Where There's a Wil, There's a Way: A Boss v Butler MM Romance (Duly Domesticated) by PT Ambler

Author:PT Ambler [Ambler, PT]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: anonymous
Published: 2024-01-25T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12

Wil

Wil should move out of Rhys’ arms. He knew he should. Any minute, Rhys would realise he wasn’t treating Wil like his butler, and he’d withdraw.

It must have been hyperthermia, Wil thought. Not just threatening his fingers and toes, but his brain function as well. Making him do stupid things, like turn in Rhys’ arms and press his back to Rhys’ chest. The warmth threaded through him, directly to Wil’s soul.

From their vantage behind the dry-stone wall, Wil could see everything. Police still swarmed. The flashy blue lights still lit the scene like hyperactive gerbils. But a new calm had settled over Buck House.

Did that mean the danger had passed?

Stand down, Rhys had said. It was as though the universe had listened. As though none of it had been real—a scene played out on a movie set—and Rhys, the director, had called “cut”.

At a signal from one of the other police officers, Constable Frazer excused herself and made her way across the sodden grass to the kitchen door. She leaned her head in to listen, then reared back and gave a crack of a laugh. When she turned back to face Wil and Rhys, she was grinning like a loon.

“What’s the verdict, Constable?” Rhys called out. His words thunder in Wil’s ear.

At her thumbs up, Wil felt the breath leave Rhys’ body. The balloon of tension pop. Anticipating the loss, Wil’s shivers started up again even before Rhys stepped back. What he didn’t expect, though, was Rhys’ attention to his arse. A swipe at the back of his thigh sent a flock of swallows swirling in Wil’s gut. He flashed a questioning glance over his shoulder. “What are you doing?”

“I made you all muddy.” Rhys explained.

The swallows dipped away. “That’s the least of my worries, don’t you think?”

“We’re safe. That’s all that matters.” Rhys shoved his hands into his pockets. “What else are you worried about?”

“Ah, let’s see. Number one,” Wil raised a finger. “Frostbite. I enjoy having ten fingers and ten toes. Thank you very much.” He raised another. “Number two, I let a bomb into Buck House.”

“It was a bogus bomb. Doesn’t count.”

“Everything counts.” Wil raised another finger. “Number three—”

Rhys made a grab for his fingers. “Stop punishing yourself. You were just doing your job.”

Just doing my job? “That puts me in my place.”

“I don’t mean it that way. Besides, if I was to blame anyone, it’d be Miriam.” He hooked a pointer finger through Wil’s belt loop. “Maybe I should add ‘security guard’ to your job description. Give you a raise.”

“Please don’t.” No butler who let a suspected bomb through the door was worth his weight in salt, let alone deserving of a raise. “What if the kids had been here, Rhys? I just can’t get that out of my head.”

“Yeah. That thought is going to stick to me like Velcro. But they’re my responsibility, not yours.”

“That’s not how this job works. I told you that the other night.”

“Look. You can’t spend your life afraid of the what-ifs.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.