"Hey. Hey, James." The voice was distant, but it cut through the fog in his brain enough for him to look up. Camelia and Evan approached him, their hands linked, equal expressions of concern on their faces as they took in what James was sure was a mess of a man.
He certainly felt like one.
Camelia detached her hand from Evan's immediately, walking over to him and planting her hand firmly on his chest as she looked up at him. "Hey, what's going on? You're upset."
James wanted to wrap his arms around her, to bury his nose in her neck and breathe in the scent of his Omega, the woman he loved, and have everything be fine. But it wasn't fine.
Evan drew near too, his brows furrowed in concern as he looked at James, and James managed a small, wry smile as he looked at his best friend. "Daddy dearest decided he's not happy with me." His voice was hoarse, tired and tense, and Evan's expression darkened even as Camelia looked back at him in question.
"Come on," Evan said, his tone brooking no argument. Not that James was going to give him one. "Let's get you home."
Chapter twenty-three
Camelia
The ride back to the condo was tense, though Camelia wasn't entirely sure why. She sat in the front with Evan and James sat in the back, remaining silent no matter how many times Camelia gently prodded, trying to get him to fess up, to tell them what had happened.
It had to do with his father, and they didn't have a great relationship. Anyone could see that. But beyond that...Camelia was clueless, though Evan seemed to know what to do.
Evan's surety, the way that he took charge over the three of them in times of uncertainty, it was something that normally comforted Camelia. This time, though, his jaw was tense and his knuckles were white where he clutched at the steering wheel, and whatever James was going through, Evan felt it on just as visceral of a level as the other Alpha.
Camelia ached. She wanted to do something for them, to make the situation better. Even if she didn't know exactly what it was that she was stepping in the middle of.
"Inside. Let's go," Evan said, his voice firm but gentle as they pulled in front of the house.
James moved as if he were in a dream, his motions slow and stilted. His eyes were unfocused, and there was a despair in them that Camelia had never seen before.
"Evan..." she said quietly. She stopped talking at the minute shake of his head, and trailed after James as Evan led them inside. She shut the door behind them, and then locked it after a moment of thought.
She bit her lip, uncertainty churning in her stomach as Evan rounded on James. His gaze was fixed to the ground, his body stiff, and he didn't respond when Evan stepped up close, gently speaking. "James. Hey. Look at me."
A moment passed, and then Evan cupped James face, forcing him to look up at meet his gaze. There was a tenderness in the gesture that Camelia recognized, an intimacy that she had seen flashes of before between the two men. Evan's thumbs stroked across James' cheeks, and his expression softened at whatever he saw in James' eyes. "Tell me what you need."
James' throat bobbed as he swallowed, and he shook his head. A tiny, broken sound escaped him, and after a moment, Evan nodded. "I'm going to take your coat off, okay?"
He didn't wait for a response, pushing James' coat off his shoulders until it slipped free. Camelia caught it and hung it on the hook near the door, her hands itching for something to do. She knew that she needed to be here, that James needed the both of them for whatever it was that was going on in his mind...She just didn't know what to do.
"Camelia, baby," Evan's voice was still soft, but his eyes were firm when they flicked over to her. "Take James upstairs, to my room. Strip him down. I'll be up in just a second."
Camelia swallowed, stepping closer. "Why?"
Evan returned his gaze to James' face, pressing his lips together firmly for a moment. "James needs our help to get out of his head and feel better before we can find out what's going on. You're going to be a good girl and help me, okay?"
"Okay, yeah," Camelia whispered, her heart thumping faster. As confused as she was, the command in Evan's voice still made her pussy clench and warmth gather low in her belly. He nodded, and Camelia took James' hand in hers, lowering her voice as she stepped close to him. "James. Come on. Upstairs."
He didn't respond, but didn't resist when Camelia tugged him up the stairs. His expression was shadowed, a hundred thoughts behind his gray eyes, and Camelia's heart squeezed.
She didn't know what had happened between him and his dad, but she knew she wanted to help.
"Evan's room. Come on." She dragged him along behind her, one step at a time, and Camelia pushed open the door to Evan's room with her shoulder, keeping James close. His fingers twitched in hers, and Camelia gently guided him to the center of the room, reaching up and brushing her fingers through his hair. He made that soft sound again, leaning into her touch, and Camelia stepped close.
"Come on. Arms up." She gently pushed his shirt up until it caught on his shoulders, pulling it up over the top of his head when he obligingly lifted his arms.
"Good. There you go." Camelia continued whispering softly to him, trailing her fingers down his torso and watching his muscles tense under her touch. She traced her fingertips along the waist of his pants, and James let out a low, shaking breath."
"She's a tease, isn't she, James?" Evan's voice was soft as he walked in, and Camelia felt a tingle on the back of her neck as he drew close to her. He pulled her hair over one shoulder, pressing a tender kiss to her neck and making Camelia shudder, thenwhispered in her ear, "Take his pants off, baby. There's a good girl."
Camelia couldn't stop from whimpering a little at the praise, her pussy clenching hard. She was already wet, slick and soft as she knelt down in front of James, and she bit her lip as she made quick work of the button on his pants and dragged them down his hips.
