Page 54 of Ensnared

“Clear,Cap,”Isay with a pang of regret, andJaspermurmurs his agreement.

Aftera beat of silence,Dom’sgolden gaze swings back toBeau.Theireyes lock.

Evenafter all these years,I’mnot sureIcompletely understand their relationship.Fora whileIthought maybe they were like me.ButIfigureI’vegot secret desire pretty much locked down by now, andIjust don’t see it curling between them.

Theteam is tight enough, but we all know these guys are partners.Theybalance each other, watch each other’s six, and they’d leave the rest of us in the dirt before they’d leave each other.

Butthings have been off with them since theHeatherdrama, andIdonotlove the weird tension.Itmakes me itchy.

Thatpush and pull is there between them now, the kind of questioning that never existed beforeHeather—orBH, asIcall it—whenDomrepeats, “Clear?”

Finally,Beaudrops his gaze.Hescrubs a hand over the scruff on his chin that he usually keeps shaved. “Clear.Butfor the record, she’s smart enough to know something’s going on.It’snot going to make her any more trusting of us if we keep lying.”

“I’mmore worried about keeping the hunters off our backs than coddling her feelings.She’llneed to toughen up if she wants to stick around.”Dom’svoice is hard. “Nowif we’re done, can we move to the study and figure out how to stop these assholes from killing us in our sleep?”

“ShouldIgetJaykob?”Beauasks, and everyone tenses. “Heshould be a part of this.”

Domrubs his forehead. “Not... now.I’lltalk to him later.”

“BarringLucien, we all miscalculated there,”Jaspersays in a grim voice. “Unfortunately,Ianticipate this incident will exacerbate some of his more problematic behaviors.Iwill make my apologies shortly, andIstrongly suggest you both do the same.Inthe interim,Lucien, it would be good if you could visit with him.He’snot half so antagonistic with you and we need to keep him from feeling too isolated.”

“Yeah.Imean, yes.Sure.Ican do that.”

Ishut my mouth and internally kick myself.Noone acknowledges my clumsy reply, butIknowJasper, at least, noticed.Damnit.Throughthe years,I’vebecome real good at keeping this shit locked down, but ever sinceEdenarrived, it’s likeI’vetaken a dozen fresh cuts and my emotions are bleeding out everywhere.Hearingmy name on his lips tangles my tongue, seeing him eating the foodI’veprepared makes me weak.I’mpretty sureI’mbroken.

AndIknow why.

Seeingthem together the other day wrecked me.I’mstill not sure how it can be the hottest thingI’veever seen and yet still make me want to yank my heart out through my mouth just to make it stop hurting.I’vegotten myself off six times since, just picturing him pleasuring her, remembering the short, gaspy pants she made and the look on her face when she came—and it only made me cry once.

Okay, twice.

Fuck.I’ma mess.Andhe’s going to see it.

“Studyin five,”Domorders.

Isalute my assent and quickly gather the plates asDomandBeauleave the room, not wanting to leave a mess forEdento find.WhenImove to takeJasper’splate, his hand grasps my belt under the counter, andIstill.IthinkIforget to breathe.

Hisdark eyes pierce me, butIdon’t lift mine to meet them.Idon’t want him to see everything writhing around in there right now.

Screwthe mess,Ishould have left whileIstill had the chance.

“Lookat me,Lucien,” he murmurs.

Reluctantly,Ido.

Theicy irritation has melted from his features and he’s looking at me with hisSireyes.He’slooking at me like...Fuck, the curve of his mouth is so pretty.Heis so pretty.I’venever seen softer-looking lips—except maybeEden’s.

Eden.

Shit.

Iswallow hard and wrap my hand around his wrist, tugging gently so he’ll remove it. “Jasper,Ican’t—”

Hisbrow kicks up in surprise.Hishand doesn’t budge.

Damnit.Onemore minute and he’ll have more than my buckle to hold on to.

Jasperignores my protest. “It’syour night withEden,” he muses.

---