(BL) Hunting The Field Guide novel Chapter 180

Chapter 180: A restrained man is a dangerous man

After finishing his conversation with Taylor, Kellen stepped out into the hallway and found that the Captain was leaning against the wall across from the door. Like Taylor had said, he was finished up with his phone call and was rapidly typing away on his phone.

When he noticed that the door had opened, he looked up, and his eyes shifted from bright yellow into a softer, warmer shade closer to butterscotch. A bright smile crossed his face, and Kellen felt his breath catch.

"How did your chat with Taylor go?" He asked warmly, and Kellen realised he had to pull himself together. He couldn’t allow himself to fall so quickly into relationship gooeyness too quickly, or people might think he had loose morals. Stiffening himself against the impact of the Captain, he sighed.

"Well, we’ve worked out the kinks. She seems to have forgiven me, but we’ll see how long that lasts, or how mean she is feeling. She’ll also keep her mouth shut about the marks for now, but not forever." Kellen told him, and the Captain shoved his phone into his pants pocket, moving closer to Kellen.

"Was that a problem? I don’t mind if people know that I’m a little handsy. It’s honestly expected from someone at my Class level. Plus, I want it to be clear who your pair is. Who your partner is." Kellen’s face flushed at the Captain’s words. He had kept his tone light, even friendly, but Kellen knew the weight of those words. So much for bracing for the impact of the Captain.

"I’m not talking about the marks on me, Captain. I’m talking about the ones on you." Kellen coughed lightly, and glanced at the Captain, fully aware his face was turning red. Rhys blinked, stunned for a moment before he sighed and ran his hand through his gelled hair.

"Mr. Woods, you cannot provoke me like that. I want to smother you in kisses, but we’re in public." When Kellen met his gaze, he found the deep, golden hue that made Kellen’s cock come to attention staring back at him. He knew his face was heated, and that his heart was racing in his chest. He had to look away, clearing his throat.

"Uh, well, thank you for restraining yourself." Kellen muttered, and he sighed again. Rhys shook his head, a small smile playing on his face before he pressed his hand against Kellen’s lower back, bending until his lips brushed Kellen’s ear.

"If you keep looking that disappointed, I might be tempted to take drastic measures, Kellen." Kellen’s mouth fell open, before he darted his gaze towards the Captain, who was all smiles.

"Uh, I-I’m not-" The Captain pressed a finger against his lips, his eyes swirling with emotion.

"Ah ah, we mustn’t tell lies, right Mr. Woods?" If Kellen had been thinking about getting hard, he was well past that point now. Trying his best not to stare at the Captain’s lips, he licked his own and glanced down the hallway.

"W-We should get going." Kellen said, looking for an escape, and felt the Captain’s chuckle curl around him like the incense his Mother was so fond of.

"Of course. We should get going. But before we head home, is it alright if we stop by the conference room? Hill messaged me saying she needs my clearance for something." Kellen had barely taken a few steps towards the elevators before he felt his feet stutter in their steps. Home?

"T-That’s not a problem at all. I haven’t seen Casper for a while, or Gunther for that matter, so I’d like to check in on them. Plus, I still need to speak to him about the rough drafts of the contracts I have. Pamela sent me a message saying they looked fine from her end, so I just need to get his clearance." Kellen was highly aware of the small touch of the Captain’s hand on his lower back, and the way he had slowed his gait to match Kellen’s.

It was...nice, if he was honest with himself. Kellen had always found it nice, but he’d been fighting against these feelings for so long, it felt awkward to admit it so easily now. The Captain didn’t seem to notice, pleased to just have Kellen’s company, and that alone made him relax.

It was a foolish thing to do.

Glancing into the room, he noticed that the air in the room felt completely different. It was warmer, even happy almost, especially given the situation that they were dealing with. In fact, even though the people had changed, mostly, the room seemed to be in much better condition compared to the day before.

Letting out a relieved breath, Kellen stepped into the room and scanned the people now that he’d confirmed that everything was okay.

There weren’t that many Guides up here, especially given the time, but the few that were up here, Kellen had seen before. Most of them had a secondary specialization that helped with situations like the one they were currently dealing with, or were there to monitor how the Espers were fairing in the room. Most of them smiled when they saw Kellen, but Kellen noticed how a few of them looked in a certain direction before glancing back at Kellen. Kellen was confused, but slowly understood what they were trying to say as soon as he glanced in the direction they were silently gesturing to.

Casper was still at work.

That wasn’t the problem, since given the situation it was normal for all Lieutenants to be at the Guild. The problem was Casper’s condition.

It was an exaggeration to say that Casper was here, since he looked like a fucking ghost. His hair wasn’t spiked, and he was wearing a headband to keep it out of his face. His face was sallow, and he had deep, dark bags under his eyes. His silver rimmed glasses hung low, and even from where Kellen was, he could tell they were quite dirty. He looked like he hadn’t rested for days, and his clothes were rumbled to all hell, and hung off of him.

He was sitting at the large table, across from the doorway. The only reason Kellen hadn’t seen him was simply because he hadn’t recognised him. Casper hadn’t looked up since new people had entered the room, and Kellen watched as the man blinked slowly, barely keeping his eyes open.

Kellen’s jaw set, and without a word to anyone else, made a beeline towards Casper. They were about to have some serious words.