Chapter Seven
Holy shit.
Did this really happen to him, or had he fallen asleep and was dreaming? Elliot had kissed plenty of guys, but nothing compared to the feel of Winston’s lips on his. The kiss to his cheek was surprising enough, but when Winston’s mouth touched his, so unexpectedly gentle and sweet…God. Elliot could’ve melted. The softness of his touch was torturous and yet more pleasurable than if they’d ended up mouths locked, naked and rolling on the floor.
But he wanted that too.
Elliot bit his lip and slanted a smile up at Winston, who gazed at him with a question in those beautiful hazel eyes that reflected a kaleidoscope of nature’s colors—green, gold, brown…But something else shone through as well—a bit of fear touched with uncertainty. Unexpected and incongruous coming from the man who’d captured a brazen armed criminal in his bedroom.
“That was really nice.”
Winston returned his smile. “It was.” When he ran his nose down Elliot’s cheek, a sigh of pleasure escaped.
“I can’t believe it. I-I didn’t even think you were gay.”
Winston’s lips rested against the corner of his mouth. “So that means you thought about me?”
“Hell yeah, I thought about you. I wake up and there you are, handcuffing a man in my bedroom, spitting fire, looking all hard and hot. It’s like a fantasy come to life.”
Watching the smile broaden on Winston’s face, Elliot grew warm with embarrassment. He ducked his head. “I mean…” He fumbled, wishing he could take back his words and go crawl into a hole.
“Hey, don’t worry about it. We all have our fantasies. I’m flattered.”
With great reluctance, Elliot leaned away from him. Resting on the staircase railing, he gazed up at the ceiling, wondering what—or more importantly, who—Detective Winston Rogers fantasized about. “Anyway. I’m glad the guy is in jail. Now I can sleep better.”
“And your window is fixed. Don’t forget that.” Winston nudged his foot. “So I’d say that’s two big accomplishments for the weekend already, and it’s only”—he checked his watch—“eleven in the morning.”
“Wow. It feels like a whole day has gone by.” He’d never felt so comfortable with anyone and wondered if he could think of a way for them to spend the day together.
“I’ll take that as a compliment.” Winston jumped to his feet, and Elliot followed. “If you want, I can leave these tools here with you, in case something else breaks.”
No, he wanted to yell out.If you do that, I won’t get to see you again. “You don’t have to. I should get a set for myself.”
“It’s no big deal. I have extras at home.”
There was no way he could refuse without seeming ungracious. “Sure, okay. Thank you.”
“And if you need help using them, you can always give a holler for me.”
A car horn blared outside, and he jumped a bit. Winston put a hand on his shoulder.
“I guess my nerves are still a little shaky.”
“Don’t apologize. I told you, it’s more common than you’d suspect. I was thinking, maybe—”
Chimes rang out.
“Shit.” Elliot wanted to know what Winston was poised to say.
“Expecting someone?”
“Not at all.” Grumpy at the interruption, he stomped into the foyer. A tall figure waited on the porch, obscured by the frosted glass of the front door. “Who the hell is that?”
“Do you want me to leave? I can go out through the kitchen door.”
Instinctively, Elliot grabbed Winston’s arm. “No. Please stay. I mean, if you want. I just…” God, he sounded like an idiot.
Winston squeezed his arm. “I’ll stay.”
