Connor was at a loss. When he had first decided to apologize to Lee, he had only one thought on his mind. That he was to keep the peace on his ship no matter what and prevent Faulkner’s incipient murder and the dissolution of the alliance.
Faulkner’s behavior had been truly baffling. Of the last couple of days, he had taken every opportunity to taunt or otherwise insult Lee. And while Connor admitted that he could be somewhat dense to the intricacies of the English language, even he was surprised by some of those insinuations.
It was most unseemly. The normal bawdiness and language of his crew was to be expected, but the exchanges between Faulkner and Lee had been getting more and more dangerous, with real intent to wound and harm.
Today’s exchange was even more charged. What his first mate had said about Lee’s dog...
It was regrettable. While it was true that rumors of Lee’s singular—attachment—to his dogs, and to one particular dog, was near legendary, he had never heard of anything untoward. And the dog, by all accounts, was friendly and level-tempered, unlike its master. It was most unkind, and Connor had chastised Faulkner for his discourtesy after Lee had left.
He thought that Faulkner might repent, but it seemed that the old Alpha was intent on being stubborn. It was certainly not helping Connor’s efforts to keep his first mate alive, and he would not even be able to fault Lee for his anger.
It was a precarious situation, and where one side would not listen to reason, Connor hoped to convince the other side not to take offense.
Too much was riding upon their agreement, and it was up to him to maintain the civility on his ship. If that meant apologizing for Faulkner’s actions and advising Lee to avoid his first mate while he tried other methods to persuade Faulkner not to antagonize the Templar...
Connor was nothing if not dutiful.
And so, immediately after they dropped anchor for the night, he made his way to Lee’s cabin.
It was not a pleasant task. Despite his knowledge of Lee’s innocence (in the burning of Connor’s village at least), he found it difficult to banish the memories of the Alpha holding him against the tree, hands choking the breath out of him.
Lee had terrified him then, and it took months before he stopped crying out at night from nightmares of the Alpha and the burning of his village. And with the unerring gaze of the Alpha always pinned on his person during this mission...
Connor supposed that the man was sizing him up, understanding his worth to their alliance. But it unsettled Connor.
If it were not for the importance of this mission, Connor would not allow such a—stripping—gaze to be laid upon his person.
But no. The mission was to bring back those necessary supplies for the commander, for dear George. And to understand whether the Templars were sincere about their offer of an alliance.
Connor hated to admit it, but no matter how much he pressed his father and listened in on the two Templars’ communication, he could find nothing suspicious. It seemed that both Templars really did want an alliance and were actively working to make sure that they continue their cooperation.
Hence the necessity of preventing Lee’s famous temper from erupting. There was Faulkner’s life at stake. And, almost as important, there was the alliance at stake.
Connor and Lee were hardly friends, and Connor had expected Lee to be difficult. To make the apology as unbearable for Connor as possible and put himself in a dominant position. It would not be surprising if the Alpha demanded Connor to be in-debt to him.
And Connor was prepared to counter that. He was prepared to show Lee the benefits of their current cooperation, and how the debt between them would damage that. He was prepared with many other arguments.
He wound up using none.
Lee was...receptive.
He was very receptive.
He looked at Connor with gentle, serious eyes and immediately put himself in a disadvantage.
And Connor was confused.
He was confused by the intensity of Lee’s request, almost begging to go on future cooperative missions with him.
Why him?
He was confused by the softness in Lee’s eyes when he looked at him, as if their relationship up to that point had not been hunter and hunted, contempt and hate.
It was like Lee was looking at Connor’s father or his dog.
And he was confused by Lee’s words, the mixing of peace and order and freedom.
Did the man truly think that? Did the man truly have such an epiphany?
Connor could scarcely believe it.
It was too unbelievable, too marvelous.
That the Templars, or at least this Templar had a change of heart. That the war between them could finally end...
Connor’s heart beat with hope, and he ruthlessly squashed it.
And it had to be a trap. It had to be.
Nothing so full of promise and opportunity could be real. It was just too unbelievable.
But.
But...
But Lee was still looking at him with those serious, earnest eyes. That hand that had briefly touched his lips (and if had been any other situation, Connor would never have allowed such intimacy) had fallen back to the Alpha’s lap. The man’s body was leaning forward, as if eager to hear Connor’s reply. And that face was so very, very open.
Connor was wrong. The Alpha did have a silver tongue. Apparently, he only needed to be motivated to actually use it.
Connor fidgeted.
It was not a bad idea. If anyone could keep the likes of Connor’s father and Lee in check, it would be Connor himself. And on future cooperative missions, he could assess Lee’s intentions more fully.
Achilles would not like it. He worried whenever Connor would need to be in tight quarters with an Alpha. He had wanted Stephane to join on this mission and had only backed down when Connor pointed out that Stephane got seasick often and was not at home on a ship. He would certainly not agree to future missions between Connor and Lee.
It was one of the many points of disagreement between Connor and his mentor. Connor was not 14 anymore and had learned enough of English society and behavior not to unintentionally proposition random Alphas.
Connor looked Lee in the eye.
“If this goes well and the missions are mutually beneficial, then yes. I will be your partner.”
In Pursuit of Happiness 16
Chapter 16 - Strategic Decisions
Connor was at a loss. When he had first decided to apologize to Lee, he had only one thought on his mind. That he was to keep the peace on his ship no matter what and prevent Faulkner’s incipient murder and the dissolution of the alliance.
Faulkner’s behavior had been truly baffling. Of the last couple of days, he had taken every opportunity to taunt or otherwise insult Lee. And while Connor admitted that he could be somewhat dense to the intricacies of the English language, even he was surprised by some of those insinuations.
It was most unseemly. The normal bawdiness and language of his crew was to be expected, but the exchanges between Faulkner and Lee had been getting more and more dangerous, with real intent to wound and harm.
Today’s exchange was even more charged. What his first mate had said about Lee’s dog...
It was regrettable. While it was true that rumors of Lee’s singular—attachment—to his dogs, and to one particular dog, was near legendary, he had never heard of anything untoward. And the dog, by all accounts, was friendly and level-tempered, unlike its master. It was most unkind, and Connor had chastised Faulkner for his discourtesy after Lee had left.
He thought that Faulkner might repent, but it seemed that the old Alpha was intent on being stubborn. It was certainly not helping Connor’s efforts to keep his first mate alive, and he would not even be able to fault Lee for his anger.
It was a precarious situation, and where one side would not listen to reason, Connor hoped to convince the other side not to take offense.
Too much was riding upon their agreement, and it was up to him to maintain the civility on his ship. If that meant apologizing for Faulkner’s actions and advising Lee to avoid his first mate while he tried other methods to persuade Faulkner not to antagonize the Templar...
Connor was nothing if not dutiful.
And so, immediately after they dropped anchor for the night, he made his way to Lee’s cabin.
It was not a pleasant task. Despite his knowledge of Lee’s innocence (in the burning of Connor’s village at least), he found it difficult to banish the memories of the Alpha holding him against the tree, hands choking the breath out of him.
Lee had terrified him then, and it took months before he stopped crying out at night from nightmares of the Alpha and the burning of his village. And with the unerring gaze of the Alpha always pinned on his person during this mission...
Connor supposed that the man was sizing him up, understanding his worth to their alliance. But it unsettled Connor.
If it were not for the importance of this mission, Connor would not allow such a—stripping—gaze to be laid upon his person.
But no. The mission was to bring back those necessary supplies for the commander, for dear George. And to understand whether the Templars were sincere about their offer of an alliance.
Connor hated to admit it, but no matter how much he pressed his father and listened in on the two Templars’ communication, he could find nothing suspicious. It seemed that both Templars really did want an alliance and were actively working to make sure that they continue their cooperation.
Hence the necessity of preventing Lee’s famous temper from erupting. There was Faulkner’s life at stake. And, almost as important, there was the alliance at stake.
Connor and Lee were hardly friends, and Connor had expected Lee to be difficult. To make the apology as unbearable for Connor as possible and put himself in a dominant position. It would not be surprising if the Alpha demanded Connor to be in-debt to him.
And Connor was prepared to counter that. He was prepared to show Lee the benefits of their current cooperation, and how the debt between them would damage that. He was prepared with many other arguments.
He wound up using none.
Lee was...receptive.
He was very receptive.
He looked at Connor with gentle, serious eyes and immediately put himself in a disadvantage.
And Connor was confused.
He was confused by the intensity of Lee’s request, almost begging to go on future cooperative missions with him.
Why him?
He was confused by the softness in Lee’s eyes when he looked at him, as if their relationship up to that point had not been hunter and hunted, contempt and hate.
It was like Lee was looking at Connor’s father or his dog.
And he was confused by Lee’s words, the mixing of peace and order and freedom.
Did the man truly think that? Did the man truly have such an epiphany?
Connor could scarcely believe it.
It was too unbelievable, too marvelous.
That the Templars, or at least this Templar had a change of heart. That the war between them could finally end...
Connor’s heart beat with hope, and he ruthlessly squashed it.
And it had to be a trap. It had to be.
Nothing so full of promise and opportunity could be real. It was just too unbelievable.
But.
But...
But Lee was still looking at him with those serious, earnest eyes. That hand that had briefly touched his lips (and if had been any other situation, Connor would never have allowed such intimacy) had fallen back to the Alpha’s lap. The man’s body was leaning forward, as if eager to hear Connor’s reply. And that face was so very, very open.
Connor was wrong. The Alpha did have a silver tongue. Apparently, he only needed to be motivated to actually use it.
Connor fidgeted.
It was not a bad idea. If anyone could keep the likes of Connor’s father and Lee in check, it would be Connor himself. And on future cooperative missions, he could assess Lee’s intentions more fully.
Achilles would not like it. He worried whenever Connor would need to be in tight quarters with an Alpha. He had wanted Stephane to join on this mission and had only backed down when Connor pointed out that Stephane got seasick often and was not at home on a ship. He would certainly not agree to future missions between Connor and Lee.
It was one of the many points of disagreement between Connor and his mentor. Connor was not 14 anymore and had learned enough of English society and behavior not to unintentionally proposition random Alphas.
Connor looked Lee in the eye.
“If this goes well and the missions are mutually beneficial, then yes. I will be your partner.”