“I want to know,” Kenji whispered.
“Follow me,” Qylar said before pushing off the wall and entering the narrow passageway out.
He made it to the main corridor and realized Kenji wasn’t behind him. Spinning, he stalked back to the containment cell and found Kenji still where he’d left him.
“Do you need a minute?”
Tears shone in Kenji’s eyes. “I’ve waited for this most of my life… and now I can’t seem to move my feet.”
Qylar held out his hand.
Kenji stared for a few seconds, never moving. He swallowed thickly before reaching out to grasp it. Qylar drew Kenji into his arms and hugged him tight. Kenji pushed away—at first—but it only took seconds before he melted against him. Sobs wracked his body, and it nearly broke Qylar to feel the depth of Kenji’s pain. It made his own—and his petty resentments—feel so trivial. At least he’d known who he was. He might not have liked who his family was, but he had all the answers Kenji did not.
“I’m sorry for what you’ve been through,” Qylar whispered, running a soothing hand over the back of Kenji’s head. “I can’t imagine facing all you have alone for so long.”
No wonder he’d been a ball of nerves. Not only had he been an orphan, but he’d had no one to help him understand his own strange nature. He’d likely lived in fear, scared he’d be found out and labeled a freak—or worse.
“I know I handled things poorly, but I want to help you find as many answers as possible,” Qylar murmured before kissing Kenji’s forehead.
Kenji backed away from him, uncertainty in his eyes.
“If I have the means, I’ll do whatever I can.”
Kenji searched his face. “Why would you offer that?”
Qylar met his gaze. “I searched for you for two months. Do you know why?”
Kenji shook his head.
“I sensed a connection I’d never felt with anyone on this planet or any other.”
Kenji’s lips parted, and his brow furrowed.
“Then you disappeared on me. You didn’t leave a message or a phone number behind. I didn’t know your last name or where you lived. I went back to the Eagle over and over again, hopeful, even when I knew you’d never been before that night and might never return, but there was a chance I might see your roommate there and it was better than nothing. I scoured the city, visiting as many bars and restaurants as I could, hoping I’d find you, but no Kenji.”
“Okay, stalker…” Kenji quipped.
Qylar huffed, grinning. “Maybe a bit over the top, but I had to see you again.”
Kenji wrapped his arms around himself, hugging himself tightly, and Qylar wanted to drag him closer again. He took a hesitant step forward and didn’t notice Kenji flinch, so he tried another, closing the gap between them.
Kenji held his gaze.
“I was crushed when I woke up to find you gone. Maybe subconsciously, I recognized you were like me. Not quite human.” He tucked his hand under Kenji’s jaw. “Or I felt the loneliness in you… because it lives in me, too.” He caressedKenji’s cheek. “For the first time in my life, there was a man I yearned to get closer to—and then he vanished without a trace.”
“I hadn’t planned on leaving. Not without the wake-up sex and breakfast I was promised,” Kenji said. “I was looking forward to spending more time with you… but after losing control, I was terrified to stay. I didn’t want to ghost you.”
“You could’ve come back and knocked on my door once you regained control. Why didn’t you?”
“You’re this smooth, suave guy who was so out of my league. While you talked a good game, I didn’t think you really wanted more than a night of fun. Not with someone like me.”
“Someone like you?”
“A doubt-filled, unsophisticated bartender and secret mutant—now alien—who’s nowhere near as good looking as you are. You should be walking some runway at a Paris fashion show or on the red carpet somewhere, with some equally handsome guy on your arm.”
“I saw you standing in that bar and thought you were the most stunning man I’d ever laid eyes on,” Qylar said. “I have no desire for runways or red carpets, but Idohave desire for you.”
Kenji’s breath caught.
