Amusing You - Claire Cullen Page 0,19
and putting his feet up on a second chair. His eyes were just starting to drift closed when the omega set a cup down in front of him. “It’s tea. You look like you could use it.”
“I’m not much of a tea drinker.”
Coffee was a means to an end when the early mornings and late nights caught up with him. Tea, though… he’d never really gotten the point of it.
“Just try it. If you don’t like it, then at least you can say you gave it a whirl.”
William wasn’t sure why it was necessary to ‘give it a whirl,’ but he didn’t feel like arguing with Harper, who seemed so smoothly confident.
“Alright. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
Harper went back to cooking, and William took a sip of the tea, making a surprised sound at the taste. Tea, in his experience, was heavy and bitter. He could never understand why anyone drank something that tasted like it had been sitting in the pot for days before being reheated. This, though, was light and sweet, with a subtle flavor coming through.
When he looked up, ready to voice his thanks, he found Harper watching him, a small smile on his face.
“It’s good,” he admitted, a little grudgingly.
The omega grinned. “I can see that. The way your eyes lit up—like a kid at Christmas.”
“This is not at all my prior experience of tea.”
“Well, plenty of people don’t know how to treat tea right. They brew it for too long or not long enough, add milk when they shouldn’t, or drink it neat when they should add something. It’s a travesty.”
“Practically a crime,” William agreed wryly, taking another sip.
“Hadn’t pegged you for a fleece wearer,” Harper said, nodding to his pullover.
William shrugged. “You said comfortable. I like how it feels on my skin. Almost like being hugged.”
He winced internally; he hadn’t meant to say that out loud.
“Yeah,” Harper said softly. “I guess it is.”
Before William could sink through the floor with embarrassment, the omega turned back to his cooking. He breathed a sigh of relief, vowing to watch his tongue more closely. Harper would run a mile if he thought William was that weak and needy. Needing a muse so he could do his job better was one thing. It was entirely another to let it get too personal. This was a job to Harper, and to him. Nothing more.
Chapter Ten
Harper set a plate of food down in front of William and gave him a smile. “I hope you’re hungry.”
“I am. I worked through lunch.”
He couldn’t help frowning at William. “What is it with alphas and burning the candle at both ends?” He grabbed his own plate and sat down. “You realize I’m not a miracle worker, right? Me doing my muse thing won’t have much effect if you’re exhausted and not eating right.”
He didn’t mean to chide William and felt guilty when he sighed unhappily.
“You’re right,” the alpha admitted. “I—”
He lapsed into an awkward silence that Harper couldn’t help breaking.
“Let’s eat before it gets cold. Your stomach must be a bottomless pit by now.”
That got him a faint smile as William scooped a forkful of stew into his mouth. Harper tried to pretend he wasn’t watching, that it didn’t matter to him if his cooking was to William’s taste. But when the alpha’s eyes lit up once more, he felt a heady sense of pleasure.
“This is amazing,” William said, shoveling another forkful into his mouth. He made a sound that almost had Harper blushing.
“You know, alphas usually make noises like that about my body, not my cooking.”
He regretted his words when William almost choked on a forkful of mashed potato. Leaning over, he patted him on the back.
“Sorry. People are always telling me I shouldn’t say the first thing that comes to mind. Or even the second. Or that I should just reconsider the whole speaking thing altogether.”
His last boyfriend—the zoologist—had been like that, trying to coat it in romance rather than being clear that he wasn’t interested in hearing what Harper had to say.
William cleared his throat. “I like to hear you speak. Don’t silence yourself on my account. Believe me, I’m not that sensitive.”
“You like to hear me speak? Maybe I’ve missed my calling as a phone sex worker, hey?”
William’s eyes went wide. “Uh… okay.”
Harper winced and glanced down at his plate.
“Right. Shutting up and eating now.”
A hand covered his, the touch there and gone in an instant. “I mean it, I like your voice. The way you don’t censor yourself. Plus, when you’re