Charlie froze mid-wash, then continued without glancing at him.
“Like?”
“Yes. I think she’s a strong woman and I admire her for it.”
“What type of like?”
The type who wanted to sleep in her bed and do all kinds of hot activities well into the night. The type who couldn’t get enough of her no matter how he tried to purge her from his system. The type who was getting attached to Archie so fast without the warning that it was wrong. The type who wanted to spend time with them every waking moment and just witness their milestones in life.
It jarred his soul, and he had to keep his hand from shaking. He opened his mouth, trying to find the safest words to keep Charlie from reading his emotions. Before he could, keys jangled, and the door opened.
“Good morning. I’m sorry I’m later than…oh.” Alexa blinked, her attention on her brother. “Charlie. I thought you had somewhere to go this morning.”
She was in overalls and a white tank top, nothing special. He had touched her this morning and witnessed the orgasm shake her to her core, all flushed and well spent. But looking at her now was like getting hit by a train—not that he had ever been hit with one—as revelation slammed inside him and hung on. His world tilted on his axis before righting itself…and the two were still talking.
“Yes, well, it didn’t pan out.” Charlie frowned. “I didn’t mean to cancel on you so suddenly. If I had known….”
“She had me to call,” Edmund piped in, deciding it was the right time. Two heads spun to him, one wary and the other just watchful. He tried to read Alexa’s expression, but all he saw were wide eyes. So, he approached and reached out, confidence surging when she didn’t avoid the kiss he gave her…instead, Alexa responded, a shy whisper before they disentangled. “Hello, my love.”
Perhaps it was a bad move to greet her like that in front of someone who thought the world of her, but he couldn’t help himself. He also couldn’t resist marking his claim, an Alpha move he once frowned upon but hissed in his soul now. Still, he gave her space instead of holding her tightly. Gray eyes met his with just a hint of smoldering before she cleared her throat and turned back to Charlie.
“The clan was busy today,” she reasoned out. “Angelo has that….”
“Brewery event,” Charlie finished.
“And you are supposed to attend.”
“I will. But I’m not needed until hours later, so I still have time.”
There was stubbornness in the tone. There was also a warning thrown out in Edmund’s direction, daring him to do something stupid. While he didn’t do anything stupid, it sparked his competitive nature enough to abandon his excuses to leave.
“I will stay, too,” he announced. “I don’t have anywhere to be now.”
Charlie’s eyes widened. Alexa gave him a worried look.
“What about work?”
“That’s what phones are for,” he said. “Besides, I like your window view and will try to sketch it…without sitting near the window, of course.”
The next few hours didn’t fly by as he would have wished, mostly because Charlie still watched him like a predator ready to pounce, and it was hard to try to get alone with her with such sharp eyes around. At least he was successful in the sketching part, finding a spot on the sofa where the sunlight didn’t stream and just going at it. Archie sat beside him for a long time, watching cartoons and playing with some reading books until Alexa wandered in to read him one. The sound of their voices washed over him like a balm and made his fingers feel lighter, finishing the sketch earlier than expected.
“Here. In case you want to color, too.”
He scrutinized the new set of colors she got and arranged them, then began to fly over those, too. The tingling on his shoulder dictated he was being watched, but he ignored it and continued until he had the basic colors filled out. When he began to get into detail, the tingling intensified, and a sneaky glance had him finally spying its source: Charlie studying his painting from afar, fighting back the awe on his face. Edmund bit back a smile and kept ignoring him, only stopping when the more intricate layers were added.
“Just one more layer,” he announced. Then he fully swiveled to Charlie, who was startled upon being caught red-handed and couldn’t recover quite as fast.
The younger man scowled, then tilted his head. “Are you selling that?”
“It depends.”
“How much are you thinking of selling it for?”
Charlie was trying too hard to be casual. Edmund still couldn’t read him, but it didn’t take a genius to figure this one out.
“How much are you thinking of buying it?”
Charlie froze. Edmund waited for the denial to come, in line with the guy’s opinion of him. But he was more than flabbergasted when a price was mumbled, one that was lower than any of the offers he made but decent enough for someone who was still in school. He examined Charlie, wondering if the guy earned from helping out with the brewery events or had another source of income. In the end, he held off from asking.