“You’ve had a busy day,” Wade said quietly as Jericho approached the apartment building. Wade was leaning against the brick wall, smiling like someone who knew secrets. Someone who knewJericho’ssecrets.
“You too, I expect. Arrested, and all.”
“Not arrested. Brought in for questioning.”
“In cuffs?”
“Nothing wrong with handcuffs, Jay.” Wade smiled, slow and lazy, and Jericho felt it in places he shouldn’t.
He needed to maintain control of this conversation. Or at least of himself. “And you’re here now because Nikki called you?”
“I’m here because I heard you were visiting old friends, and I thought maybe I could be on your list.”
“You heard—” Jericho stared at him. “Ijustleft the garage! You heard about that already?”
“I heard about it as soon as you arrived, Jay.” Wade seemed disappointed in Jericho’s slow-wittedness. “Scotty Hawk and I are tight, remember? And he called me when he saw you. Thought you were looking for me. You can imagine how disappointed I was to hear that wasn’t true.”
“So you came over to—what? What are we doing here, Wade?”
Wade leaned in a little, and his voice was lower than before as he said, “We can do whatever you want, Jay.” Then he straightened before adding, “But we should probably do it inside? In private?”
No, they absolutely shouldn’t. There was no way it was a good idea for Jericho to be anywhere private with Wade, especially not with this suggestive, seductive version of the man. So there was no reason at all for Jericho to unlock the front door of the building and push it open, leaving room for Wade to move inside.
They walked up to the second floor in silence. Jericho was more aware than he should have been of how he moved, of what Wade was seeing from his place a few steps behind. Damn it, this was a terrible idea.
And as soon as he got inside the door of his unit, he made things worse. “Beer?”
“Sure,” Wade agreed absently. He was gazing around at the beige walls, the brown furniture that had come with the apartment, the almost complete lack of personalization. As Jericho twisted the lids off two bottles of beer, Wade grinned. “Damn it, Jay, this place matches your uniform. Did you plan that?”
“Lucky coincidence.” Jericho handed one of the bottles over, and as Wade took it their fingers brushed. Of course they did. As if Wade would have passed up that opportunity for another little poke, another exploration of Jericho’s defenses. And Wade clearly noticed how Jericho pulled away too quickly to be casual.
Wade didn’t even sip his beer, but Jericho took a healthy swig of his own, and then another. He needed to cool down, but the way Wade was watching him was having the opposite effect. Jesus Christ, this was a mess, a potential disaster, and Jericho couldn’t make himself do anything to stop it. He couldn’t make himselfwantto stop it.
When Wade shuffled a half step closer, Jericho didn’t move away. He stared at his beer bottle, took another swig, and swore at himself for acting like a hormone-addled teenager. Wade was right there, close enough to smell, close enough to practically feel the heat coming off his body, to see the stubble on his jaw and the glint in his beautiful damn eyes. But Jericho shouldn’t be affected by any of that. “What do you need, Wade?” he croaked.
“Need?” Wade smiled and took his first sip of beer. He was so maddeningly controlled. This situation would be easier to accept if Jericho wasn’t the only one losing his mind. And sure enough, Wade shook his head and said, “I don’t need anything from you, Jay.” He took a step backward then and raised his eyebrows. “Which is a good thing, or I’d have been totally fucked these last fifteen years, wouldn’t I?”
There was a bite to the words, an accusation. Jericho hadn’t just left Mosely; he’d left Wade, and clearly Wade hadn’t forgotten that. “So, what do youwant, then?” But maybe that was too desperate a question. “Why are you here?”
Wade took another sip of beer, and Jericho couldn’t look away from his lips pursing to meet the bottle. Which meant he got to see them turn up into a patented Wade smirk. “Been a while?”
Fuck, maybe that was it. Jericho wasn’t obsessed with Wade specifically, he was just horny in general. He hadn’t been seeing anyone in LA, so his hookups had been a bit randomly spaced, and then Mosely was a fucking gay desert, as far as he could tell. “A while,” Jericho agreed.
“Yeah, I could tell. It’s like you don’t know how to be a host anymore. You must have had Kayla over? Or some of your sheriff’s department buddies?”
Jericho’s brain stuttered for a moment, then caught up. Wade was talking about general hosting duties, not sex. At least, on the surface. That was the straw he’d laid over the pit he’d dug to trap unwary prey. Goddamn typical Wade. Jericho might not have any self-control, but surely he still had a tiny bit of pride stored away somewhere? He pulled himself together, looked Wade in the eyes, and said, “Sorry, I wasn’t expecting anyone. Didn’t get my baking done this week. All I’ve got to offer is beer.”
“Don’t sell yourself short. You’ve got lots more than that to offer.”
But Jericho’s pride held. “No, just beer. And a quick conversation, if there’s something you wanted to say. So, was there a reason for the visit?”
Wade’s sad expression was too exaggerated to be real. “I wanted to make sure you were okay. And maybe to offer a little friendly advice.”
“Thanks for the concern. What’s the advice?”
Wade sighed. “I’m not sure if I should give it to you, or if saying it will make you turn around and do what I saynotto do.”
“That is quite a problem you’re facing. Let me know when you’ve got it figured out.”
