Liam smiled a little when he saw Anthony already seated at the head of the table. Neither of his other brothers had arrived yet.
Anthony went still with his cup against his lips when he saw Liam. Slowly, he set the cup down.
“Good morning,” he said.
Liam smiled wider at him, his relief almost overwhelming. He had been half-afraid that Anthony would forget his promise and revert back to ignoring him. Clearly that wasn’t the case.
Anthony’s expression became a little pinched for a moment before it smoothed over. He got to his feet and pulled out a chair for Liam.
Beaming at him, Liam took the offered seat. Only after being seated did he realize that it was a little strange. It was the custom for alpha noblemen to behave this politely toward omegas—it was expected—but they normally didn’t do it for omegas related to them.
But then again, Anthony had been at war half of his life. He might be Viscount Blake now, but he hadn’t been in polite company for over a decade. It wasn’t surprising that his manners were a little rusty and he’d mixed up some customs.
Liam didn’t mind. He relished his brother’s presence and attention, soaking it up. True to his promise, Anthony wasn’t attempting to hide his scent anymore, letting it thicken and brush against Liam. Fuck, that scent. It was dark and rich, with a hint of citruses and a woody base. It made Liam’s mouth water. He wished his own scent were that good.
“Good morning,” Liam said belatedly, and laid his hand on the table, with his bare wrist up. It was a subtle invitation to scent-mark him. Anthony could ignore it if he wanted; Liam wouldn’t take offense—even though he would be disappointed.
Anthony glanced down at his hand. A muscle jumped by his temple, his eyes flashing. He looked… frustrated? But his hand was already moving. He stroked his thumb over Liam’s wrist, his scent becoming richer.
Liam shivered, his eyelids growing heavier. He stared at Anthony’s large hand around his slimmer wrist and felt… he wasn’t sure what. His stomach was so very warm, and he felt good and oddly agitated at the same time.
All he knew was that he wanted to turn his hand and entangle their fingers together, which was… okay, a little weird.
Anthony’s nostrils flared, the scent of alpha becoming so overwhelming it was all Liam could breathe.
He found himself leaning forward, across the table separating them. He stared at Anthony’s tanned neck above the collar of his white shirt and had the inane thought that he’d like to press his face against it.
“Good morning!”
Jules’s cheerful voice snapped him out of that weird, trance-like state.
Blinking, Liam tore his gaze away from Anthony and gave Jules a faint smile. “Morning.”
Breakfast was weird.
Although Anthony no longer ignored him, giving the three omegas under his care equal attention, Liam still felt dissatisfied. He felt a twinge of something odd whenever Anthony turned to look at Jules and Eric and smiled at them.
“It’s a K-230,” Liam cut in when Jules dragged Anthony’s attention away again. “Mother bought it five years ago on Calluvia. It’s not the fastest model out there, but it’s amazing! So much better than the helicopters.”
Anthony’s blue eyes were back on him. “You know how to pilot the aircar?”
“Mother offered to teach us,” Liam said. “So Jules and I learned.”
Jules snorted. “You did. I can make it fly, but I haven’t crashed it only by a fucking miracle.” He looked at Anthony. “Li is a lot better than me at piloting it. If you’re curious about the aircar, I’m sure Li can take you for a spin and teach you if you want.”
“Sure,” Liam said, smiling a little, though he wasn’t sure why—and wasn’t sure why he couldn’t seem to stop smiling.
Anthony seemed to hesitate before nodding. “It could be useful.”
That was how Liam ended up in the small cabin of their mother’s aircar with only Anthony for company.
He explained all the buttons and systems to the best of his ability, but he was incredibly distracted by how good his brother smelled. The scent seemed ten times more potent in such a small space and it was making Liam a little light-headed, which wasn’t exactly ideal when he was piloting an aircraft that was flying at a speed of five hundred miles an hour.
“Do you want to try?” he managed, a little bewildered by his own state.
Anthony was clearly curious about the alien tech, but he shook his head. “It would be irresponsible of me to put your life at risk. I’ll try later on my own.”
Liam frowned. “And what, putting your life at risk is okay? Bullshit.”
Anthony laughed.
“What?” Liam said, bewildered.
Anthony was still smiling. “It’s just strange to hear you swear.”
Liam glared at him, but he couldn’t really be mad when Anthony was smiling at him. “Jules swears all the time and you didn’t comment on it. I’m older than him.”