Bishop cocked his head. “Nothing from SCPD. I haven’t asked, though.”
“Don’t ask. Just if you happen to hear anything, I’d appreciate a heads-up,” Darius said. “It might be related to a job. Might not be.”
“Sure,” Bishop said, and then they fell into silence. After a few minutes, he unmuted the game. The Woodcocks were ahead by three.
Darius drank his beer and tried not to feel like a piece of shit. Bishop was one of the few people Darius trusted with both his life and his career. He had principles—impressive, for an ex-cop. Made Darius want to be a bit more discerning about his own jobs.
Which was why Darius didn’t like lying to him. His current job had nothing to do with the Viper at all.
11
until his lungs hurt
Kit hadn’t expected James to be telling the truth about the whole seducing him properly thing. And he hadn’t expected James to cooperate with Kit’s insistence they weren’t dating.
But for the next week, all James did was kiss him, when he left for work or returned home.
Okay.Kissseemed like an understatement, when James devoured him the way he did, searing Kit to the bone with every demanding touch. Making Kit ache every time he pulled away.
Still, lounging around the mansion was nice. Comfortable.
Maybe too comfortable. One morning, Kit woke up so itchy and short of breath, he could barely stop himself from clawing into his own arms. James would notice the marks. The pain wouldn’t help anyway.
Kit shoved his face into the pillow, inhaling James’s scent, until his lungs hurt. Then he rolled out of bed.
He needed to check the website, just to make sure everything was as it should be. But he wasn’t about to do that on a device James could check.
James was still downstairs eating breakfast on the couch when Kit descended. When Kit curled up in a nearby armchairwith coffee, James spoke before Kit could say anything. “Let’s have a date night tonight.”
Kit sipped his sugar-sweet coffee. He never ate much for breakfast, and unlike Bishop, James wasn’t pushy about feeding him. “Sure. What’s the plan?”
James always had a plan. “I wasn’t thinking anything fancy. Just a movie at home, maybe some wine. Popcorn.”
Kit stared. “That’s it?”
“Too low-key?” James moved to the arm of Kit’s chair, grinning down at him. “I can get symphony tickets if you prefer.”
“Low-key is good,” Kit said hastily. “It just sounds so… normal. On our first date, I was an accessory to murder.”
“I do other things with my life,” James protested. “I work, I play video games, I hang out with my friends, and I collect pretty things.” He tipped Kit’s chin up with his fingertips. “We can find someone to kill if you want something more exciting. I’m sure Bishop has a few active cases we can help with.”
“How sweet,” Kit said, deadpan.
James’s dimples flashed. “I just want to make you happy, babe.”
Kit ducked his head to hide his laughter. Fuck, this was fucked up. “A movie sounds nice. I don’t mind normal.” He hadn’t had a lot of it in his life. “Oh, could I get a ride to the mall? I wanted to get out of the house for a bit, maybe buy some new clothes.”
James cocked his head, smile freezing, like he was debating chaining Kit to his bed instead. Or like he was about to ask why Kit really wanted to go to the mall.
But if James saw any deception in Kit’s face, he didn’t react to it. “Sure, babe. I’ll drop you off on my way to work.”
Kit melted against the car door, pliant beneath James’s all-consuming kiss. Strong hands dug patterns into Kit’s hips, as if signing James’s name with bruises. Blood heating, Kit was tempted to forget the shopping trip and tumble into the backseat.
Though maybe a more remote parking spot would be better, unless they wanted a public indecency charge.
James pulled away, rubbing his thumb across Kit’s lower lip. He pulled a wallet from his pocket and handed it to Kit. “This card has a lot of money on it. The PIN is 2223. Buy whatever you want, but there’s one condition.”
Kit stared. “What’s the condition?” He didn’t need it—he had plenty of money from James already. But he was curious.
