"Luci," Tarymn cautioned.
“What? The room got warm," he shrugged, then looked between Hym and him. "I didn’t know you knew each other. The chemistry between you two is off the charts.”
“Luci,” Tarymn gritted out.
“You can’t tell me you don’t feel it,” he said. But Tarymn gave him a lethal look. “You never let me say or do anything. And it’s not like I lied. Hym clearly wants to fuck him, you know I’m sensitive to things like that.” Luci grumbled. His brother reached for him.
“What? No…” Hym laughed awkwardly.
He jumped to his feet and pulled a chair out for him. “Please, come and sit. I’m happy he’s here, that’s all.”
“Right,” Luci said, staring at him. The omega’s assessing eyes made him uncomfortable. Jamue tried not to fidget as he walked to the table, but it was hard with them staring at him. He sat in the chair and tried his best to look calm.
Tarymn cleared his throat, breaking the silence. “Welcome to the madhouse. I hope your stay with us won’t be unpleasant,” he stared pointedly at Luci.
The omega stuck out his tongue at the alpha.
Startled, Jamue started to laugh. The sound took him by surprise. He slapped a hand over his mouth, but he couldn’t stop laughing. The others joined him, cooling the tense atmosphere, well, most of it.
He could feel Hym’s heated stare.
Jamue hiccupped.
“Here.” Hym handed him a glass of water. Their fingers brushed. Jamue felt the touch to his core.
He gasped, pulling away.
“Sorry,” Hym mumbled, putting as much distance between them as possible. Agitated, he sat with his hands balled into fists a frown pulling at his brows as he stared at his half-eaten food.
Jamue felt bad.
He knew he didn’t mean to touch him. It was an accident.
And besides, he didn’t feel sick. He felt…Jamue pushed the feeling to the side to examine later.
Right then, he needed to comfort his alpha. He was there to comfort and help him relax, not cause him stress.
He was already failing at his job, and it had been a few minutes. A glance around the table confirmed his suspicions. Everyone was quiet, waiting, as they stared at Hym.
Jamue bit the inside of his mouth. He couldn’t lose this job.
But how was he to comfort him when he couldn’t touch him? Jamue glanced at him, and he could feel his aggression rising.
Shit.
Without thinking, he reached for the hem of his long shirt and tugged.
He made a weird sound, that caused tingles to rush down his spine. He held the fabric tightly, his knuckles brushing the side of his thigh. His warmth seeped into his skin.
I can feel him, Jamue thought, awestruck.
But the feeling was accompanied by a nervousness that pulled on his stomach.
Technically, I’m not touching him, he told himself, flexing his fingers around the fabric. The feeling subsided, and Hym slowly relaxed beside him.
It was working, Jamue thought.
Everyone started to eat, relaxing in their chairs as they chatted.