His heart skipped a beat, and he stared at Emmett for a few long seconds.
“Wait. You can hear?”
Emmett rolled his eyes and said, “The question remains the same.”
Wilder opened and closed his mouth a few times, the words never coming to him.
Emmett put his tablet on the couch and turned his head to tap behind his ear where his headphones… those weren’t headphones.
“I have cochlear implants. My brother doesn’t.”
“So, you can hear me, but he can’t? Why doesn’t he have the implants, then?” Wilder mused, brow creased in confusion. “If it makes it easier?”
“Makes what easier?”
The scathing look Emmett gave him had Wilder taking a step back, which was probably a good thing, because Emmett stood from the couch, and they would’ve been right up against eachother if he hadn’t. Not that he’d usually mind being pressed up against a gorgeous man, but considering the way Emmett was looking at him, it wouldn’t end well.
“Uh…”
Emmett raised a brow, and Wilder found himself swallowing hard.
“If someone told you to just change a part of yourself because it made it easier for them, how would that make you feel?”
Wilder didn’t have an answer for that. He could only blink at Emmett as it finally sank in that he was, in fact, being ignorant and condescending. Shit. He didn’t like that. Not one fucking bit.
Emmett turned and took off away from him, but Wilder grabbed him by the wrist, tugging him back around. Emmett’s eyes were like a lightning storm as he raised his head to meet Wilder’s gaze.
“So, if I want to talk to your brother, I have to do it in his language, right?”
“Yes?”
They absolutely did not have time for this conversation, and yet, he couldn’t stop himself. He took a step forward, bringing them within inches of each other. Emmett’s sweet vanilla scent washed over him, and it took him a moment before he remembered what he’d been about to say.
“In which case, I’ll need someone to teach me.”
A depraved part of him wanted Emmett’s sharp inhale to be because of how close they were, and not in outrage.
“I…” Emmett shook his head, gaze shooting between Wilder’s mouth and eyes. Fuck if he didn’t like Emmett’s eyes on his mouth. Emmett was fucking gorgeous, and clearly way out of his league. Not that that had ever stopped him before.
This was the worst idea he’d gotten in a long fucking time, and yet he found himself saying, “So you’ll teach me?”
Emmett’s mouth dropped open, and he stared at Wilder in outrage.
Before Emmett could answer, Wilder put his hands on his shoulders and turned him around, giving him a light shove forward. Remy and the others would be long gone by now, so he’d have to get Emmett to safety himself. He was loath to leave his brothers and sisters, but there was no way he would leave Emmett’s safety to anyone else.
“Great. Now let’s get out of here,” he said.
Emmett dug his heels in. Not that it made any difference. He could pick him up with one hand, and when Emmett started protesting loudly, that’s exactly what he did. He bent down, wrapping an arm around Emmett, just below the ass he definitely wasn’t going to ogle, and threw him over his shoulder.
CHAPTER SIX
Emmett
GETTING MANHANDLED was not on his to-do list. Despite Wilder being a big guy, his touch was exceptionally gentle. His hand was huge and warm, and he wished it didn’t feel so good against the back of his thighs. He’d given up on both cursing Wilder and trying to wiggle free. It was no use. All he could do was hang over Wilder’s shoulder like a rag doll.
At least the view wasn’t entirely awful. Wilder’s ass looked great, and he had to remind himself that he couldn’t grab it. He wanted to, though, which was a problem.
He heard a door open, and then a burst of wind ruffled his hair. He lifted his head enough to see the door shutting behind them and frowned. That wasn’t the door he’d entered the gym through. They had to be in a part of the parking lot he hadn’t seen before.
