Finn growled again.
Finn and Silasdid have a guest room, but the bed was currently covered in piles and piles of laundry.
“It’s all clean, I swear,” Silas assured him. “Let me clear it off and you’ll have somewhere to sleep.”
Finn growled some more. Had he always done that, and Jaime was just now noticing? Or had he stopped trying to control it? “Jaime can take my bed, I’ll sleep in here.”
He turned to Finn. “Are you sure? I don’t mind sleeping in the guest room. I don’t want to kick you out of your own bed.”
Finn scowled at the pile of Silas’s laundry as though it had personally offended him. “I’m sure.”
Silas smirked. Clearly, Jaime was missing something in this exchange, but he wouldn’t argue about it because he secretly liked the idea of sleeping in Finn’s bed.
Jaime dropped his overnight bag off in Finn’s room and scurried back out, lest he be caught snooping, or worse, sniffing Finn’s sheets, and found the two men in the kitchen.
The three of them fumbled their way through making dinner in the small room, and every light brush or accidental touch from Finn—or not so accidental, on Jaime’s part—made hisnerves light up and heat pool in his groin. He felt drawn to Finn in a way he’d never wanted anyone else, ever.
By the fourth time Jaime casually leaned back so that Finn’s chest brushed up against him as he passed by, causing them both to inhale sharply and Finn to firmly grab his hip with one hand, Silas had clearly had enough.
Throwing his hands up, he turned and gave a pointed look to them both. “Seriously, you two. It smells like a goddamn brothel in here, not a kitchen. Let me eat my dinner, and I’ll leave you alone for the rest of the night. But until then, please cool it, because I cannot breathe.”
Finn growled again.
Jaime blushed, and mumbled an apology.
Silas waved him off, and pointed at Finn. “You. Stop it with the growling. I know you can’t really help it, but I’m not trying to steal your… Jaime. I live here, too, in case you’ve forgotten since your brain has apparently turned to soup splashing around in that hard head of yours. I can’t help it if the guest room smells like me.Because I live here.”
Finn looked sheepish, and gave Silas those sappy puppy dog eyes that should be illegal. “I’m sorry. You’re right, it’s hard to control. But I will try. We will be gone by the morning.”
Silas nodded. “And stop it with those eyes, too. A guy can’t ever be mad at you when you look like that. It’s unfair.”
Jaime was only understanding about half of this conversation, but it was enough to gather that the tension between him and Finn was detectable among the… giant and hairy.
“Oh my God!” Jaime slapped his hand over his mouth in sudden realization.
Two pairs of alert eyes whipped toward him. “What?”
Jaime pointed an accusatory finger at Finn. “You knew! The whole time! That’s how you knew what I was reading! Oh my God!”
Finn’s face was a mixture of smug guilt.
Silas asked, “Knew what? Wait, no, never mind. I do not want to know. Let’s just finish dinner so I can leave as soon as possible, please.”
Jaime was sure he was red all the way to the tips of his ears, and he shot Finn a glare as he turned back to his chopping, but it lacked any heat.
For an entire week, Finn knew that Jaime was reading smutty romance. And lusting after him nearly every chance he got.
God, how embarrassing.
Mercifully, dinner was ready a few minutes later, and they ate in companionable silence, sprinkled with small talk and familial bickering between Finn and Silas. It was so achingly domestic and wonderful, it only magnified the simmering heat pooling low in his belly. This snapshot of companionship and ease made Jaimewant, and at the center of it all was the arrestingly gorgeous man sitting across from him.
After their plates were in the dishwasher and the kitchen was cleaned up, Silas stood from his seat and stretched. “Well, I’m headed out for a run, and then I’ll keep watch out there for the night. I can’t imagine that they’d try something again so soon, but after this afternoon, we can’t be too careful.”
At Jaime’s confused look, Finn clarified. “He prefers to do surveillance in his, uh, other form. It’s more comfortable for him.” He turned toward Silas. “Please, be careful. Don’t stay out all night if you get tired—come and get me, and we can trade off. I mean that.”
Silas gave him a knowing look. “I’ll be fine, brother.”
Something in Jaime’s chest ached from watching them, and he had to look away. It was too similar to the way he and Sam used to look out for each other. Or the way he’d thought they had, anyway.
