“Nah…stop it, he’s not interested.”
Correct-a-mundo.Dammit, I seem to have mislaid my key card too, whether out of forgetfulness, distraction, or via thievery is unclear.Luckily, I happen to know Kira’s inside.A quick hammer on the wood brings her to my rescue.She swings the door wide revealing the fact she’s been showering too.Water beads still shimmer upon her shoulders.Her hair is captured inside a towelling turban, and her supple body is covered with a bath sheet.However, my attention is spirited away from her, by a collective gasp from the direction of the lift.It’s only when I turn, that I realise the guy’s stepped into the hallway presumably to ask me if I fancy sampling his sausage.
His expression is both priceless and ghastly, as his gaze darts between me, Kira, and the sign by our door that indicates this is the bridal suite.There’s not even any point in protesting or trying to explain it’s not what he thinks.
“Fucker!”he mouths.He makes another triangular round with his gaze.“I thought you were for real.I came out because of you, but you’re just fake!You’re a straight playing at being gay.Do you think it’s a game?Did it make you money?”
Kira grabs hold of me and pulls me inside and slams the door before I have a chance to respond.“You’re supposed to be keeping a low profile.No one is supposed to know you’re here,” she snaps, as she shakes her hair free of the turban.Then she’s tugging at my robe in exasperation.“Where are you clothes?Why are you swanning around half-naked?God, Dylan, will you not take the threat seriously for once.You’re in danger.”
“I just took a shower.And I’m no less dressed than you are.”
Her eyes are all blue and icy again, like she’s going to produce some sort of frost beam from them, turn me into an icicle, and heft me off to cold storage until my stalker’s been captured.
“Look, I get it.I’m in danger, but in some regards you’re not being very realistic about the situation either.Not being noticed was only ever going to work until a) somebody recognised me, b) I had to leave my room, or c) a shitload of tourists turned up and took pics of me in the foyer.”I guess that last one might be covered by a), but I feel like labouring the point.“I didn’t plan to get noticed, Kira.It’s a side effect of being who I am.”
“But allowing them to follow you back to your room…”
A drop of water rolls down from her shoulder and disappears into the valley between her breasts.She’s removed the dressing from her shoulder, and there’s a long red scratch on her skin surrounded by bruising.
“What in hell’s name were you thinking?”The particular tone of her voice implies I wasn’t thinking, and maybe I wasn’t precisely focused on who was traipsing after me.I was kind of preoccupied with other things.It’s still only a few hours ago that someone blew up my car and fewer still since I surrendered my pride card.
That is what I feel as if I’ve done.
She doesn’t get it though.I can see that.
“I’m not sure how I’m supposed to stop someone following me.Was I supposed to shut the lift door on them?Toss them out on the floor below, ’cause, you know, I’m totally dressed for a punch up.”
“You’re not dressed for anything.”
“And I suppose you are?”
She drops the towel.
She’s wearing a pair of scarlet panties and has two glittery stickers stuck over her nipples, which I can only assume came out of the case Falchard’s assistant packed.Yeah, don’t want to know why they were in there.
“Fine, you’re dressed to kill.”I sigh into my palms, which I use to cover my face.“Doesn’t matter, I still need to get out of here.Staying in a hotel, any hotel, isn’t going to work.I’m too recognisable.Either I need a stupendous disguise, or a place to stay where I’m not going to run into anybody.”
Astonishingly, she nods in agreement.“This was never meant to be a permanent solution, Dylan.We had to get you somewhere safe last night, and we had hoped this would work for a couple of days, but I’ll get on to Howard and explain we need to move now.”
“Wait.”I lay my hand over the top of hers when she reaches out to pick up the burner phone Johns handed us last night.It has only two numbers on it, Johns’s and Howard Falchard’s.“I refuse to be ferried about like some sort of prisoner.If I’m heading off grid, then I’m doing so on my terms.Let me arrange my own accommodation, thank you.”
“Dylan.”
“I have friends.I’m perfectly capable of making myself scarce.”
Her eyes narrow, and that frostiness she generates out of nowhere zaps a sort of bitterness into the air.“Do you think that’s wise under the circumstances?What’s to say it isn’t someone you know who’s—”
I cut her off right there, by covering her lips with my fingers.My friends aren’t out to destroy me, leastways, none of my true friends.None of theSunsetters, and it’s to them I intend to turn, or at least to one of them in particular.Lorne’s been at a loose end since Felicity Caine got her hooks into his best friend, Dare Wilde.He’s been living in their swish apartment alone.Maybe he won’t object to a temporary lodger.I trust him to keep my whereabouts utterly schtum too.
“You’re not going to dissuade me from this.I don’t care what Howard recommends.I know where I’m going to feel more at ease.”And it isn’t here with her, or holed up in some random location with a 24/7 security task force on standby.In fact, after that little taster of the sort of reaction I can anticipate to us being seen together, maybe putting some distance between us is a sensible idea.
After all, if I’m only five per cent straight, then maybe my priority should be keeping the ninety-five per cent that’s very definitely gay happy, alive, and contented.
How long am I going to be any of those things with Kira by my side?
Sex isn’t everything.Attraction neither.
There are plenty of people—men—I’ve known, whom I’ve been attracted to but haven’t indulged in so much as an exploratory kiss with.It’s almost a function of my job to be around hot dudes and have to hold myself in check.So what’s to say I can’t make this easier on everyone and throw a soggy cloth over my attraction to madam hot stuff here?
