“Why are you asking?”
“Why are you answering a question with a question?” Jericho shook his head. “But, for old times’ sake, let me answer. I’m asking because I want to be sure I don’t accidentally out you. If you’re not acknowledging past indiscretions, I should make sure I keep my mouth shut about them.”
Wade was closer now, although Jericho couldn’t remember having seen him actually shift his feet. Shit, maybe Jericho had been the one to move.
“And that’s the only reason you’re thinking about this right now?” Wade raised an eyebrow, making his disbelief clear.
“What, I can only have one reason at a time? I can’t have multiple motivations?”
“You can,” Wade said. “You can want lots of things at the same time.”
There probably wasn’t any extra emphasis onwant, but Jericho felt it anyway, and he totally lost track of the conversation. He’d been asking a question, hadn’t he? Had Wade answered? “Gay,” he blurted out. “We were talking about whether you’re gay. Out. Did you want to confirm or deny, or do you want me to just keep blundering around, not knowing what to tell people when they ask?”
Wade’s smile wasn’t quite a smirk, but it was pretty damn close. “Are a significant number of people asking you about that? Is it a pressing concern for them?”
“They aren’t alwaysdirectquestions,” Jericho admitted. Wade was even closer now, close enough that Jericho’s brain, not a smoothly running machine to begin with, had stalled almost completely.
“But you feel like you should have an answer,” Wade said calmly. It was always dangerous when Wade seemed helpful and understanding. Hell, it was always dangerous when he seemed to beanything.
“I guess so,” Jericho said. “Yeah, I should have an answer.” Wade was right there in front of him, and his gray eyes were warm, his lips smiling, his body balanced and ready, alert without being tense.
“Okay,” Wade agreed slowly. “Next time someone asks you? You can tell them this.” Then his hand was somehow on the back of Jericho’s neck, confident and warm, totally natural, as if this was something they did whenever they felt like it. He pulled, only a little, and Jericho’s body responded without any conscious direction.
They were close to the same height, so there was no stretching, no bending. It was a meeting in the middle, an easy compromise they never seemed to be able to find in any real-world situation. Wade’s lips were warm and the kiss was almost sweet. There were no demands, no challenges, and no damned confusion. Just Wade, and just Jericho.
Jericho’s hand gripped Wade’s waist and dragged him in more tightly. This was a terrible idea for so many different reasons, but none of them mattered, not in comparison to the perfection of the kiss.
They staggered a little, but neither of them was willing to pull away far enough to regain their balance. The kitchen wasn’t large, and they stumbled into the wall pretty quickly, Wade’s back against it while Jericho pressed in against him. Impossible, infuriating, inescapable Wade, and Jericho had him now, had him controlled and contained. The kiss deepened, both of them exploring and reclaiming territory that they’d both once known so well.
One of Wade’s hands tangled in Jericho’s hair, the other found his ass and dragged him in. So many years apart, and still this all justworked.
They both jumped when Jericho’s cell phone rang, vibrating between his ass and Wade’s hand. “Leave it,” Wade ordered, and he leaned forward, chasing Jericho’s mouth.
“That’s Kay’s ring.” Jericho felt like he was swimming through a fog, like he was just waking up and wasn’t yet sure what was real and what was imagined. “She doesn’t call unless she needs me.”
And somehow he found the strength to pull himself away. Wade stood there against the wall, lips swollen and slick with their shared spit, eyes darker and deeper than they’d ever been before, and Jericho still managed to fumble his phone out and answer it.
“What’s up?” he asked, sounding only a little breathless.
“We need you at the station,” Kayla said. “We’ve got an explosion at the Mountaineer headquarters, and the Canadian cops called to let us know they tracked a shipment to the border and saw it go across. We haven’t picked anyone up yet on our side, but the feds are out hunting, and they want local support. Things are going down tonight, Jericho. I need you here.”
“I’m babysitting.” He’d told her that earlier, but couldn’t be surprised if it had slipped her mind. “I’d like to come in, but I can’t leave the kids alone.”
“Megan Stewart is on her way; she’s Garron’s niece, and she’s great with kids. You leave them with her and get in here, okay?”
Shit. Nikki would kill him, of course, but— He froze, and stared at Wade, who was looking back at him. Waiting. Watching as Jericho put the pieces together.
“I’ll be in as soon as I can,” he said into the phone, and ended the call.
Wade was still waiting. He didn’t appear apprehensive, exactly. Nothing so human. But he seemed expectant.
“Why’d you really come by here tonight?” Jericho asked, trying to keep his voice level.
Wade’s smile was a horrible mix of sweetness, regret, and ironic detachment. “I can have multiple motivations, Jay.”
The knock at the front door was the only thing that kept Jericho from punching the duplicitous bastard in the face.
