Stede had meant for the touch to be fleeting, but the way Ed practically melts into his hands throws that whole plan off-course. Nothing about this is going as he’d thought. Ed is supposed to agree with Badminton, given everything they just talked about, and turn Stede out on the street. He should do all that, if only because Stede is too weak-willed to do it himself.
Sure, he could push Ed to do it. He could treat him coldly, use some of that passive aggression he knows pisses Edward off. Make him think he wants to walk away, but that some gentlemanly dedication to keeping his word is the only thing making him stay.
If he were a better man, he thinks, he’d be doing that right now and not standing there, staring at Ed, his own pulse racing with hope and dread in equal measure.
“Then I’d advise you have a professional look over those terms before you agree to anything,” he says, not able to stop his eyes from darting down to Ed’s lips. When had they gotten this close? Was it before or after Edward’s hands found his waist, feeling like the most natural thing in the world? “Because that would be a very big, huge mistake. In my professional opinion.”
no subject
Sure, he could push Ed to do it. He could treat him coldly, use some of that passive aggression he knows pisses Edward off. Make him think he wants to walk away, but that some gentlemanly dedication to keeping his word is the only thing making him stay.
If he were a better man, he thinks, he’d be doing that right now and not standing there, staring at Ed, his own pulse racing with hope and dread in equal measure.
“Then I’d advise you have a professional look over those terms before you agree to anything,” he says, not able to stop his eyes from darting down to Ed’s lips. When had they gotten this close? Was it before or after Edward’s hands found his waist, feeling like the most natural thing in the world? “Because that would be a very big, huge mistake. In my professional opinion.”