“Same. It was okay, though. I had a great housemother.”
“Do you want to touch me?” Gunnar asked, grinning.
“That’s a fucking leading question.”
“You’re too young for me…if you’re even into men, and that’s not what I meant and you know it. You’re not too young to put over my knee.”
“That’s…you’re…fuck.” Bryn stripped off his gloves. “Give me your arm. Pulse point in the wrist works better than the hand, too many bones.”
Gunnar complied and Bryn gripped his wrist. His fingers were surprisingly cool. Gunnar watched his face intently. “You’re truthful. You’re…wow, you’re going to take the gig and oh…” Bryn let go, his forehead creased. He put his glasses back on.
“That hurt you.”
“Yeah. I’m used to it.”
“You should have said. I wouldn’t have suggested it if I’d known. You saw something else, what was it?”
“I’m not telling you that.” There was a stubborn set to Bryn’s lips.
His pink, plump lips.Gunnar had a good idea what Bryn had seen. The telltale bulge in his pants was a giveaway.Interesting. Wonder if it was spanking or sex.“Well, I’m in. You need someone who isn’t going to take any of your angsty crap and you can keep your gloves off around me. I’m an open book. No secrets. The eyes don’t bother me either.”
Bryn’s shoulders dropped and he sat back in his seat. He’d clenched his hands in his lap and now his fingers relaxed.
“Didn’t want to go back to the Facility, huh?”
“No.”
There was a world of meaning in that single snapped word. “Have you moved into the apartment yet?”
“Most of my stuff is here but I didn’t want to go see it in case things didn’t work out with you.”
Protecting himself. He’s tougher than he looks.“So you wanna go take a look around?”
“I guess.”
Gunnar had no idea where to go so he gestured for Bryn to lead the way. They passed Warden in the corridor. He gave Gunnar a speculative glance but didn’t comment.
The townhouse was four stories and the entire top floor had been converted into a self-contained apartment. Bryn poked his head into every room, more animated than Gunnar had seen him so far. There was a small but well-equipped kitchen with a table on one side, two bedrooms—each with an attached bathroom—an L-shaped sitting room with a dining table and chairs in the smaller section and a study set up with two desks, computers and shelves already stacked with books.
“I got to pick out bedding, flatware and stuff,” Bryn said. “I only had a single room at the Facility.”
“It’s comfortable. You can add more homey touches over time. Who owns this building?”
“It’s the headquarters of an organization called GCR, Gene Control & Research. Warden is the boss. Its government funded and is responsible for monitoring all gene research into wolves and vamps. They set legislation around gene-active people and decide what happens to people like me.”
“What color did you test?”
“Blue.”
“Didn’t know that was a thing,” Gunnar admitted. “I know wolves and vamps test in different shades of the same colors depending on the strength of their gene traits.”
“There was a constant flow of both through the Facility. Not resident, though.”
Gunnar wandered into one of the bedrooms and tested the bounce of the mattress. “So, do you want this place to yourself? I’m easy either way. I won’t be offended if you want some space. I need to find out where we’ll be working from, but I can come pick you up.”
Bryn pushed his shades onto his head. “It’ll be easier if you’re here because this will be our base. Warden will put a guard outside if he thinks I’ll try to go out on my own.”
“What’s to stop you making a run for it?” Gunnar asked. “They can’t watch you every second, you’re not a prisoner.”
