Elliot laughed. “Hearing him called Garrett always cracks me up.”
“Why?” Win removed the spareribs, dumplings, and Hunan chicken. “By the way, you don’t mind if I eat, do you?”
“Not at all. And it smells so good, I might take some anyway. The tacos I ate at six were a very long time ago.” Elliot handed him a plate and took one for himself. “As for Wolf…he’s never been Garrett to us. When we met, he told us to call him Wolf, and we thought it was a joke, so we kept it up. Now, it fits.”
Win popped a dumpling into his mouth. “He sure as hell doesn’t have the best reputation with law enforcement.”
“I’m sure he does the job he’s paid for. People are innocent until proved guilty in this country.” Elliot sounded defensive, and Win had no intention of arguing after a long day.
“I’m not saying he’s doing anything wrong. But you have to understand that defense lawyers and the police don’t always have the best relationship.”
“I don’t know anything about that. He works his ass off for his clients. His whole life revolves around his work.”
Win could relate. And he also knew that burying oneself in work was the sign of a deeper problem, but dissecting Garrett Wolf’s personal life was not on his agenda that night.
“Hey. I don’t want to argue. I had a long day, and I thought it would be nice to share a meal.” Win remembered that list by Elliot’s bedside. “It’s not the most romantic, but sometimes it’s just as nice to sit around the table and talk about the day.”
It wasn’t only Elliot’s list that got Win thinking. He did like company—specifically, Elliot’s company. Downtime allowed all the painful thoughts to creep into his head, and sitting with Elliot and sharing his day reminded him of what he’d once had. But Kevin had preferred not to know anything about Win’s job because it scared him too much. They didn’t talk about work when he got home because Kevin said it made him too nervous to know what Win had done during his tour. Elliot didn’t seem to mind a little back-and-forth discussion, and Win found himself enjoying their conversations.
Elliot nibbled a sparerib. “I was kind of disappointed when I woke up this morning and you weren’t there.”
“Life of a detective,” Win said lightly. “I was gone by five a.m.”
Elliot winced. “Ouch. That must’ve been painful, especially with how late we stayed up.” A smile curved his lips. “Not that I’m complaining.”
Win finished his meal, and Elliot ate a couple of spareribs more, licking his fingers of excess sauce. Desire curled low in Win’s belly as he watched Elliot’s tongue sweep over his bottom lip to catch the stickiness. Elliot caught his eye, and Win saw that same need reflected in those deep blue depths.
“I’m all about going to bed early tonight, though. What do you say?”
“Looking to make up for lost sleep?” Elliot tossed the empty containers into a trash bag.
“Not at all. Sleep isn’t exactly what I had in mind.”
He rose from the table and held out his hand. Elliot took it, and Win dragged him close and kissed him, the sweetness of the spareribs sauce adding to the unique taste of Elliot on his tongue.
“Oh, no? Tell me, then, what is?” Anticipation lit up Elliot’s face.
“I was looking forward to this all day.” He cupped Elliot’s ass, and his lips moved slowly across Elliot’s cheek and jaw. “Thought a lot about you.”
“You did? That’s nice to know. I-I did too.” Elliot tilted his head to give Win access, which he took full advantage of by tugging on his earlobe and nibbling up the strong cords of Elliot’s throat.
“Let’s go upstairs. I can’t wait to get naked with you.”
Groping and kissing each other as they passed through the hallway, Win pushed him against the wall, and several pictures fell down. “Damn, I’m sorry.” He bent to pick them up. “Shit. I’m sorry the glass broke on this one.” He looked more closely. “This is your sister, right? I remember you telling me she was older.”
A dark-haired young woman gazed back at him from beneath the cracked glass. The shape of the face and eyes resembled Elliot’s.
Elliot took the picture from him. “Yeah. That’s Claire.” He hung the frame up on the hooks. “She was fifteen years older than me.”
“I’m sorry. You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to or if it’s too painful.”
The mood had shifted from playful and erotic to tense. Head bowed, Elliot left his side and sat on the bottom step. “I mean, I mentioned her a little before, but it’s not something I like to talk about. She’s been gone a long time.”
Win settled beside him. “I’m sorry. But if you ever do want to talk about it, I’m here to listen. I understand.”
“You do?” Elliot rested his head on Win’s shoulder with a sigh. “That’s funny, because I don’t understand it myself.”
