“I know this is new,” I say, biting my lip, “but I’m asking because there’s something here between us. Something solid. And I think you prefer nonviolence.”
“True,” he says, offering a soft smile. “But I’ve never shied away from roughing up those who fuck with the vulnerable.”
The thought settles in behind his eyes and the grin fades.
“Killing someone is too heavy for me, though. Fucks with my head, you know?”
I nod, taking his inked hand in mind, pressing my lips to his knuckles.
“It doesn’t seem to burden you, though,” he continues. “I think you’ll be able to do a lot of good.”
“So will you,” I say, worry bubbling up.
Pressing his thumb between my brows, he asks, “Hey now, what’s this stress line doing here?”
I lift a shoulder. “Hedy wants me in on operations, and most of them are straight up kill missions. I mean, you seem to be cool with it now, but do you think it’ll ever start to bother you? Being with someone who does that?”
“Can I predict the future? No.” He pulls me in for a kiss, then touches his forehead to mine. “But I can tell you this: I care about what kind of person you are, not just what you’re capable of. And I think using your strength to protect people is the opposite of something to be ashamed of. I’m not bothered, Rami. Not even a little. I’m proud of you—if that’s okay to say.”
Heat rises in my cheeks. “I like making you proud.”
We kiss, more sweet than sexy, then climb out and meet in the front of his car, where we kiss again because we can.
Trudging from the parking lot, we make our way to the build site’s check-in tent. The woman in charge of the tiny home project, whose name is Janice, grins broadly as she waves us over.
“Well, look who the cat dragged in,” she says, giving Truett a warm hug. She turns to me. “Oh. And you.”
Truett snorts into his fist.
“Rami,” I say, glaring at the man who woke me up this morning with his mouth on my cock.
I hold out my hand and she shakes it with a big laugh. “I’m glad you two finally got together. You spent enough time staring at each other. It was a little embarrassing.”
I point at Truett and laugh, and it’s his turn to glare at me.
“I guess we were both a little obvious,” I say, grinning.
“Oh, I remember those days,” Janice says with a dreamy look in her eyes. “When you can’t even hide it? That’s the good stuff.”
“What’s the good stuff, babe?” asks a towering lesbian whose cargo shorts match Janice’s.
Janice grins and leans up on her tiptoes, kissing her woman. “That phase when you think you’re being all stealthy, but everyone around you knows you’ve fallen in love.”
Sucking in a breath, I look over at True, who is grinning along. Honestly, I thought he’d have a pretty big reaction to her words, but he’s in a good mood and maybe didn’t notice that she said she thought we were already officiallyin love.
Janice and her wife Stevie talk through a few quick details, and Janice assigns us to tape and float the new office.
“You’ve seen my work, right?” I ask, remembering how much extra work I created the last time.
She grins. “I have, and there’s only one way to get better.”
Truett puts his arm around my waist and starts to drag me away. “Tape and float is a gift. She could’ve given us bathroom duty, so shut it before she changes her mind.”
That sets off another round of laughter, and we head toward the office. Before we walk in, he tightens his grip on me, nuzzling my ear.
“I’d like to point out that, of the two of us, you were the one who freaked out when she mentioned being in love.”
I push my tongue against my bottom lip. “Shut up.”
