Too keyed up to sleep, he got out of bed and went to the bathroom to shower. Harper was waiting when he opened the glass door. “It rang a few more times.”
He dried off and walked naked into the bedroom. Figuring the fun was over for a while, he put on a fresh pair of briefs and shorts. “And I’m still not going to answer it.”
“There are several voice mails.”
“Thanks for the info, Detective. I sense you think I should talk to my mother. Do you know the last time I did, she told me it was time to end my little experiment of gayness and come home and be normal?”
Harper winced, and to Colson’s shock, held him tight. The last thing he would’ve expected was for Harper Rose, hardass detective, to be soft-hearted. Not that he was complaining. Colson sank into Harper’s broad chest.
“I’m sorry.”
“Do you? Think I should talk to her, I mean?”
“I’m not the right person to ask.” Harper’s voice rumbled through him. “I got along with my mother. She never said a negative word about my being gay.”
“You’re lucky.”
Harper stiffened, and laughter that was anything but humorous burst from his lips. “Oh yeah, I am one lucky son of a bitch. You have no idea.”
Colson cupped his jaw. “Care to talk about it? I happen to be a good listener.”
Harper kissed him hard, leaving him breathless, his mouth tingling. “Not on your life. I didn’t drag you away from writing your bestseller to talk.”
Colson rubbed up against Harper’s rapidly swelling erection. “Well, you’re better than my friend Hogan. That’s who I was with when you texted.”
“Oh, yeah?” Harper eased off his briefs and shorts while kissing his neck. “And you left him for me?”
“Yeah.” Colson threw back his head and hissed with pleasure as Harper took their full cocks in his hand and began to pump them. “Can you imagine wanting to be sitting in the park all afternoon watching a bunch of kids run around instead of here with you?”
Harper stopped, his lust-filled gaze turning flat. “I have to go.”
Colson blinked and rubbed his face. “What? Why? I thought—”
“Wrong. Whatever you were thinking was totally wrong.”
Harper pulled on his clothes and left him standing in the middle of the bedroom, wondering what the hell happened. The door slammed, and Colson had a sinking feeling it was the last time he’d be seeing Harper Rose.
Chapter Sixteen
“Harper, you want a drink? Harper?” Luis kicked his foot. “What’s going on? You’ve been in a funk all week.”
They were in the park with David, sitting in a shady corner. It was late Saturday afternoon, and he hadn’t stopped thinking of that disastrous last meeting with Colson.
“I’m fine. Just busy. And I’ll take one of those club sodas.” He took the ice-cold can from Luis and opened it.
“You’re not busy at work. You’ve been home at a normal time every night. With the same sad-sack face, I might add.”
“I said it’s nothing.”
Luis drank some of his soda and held David’s juice box for him to take a drink. “Well, I had an interesting week.”
“Yeah?” Harper drank more club soda. Could he have been so wrong about Colson? Luis had even said he was kind to David and treated him well. Maybe he’d overreacted. There was no doubt he was overly sensitive about David, and when Colson had mentioned not wanting to be in the park, all he could think of was Ronnie, and he wouldn’t, couldn’t, let himself be with another man who pretended to care.
And yet Colson had texted him twice during the week, asking if they could talk.
I’d really appreciate it, Harper. Please?
Bastard that he was, Harper ignored Colson’s pleading.
