Nathan faltered. He didn’t want to admit it, but his last interaction with Sloan had left a sour taste in his mouth. “I hope so. Even if he has an agenda of some kind, the fact that he’s letting me try means I have a chance to show him that things can be different. I need to at least try to win him over, for all our sakes. That’ll take time and careful, strategic steps. Sleeping with a halfling didn’t factor into my plans at all.”
“As I understand, it rarely does.”
Nathan’s mouth twitched against his will, and Storm’s beaming smile made him feel very much like he’d just lost this whole argument.
“You can be stubborn about it for now,” Storm agreed, if reluctantly. “But just so you know, I’m not giving up. And eventually I’ll lose my patience.” It might’ve sounded threatening to anyone else, but Nathan didn’t feel intimidated. He didn’t think that was Storm’s intention, anyway.
“What happens then?” he asked curiously.
Storm shrugged lightly. “I don’t know. Tie you up until you admit you want me, too, maybe.”
Heat licked up and down Nathan’s spine at the thought, and he was certain his face flushed. If last night was intense, how much better would it feel to be tied up,completelyat Storm’s mercy?
He shook himself. “You can’t force me to do what you want me to do,” Nathan said.
“I don’t want to force you at all, sunshine, about anything. There’s a difference between forcing you to do something and getting you to admit you wanted to do it all along.” He paused, his gaze steady and confident on the side of Nathan’s face. “You want me. You just aren’t ready to admit you want me. That’s okay.”
Nathan ignored the curl of warmth at the return of the ‘sunshine’ endearment.
They drove in silence for a while after that. Driving was comfortingly familiar. The motions, the mental focus. Storm was quiet in the passenger seat, his aviators covering his eyes and the car’s visor pulled down. He shielded his eyes with his hands, also, and Nathan wondered how much the sun truly bothered him. Part of him wanted to ask, but he was afraid talking in any way would wind up making him lose more ground in this strange tug of war.
Halfway to the Rink, Storm pointed at a building on the side of the road.
“Stop there, let’s grab coffee.”
Coffee sounded great. He could use the warmth and the caffeine, but when he pulled into the parking lot, he realized there was no drive-thru window.
“No worries. I know what you like. I’ll run in and get it. You just wait here,” Storm said, so Nathan parked and let him go.
He stared despondently out the window. There was a concrete drainage ditch beyond the parking lot, protected by a rusted chain-link fence. It had rained just a few days ago, but he couldn’t see the water from here. Scraggly bushes grew on the other side of it, obscuring the next parking lot from view.
Would that he could turn his brain off for a while. Between plaintive thoughts about the unfairness of his situation with Storm, he saw the body. The dark cavity of the boy’s chest, the streaks of old blood on the plastic bag, the ashen gray color of his skin. They had to learn what had caused it. How had he become possessed? Could it happen to anyone? A shudder rolled down his spine at the thought of that happening to someone he cared about. The horror that poor kid must’ve felt just before he died, having no idea what was happening to him.
The car door opened, startling him from his miserable spiral. Coffee and leather filled the car as Storm sat down, handing him a cardboard cup. It smelled…incredible.
“What is this?” he asked, sniffing it. Sweet, creamy, and steaming hot.
“White chocolate mocha. You could use the sugar and fat. It’ll help. Just drink it.”
He’d never ordered anything like this in his life. It always seemed too self-indulgent. But Storm was right. Maybe it would help clear the cobwebs from his mind and settle his stomach.
He took a sip as he backed out of the parking spot, and it took all he had not to moan at the taste. At the risk of scalding his tongue, he took another, larger sip. The coffee cup never left his hand as he drove toward the Rink.
Maybe indulging sometimes wasn’t so bad.
Chapter11
Storm
Storm wasdownright smug with satisfaction. Nathan liked the coffee so much he didn’t put it down until it was empty, and he seemed to perk up as he drank it. He didn’t know why the man denied himself these little pleasures, but Storm intended to give them to him. Coffee was just the beginning.
The others were all at the Rink when they arrived. Nathan blew out a breath as they emerged from the car, and Storm rounded it, lighting a cigarette and tugging Nathan to a halt when he tried to move toward the building.
“What?” he asked impatiently, glancing between the Rink and Storm.
“Wait for me.”
Nathan shot him a frown. “Don’t smoke,” he said pointedly.
