Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 58808 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 294(@200wpm)___ 235(@250wpm)___ 196(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 58808 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 294(@200wpm)___ 235(@250wpm)___ 196(@300wpm)
“No comment,” Hugh said tersely, laying a hand on Eric’s shoulder and guiding him through the crowd of reporters and onlookers.
Distantly, Eric was surprised he was still there. He’d thought he would quietly slip away thanks to the fact that Eric was the focus of all the attention and Hugh wasn’t immediately recognizable in Pelugia. Not that Eric had any delusions that Hugh’s identity would remain secret long, but Hugh could have been safely in Kadar by the time it was discovered. Kadarians were unlikely to give much of a shit that an unbonded alpha was caught in an inappropriate situation with an omega. Pelugians were another matter entirely.
But Hugh was still there, by his side, letting the paps snap pictures of them together. It wouldn’t take them long to run facial recognition on Hugh and find out that he was a Randall—and that he was Eric’s doctor.
“Go,” Eric whispered. “You’ll get in trouble at work for this.”
Hugh’s grip on his shoulder only tightened. “Keep walking. My helicopter is just ahead.”
“But your career—”
“I’m not leaving you,” Hugh ground out, his face stony and resolved.
Against his better judgment, Eric felt profound relief. Rationally, he knew that Hugh was probably making it worse by sticking by him, but everything felt magically better when Hugh was by his side. It seemed some things didn’t change, whether he was eighteen or twenty-two.
Ignoring the lewd, insulting questions, they got into Hugh’s helicopter. “Where to?” Hugh said, the look in his eyes grim. “We can go to my place and talk about our options.”
Our options?
Eric wished he were better at reading people, but he was as hopeless at it as ever, and Hugh’s expression seemed absolutely unreadable.
“‘Talk’ like we ‘talked’ at the restaurant?” Eric said with a crooked smile. “Get me home. You’re my doctor, you know my address.”
Hugh shot him another inscrutable look and gave a clipped nod before instructing their pilot where to go.
Eric spent the ride looking out the window at the orange-red sky. The sun was setting.
He ignored his constantly buzzing phone—no doubt it was his family freaking out about another scandal he’d gotten himself into. The guilt made him feel nauseated. His brothers didn’t deserve to have such a fuck-up of a brother. But he couldn’t undo his mistakes.
The worst part was, he wasn’t at all sure he’d somehow be able to behave smarter if he could go back in time. Even now, despite the panic and dread that had settled in his stomach, he was hyperaware of the alpha seated so close to him. He could feel Hugh’s eyes on him with every fiber of his being. The tension in the cabin could have been cut with a knife, or at least it felt that way to Eric. He’d never been so conscious of another man’s body or his own. Or the intoxicating scent of alpha in the air. Even now, all he wanted was to crawl into Hugh’s lap, bury his nose against his neck, and disappear into him, letting Hugh take care of everything.
Get a fucking grip. He’s not your alpha and he never will be.
When the helicopter finally arrived at the Ascotts’ parking pad, Eric cursed under his breath upon seeing a familiar royal helicopter parked there. His brothers had already arrived. Then again, it probably wasn’t surprising, because the royal family’s helicopters could ignore air traffic laws.
Jules and Liam were waiting for him on the porch steps with their mates. They all looked grim and tense. At least Anthony was nowhere to be seen. Thank fuck for small mercies. Not that dealing with Jon and Devlin would be much easier. Just his luck that Liam and his husband lived so close to Devlin’s palace. Now they could all gang up on him.
Taking a deep, calming breath, Eric pushed the door open and, without looking at Hugh, hopped off the helicopter. He didn’t know how to say goodbye to Hugh. It would probably be better not to say anything. He didn’t trust himself not to burst into tears in full view of his family.
But then Hugh followed him out of the helicopter.
Eric froze, his eyes snapping from his relatives to Hugh. “What the hell are you doing?” he hissed. “Do you have a death wish? This is my husband’s house. My brothers-in-law are typical overprotective alphas. One of them is professionally trained to kill.”
Hugh’s gaze flicked to the welcoming party without much interest before returning to Eric. “I’m not afraid of them,” he said—and then he laid his hand on Eric’s shoulder.
Flushing, Eric glared at him incredulously. “Are you suicidal? They all see me as a kid in need of protection. They’ll see you as a predator.”
“I’m not leaving you to deal with this alone,” Hugh stated, steering Eric forward.
Partly disbelieving, partly embarrassed, and partly relieved, Eric let him. He felt his face become warmer as he met his brothers’ eyes.