Harmon swallowed.They both had work to do.
The phone call with Brad was as painful as Harmon had expected it to be.Brad was trying, but Harmon had been away for a while, and the coven was starting to feel it.It made Harmon feel guilty, but there was nothing he could do about it.Until the murder was solved, he doubted the dragons would allow anyone to leave, not even if he explained that his coven needed him.
Rex was still on the phone by the time Harmon was done, so Harmon went to wash up before sliding back into bed.He would normally be wide-awake at this time of night, but he’d gone to bed late, and after everything that had happened, he could already feel his eyelids grow heavy.
Falling asleep in a place full of people who wouldn’t hesitate to kill him if they had the chance made him nervous, but what choice did he have?At least he knew he could count on Rex to protect him.He hadn’t missed the way Rex had jumped out of bed at the first scream and placed himself between the bed and the door.He’d been ready to protect Harmon, just like Harmon had been ready to protect him.Rex had been hot doing it, too.
To his own surprise, Harmon was still awake when Rex finally hung up.He didn’t look away when Rex shed his clothes, even though it left him completely naked.Harmon was naked under the blankets, too.After what they’d done earlier, he didn’t see a reason to wear pajamas.
“You know, when we got here, I didn’t think the situation could get any more complicated,” Rex said.
“Clearly, you were wrong.”
“I just want to go home.”
Those words caught Harmon’s attention.“To the pack?”
“Anywhere but here.”Rex hesitated.“I haven’t really thought about it yet.”
“Well, you’ve been preoccupied.”
Rex rolled closer and hooked his arm around Harmon’s stomach.“I have been.”He kissed Harmon’s chest.
“That’s not what I meant.”
“Maybe not, but it’s true.Ihavebeen otherwise occupied.”He paused and seemed to ready himself to say something.Harmon wasn’t sure he would like what that something was, considering Rex’s expression.
“But I think that what happened between us changes things,” Rex eventually murmured.
Harmon swallowed.He could deal with whatever came out of this.“In what ways?”
“Well, you don’t live with the pack, so if we want to continue this, we’ll have to find a solution.”
“We could do long distance.It’s not that far.”Harmon didn’t actually want to do that, but he’d take whatever Rex was willing to give him.It had been a long time since he’d felt this kind of connection with anyone, and he wasn’t willing to waste it.He didn’t know where things would go between him and Rex, but he wanted to find out.That meant giving them a chance, and that would be hard if they didn’t live close to each other.
“I don’t know if I can stand spending even one night away from you now that I know what you feel like asleep in my arms,” Rex said.
Harmon blinked.“I hadn’t realized you were so romantic.”
“That wasn’t me being romantic.It was me being clingy and truthful.”
“Well, I like you being clingy.I don’t actually want us to be long distance, but I’ll take it if it’s the only way I can have you.”
Rex grinned.“Good to see I’m not the only clingy one in this relationship.”
Harmon’s mouth went dry.“Is that what we have?A relationship?”
“Well, I don’t know about you, but I think that’s where things are going.It’s what I want, anyway.”
“It’s what I want, too.”
Rex nodded as if he’d expected it.Maybe he had.Harmon hadn’t made a mystery of how he felt about him.“So we have to find a solution.”
“We do, but I think it can wait for a bit.”He didn’t think either of them wanted to rush into things and possibly regret it later.Their relationship was new, and they were in enemy territory.They had other things to focus on, no matter how much Harmon wished he could stay in bed with Rex for the next week and talk about their feelings and their future.
Rex kissed the tip of Harmon’s nose.“Get some more sleep,” Rex murmured as he snuggled close.“Unfortunately, all of our problems will still be here when we wake up.”
Harmon chuckled and closed his eyes.Rex was right.Harmon couldn’t say he was looking forward to dealing with this mess, but at least he wouldn’t have to do it alone.
