Darius took his wrist—and buckled a black leather bracelet around it. “Is that comfortable?”
The band fit perfectly. Snug enough not to move around too much, but loose enough not to chafe. Even better, it wasn’t plain black leather like Kit assumed at first. A rainbow of paw prints encircled his wrist.
“It’s perfect.” Kit glanced up suspiciously. “Is this a tracking device?”
Darius laughed without shame. “Let me show you how it works. There are pressure sensors under the leather.” He sat next to Kit and leaned forward to tap his own wrist against the coffee table. “Tap twice in a row. Wait a second. Then tap again. Try it.”
God. This was the third tracking device on Kit’s body—and he liked it. He never thought surveillance could be so reassuring, not when he valued his privacy so desperately. But he wanted Darius to know where he was at every moment, just like James and Bishop.
Kit unfolded his legs so he could mimic Darius’s movements. Two taps, wait, one tap. On the third tap, Darius’s phone beeped sharply.
Darius turned off the alarm. “You can use that if you’re ever in trouble. Should be difficult to do on accident, but easy if you need it.”
“Do you think I’ll need it?”
“I’m not paranoid. Just prepared.” Darius ruffled Kit’s hair, then returned to the kitchen.
Kit’s phone buzzed again. Hyperaware of the new weight around his wrist, Kit swiped open the new message.
Holden:hey cutie ;) my friend’s throwing a big party next week. want to be my date?
Pressing his phone to his chest, Holden flopped back on his bed and waited. Patience was one of his few virtues, all the more admirable because he fought so hard for it sometimes. Today was easy though. He sent his darling an invitation, and until his darling replied, Holden would bask in sweet anticipation.
His apartment was in one of the shittier off-campus neighborhoods. Cheap enough that he could get away with not having a roommate. And perhaps most importantly? These ancient apartments were some of the only buildings in the greater San Corvo area that hadn’t upgraded their security systems recently.
Which meant that none of the cameras were owned by San Corvo Security. Holden knew every blind spot to get in and out of the building undetected.
Holden hadn’t known anything about San Corvo Security’s CEO when he picked the place, of course. James Zhou—billionaire, murderer, kill-stealer, and worst of all, dating Holden’s darling.
That all came up later. At the time, Holden just knew the difference between good cameras and bad cameras. All of the rest was a happy accident.
Fated.
Holden never used to believe in fate. He believed in messy humanity, and he believed in hunger. But maybe there was a touch of guiding magic in the universe after all.
Maybe not. In the end, it didn’t matter. Fate or accident, Kit belonged to Holden.
Even if Kit didn’t know it yet.
Actually, maybe Kit already knew. The way Kit clung to him during their kiss in the library. The way Kit let Holden mark him. Nothing that intensely sweet could be one-sided.
Soon, there would be no question of who Kit truly belonged to. Holden just had to be patient. Luckily, he was no stranger to controlling his obsessions. Even if his usual obsessions involved slightly more blood.
He turned his head on the pillow and eyed the door to the crawl space where he kept Marco’s fingerbones. They stopped entertaining him weeks ago. He should dispose of them discreetly soon.
Holden’s phone chimed over his heart. Patience rewarded. He swung himself up to sit against the pillows, savoring the precise answer he needed.
Darling:yes
Holden was ready to reply, because he had no intention of playing silly timing games with his darling, and no aversion toseeming too eager. But before he could shower the conversation with celebratory emojis, Kit texted again.
Darling:um except, ok this might be weird
Darling:can james come too?
Darling:it would still be a date
Darling:a date for you and me, that is. just with james also there
