the only warning before it swung open to reveal Ledger looking good enough to eat, in a dark suit and crisp white shirt and bowtie. “You’re looking rather dressed up for…” he checked his watch, frowning at the lateness of the hour, “for seven in the evening.”
Ledger brought his hand into view, one holding a glass of sparkling wine, and offered it to Thorn, a grin appearing as he approached. “You’ve forgotten we have several clients coming for one of your ‘special’ wine tastings.”
“Crap, that’s tonight?” He didn’t take the glass. Instead, he reached for the mouse and shook it to wake up his screen and check his diary of appointments. How had he forgotten something as important as this?
Ledger came and perched his ass on the edge of Thorn’s desk, crossing his ankles, looking relaxed and wearing a smile brimming with amusement. “It is, you have five minutes to rush up to the house and get changed.”
Thorn groaned at how the other plans he had for the evening—a repeat of the parts of the previous evening they hadn’t gotten to—went up in smoke.
Ledger sipped from the glass he continued to hold, moaning in appreciation before once more offering the glass to Thorn, seemingly not caring that his behavior was delaying Thorn. “Beautiful, fruity, vibrant, with a lightness that leaves the palate clean. Delicious, it was a great choice.”
Thorn, who’d reached to take the wine, paused, his hand mid-air as he looked from the glass to Ledger. “Is this the bottle I picked last night?”
“I didn’t see the point in wasting the effort you went to last night when I ruined the romancing part of your evening.”
Thorn took the glass and rose, but he didn’t take a drink. Instead, he stepped closer to Ledger, swooping in to taste his full lips. His intention to keep it light and playful was corrupted by his mate when fingers dove into his hair and held on, angling Thorn’s head so Ledger could deepen the kiss.
They groaned together and Thorn didn’t resist, parting his lips and gaining access to the sweet mouth that held hints of the wine Ledger had drunk. His fingers tightened around the stem of the glass before there was a loud cough coming from the direction of the open door.
Thorn didn’t immediately stop, more eased out of the kiss, loving the glazed, lust filled gaze meeting his as he stood back to find Calvert standing watching them with expressionless eyes.
“Shouldn’t you be going to get changed?” he asked pointedly, while looking at Thorn’s rumpled shirt. “Our guests have started to arrive.”
Ledger glanced between them, his brows drawing together as he moved away from the desk.What’s wrong with Calvert?
We’ll talk about it later.Much later. “I’m just going up to the house now,” he replied, keeping his tone light.
Calvert nodded and disappeared, leaving an odd tension behind.
Ledger stared at where Calvert had been standing. “What’s going on?” His voice was low, but that wouldn’t prevent Calvert from hearing if he tuned in to the conversation.
“Nothing.”Let’s talk about this later, okay?
A frown marred his brow as he nodded and answered flippantly, “If you say so. I’ve left your suit on the bed.”
Thorn brushed a kiss over Ledger’s lips, running a finger over his brow.
It’s all going to be fine.“Thank you, Sweetling.”
Chapter Twelve
Ledger
There was something going on between the brothers and as much as Thorn tried to fob it off as nothing of importance, Ledger picked up the odd tension between them all. He was beginning to believe it was the cause of his queasy stomach.Because when they were all in the same room, mostly in the mornings, his stomach lurched unpleasantly.
Having just left them all in Thorn’s office, he rubbed at his belly, working to summon a bright smile when he walked towards the group of people entering the winery. If he considered his predicament, it had been like that for days. In fact, it had been weeks since the weird tension developed between everyone.
He controlled the need to frown at that realization. Was that the actual cause of the odd, unpleasant feeling, like he was going to be sick? It didn’t last very long once he was alone. The first few times it happened, he’d wondered if he’d caught a bug. When he wasn’t actually sick, he’d dismissed that idea. He’d tried to do some internet searches of symptoms around tension and the effects it could have on divergents, but as he couldn’t put in a search engine about vampire tension and the effects, he didn’t get very far. He’d not gotten any actual answers to the questions he’d posed. It wasn’t like he couldn’t ask Thorn. Well, he could but Thorn wasn’t always forthcoming with answers when it related to his brothers. Especially of late.
