Amusing You - Claire Cullen Page 0,21

of their muse agreement, he wasn’t able to give it to him.

He looked William over, his eyes lingering on the pallor of his face and the clear exhaustion in his expression. Then he glanced at where their bodies touched, feeling the warmth of the alpha’s thigh where it pressed against his knee. Okay, so maybe he couldn’t outright give William all the touch and physical contact he so clearly craved. But that didn’t mean he’d do nothing. He would skirt the boundaries where he could, push those few extra inches, and hope it made a difference.

Chapter Eleven

The first month of their muse relationship passed much faster than William had expected. That they quickly fell into a routine of sorts made it easier for him. One day a week they’d head to the gym, one evening and one late morning would be spent at William’s place, cooking or playing board games. He’d even relented and bought a TV so the two of them could watch movies together. It had taken time, but he’d adjusted to those occasions, which were gradually becoming more predictable. Where the problem lay was Friday nights.

Harper had it in his head that one of their slots together every week should be out in the world rather than in the relative safety of the gym or William’s apartment. The omega outright refused to return to Inspire Inc.’s headquarters for that, insisting there were plenty of places around the city where they wouldn’t run into anyone they knew. And even if they did, there was no reason anyone would think it strange.

William remained reluctant, but Harper was insistent, taking it upon himself to organize dinner and a different activity for them every week. Which was how he found himself standing outside a dance studio at seven p.m. on a Friday evening, waiting for Harper to arrive.

The omega hurried up, bundled up warmly in a coat and hat. “Sorry, the bus had to detour around an accident. I’m not late, am I?”

“We have a few minutes,” William assured him before adding, “You realize this is a terrible idea, don’t you?”

“It’s dancing, not the Spanish Inquisition.”

“But I don’t dance. I have two left feet.”

“I don’t believe that for a second. Come on.”

Ignoring his protests, Harper grabbed his hand and dragged him inside. They took off their outerwear—and, at Harper’s insistence, William’s tie—handing them in to the cloakroom before heading up to the second floor. William tried once more as they climbed the stairs.

“Harper, I really don’t think…”

The omega turned to him, clasping his hand. “Trust me, please. I’ll never give you more than you can handle.”

He could only nod at that, letting Harper lead him onward. It was one thing to attempt to dance in front of Harper but quite another to do that in front of the watchful eyes of a group of strangers.

They stopped outside a door, and Harper looked him up and down before reaching over and undoing the top buttons on William’s shirt.

“This is all about relaxing and feeling the music. You can’t do that if you’re all constricted in these clothes.”

“I didn’t have time to go home and change.” Was he going to stick out like a sore thumb in there?

“Don’t get me wrong, you look gorgeous. Blue is definitely your color. I just want you to be able to breathe.”

William bit back his retort—that he’d breathe far easier if they just went home. Harper thought this was important for some reason, so he’d go along with it for now.

A couple slipped past them and into the room while they were standing there, a few faint notes of music escaping until the door shut again.

“Ready?”

Harper smiled up at him, brushing an idle hand across William’s shoulder.

“As I’ll ever be.”

He held the door open for Harper, surprised that the noise from within was muted. He realized why when he stepped inside a moment later. There were only half a dozen couples in the room, the lights were down low, and the music was just loud enough to get lost in.

The couples were all spaced out and very engrossed in each other, paying no attention to anyone else in the room. And with the lights so dim, even if they were looking around, they’d see nothing but faces cast in shadow. He let out a breath as Harper caught his hand and led him across the room. They weaved around the dancing couples, over to a clear space near the windows.

A man in a leotard circled the room,