“This is more important,” he said. “You’remore important.”
God, now that he’d said one sappy thing, it was like the floodgates were open and fuck knew what he’d say next. But if it got Dave’s hand turning his face toward him and a gentle kiss on his lips, he wouldn’t complain. Especially when that gentle kiss contained a hint of tongue.
“Definitely more important,” he said, when Dave drew back.
That got him pulled carefully onto Dave’s lap and then he was leaning down and kissing Dave, tender and deep. Something was different, and for an instant, Christian wasn’t sure about this—it felt as if there were no barriers between them, an openness that had him wanting to do something about it to protect himself.
But as Dave made happy little turned-on noises in the back of his throat, he couldn’t hold on to why he was worried.
By the time they finally stopped kissing, the half-moon was rising and the stars were beginning to come out. It was pretty dark up here, so much so they could hardly see one another. That was probably a good thing because what Dave said next made it clear he still wasn’t done talking.
“I guess we should talk about what we do next.”
Christian wriggled slightly on his lap, hoping that would distract Dave from this whole talking thing. It got him a light slap on his ass, which at another time might have been nice. As it was, it was clear Dave wasn’t to be distracted, damn it.
“I didn’t know you were that unhappy in Elk Ridge,” Dave said. He sounded guilty.
Christian sighed. He moved off Dave, being careful not to jolt his leg, and sat beside him, their shoulders pressed together as they looked out into the darkness.
“It’s all changed,” he said at last. “It wasours.And now there’s going to be strangers there, poking about, asking questions, changing everything.”
“For a while,” Dave agreed. “But once the whole thing about Jesse has blown over, it’ll go back to how it was.”
“It won’t,” he said roughly.
“Why not?” Dave asked.
After the silence had stretched so long Christian didn’t know how to break it, Dave leaned further in, his shoulder pressing steady and warm against Christian’s.
“Talk to me,” he said.
Christian bit back his automatic response that he wasn’t some crystal-wearing hippie who believed trees had feelings, because this was what Dave wanted from him. He might have to unlearn every single lesson of his life about keeping himself guarded, but if it put the look on Dave’s face that he’d seen earlier, he’d try to do it.
But not this. He didn’t—he couldn’t—notthis.
Dave’s silence, patient and steady, pressed closer than any question ever could, until the words tore out of him, his voice rough. “Tristan’s fucking mate. I can’t be around him. Ican’t,Dave.”
Dave was very still beside him. “Why?” he asked at last, the way Christian had known he would but prayed he wouldn’t. “Colby’s trying, you know that.”
There was no reason to say it. It wouldn’t help. It wasn’t even about Colby, not really. Except that it was, and it came out without his permission.
“But he’s still enemy pack. He’s still one ofthem.”
“He saved Tristan,” Dave said.
“Why? He never saved himself, but he savedTristanwhen he didn’t even know him.”
Those fucking floodgates—he had to find a way to close them again or there’d be nothing left of him. Hurt and pain were pouring out in hot, angry, furious words, and he couldn’t shut the fuckup.
“Why? What is it Tristan’s got that I—” His voice cracked. He bit the words off, swallowed the rest.
He didn’t mean to move, but he was on his feet, pacing away from Dave, his heart crashing against his ribs like it was trying to break free. He needed air, distance, something to punch.
“I don’t know why I said that,” he muttered. “Forget it.”
He stopped with his back to Dave. Far off in the distance he could see the lights of the town. Beyond that, there were other clusters of lights and the occasional sweep of a car’s headlamps far, far away. But up here it was cold and dark, and he couldn’t stop shivering.
“Christian?” Dave’s voice was low and compelling, and Christian knew he’d said too much already. Shown too much. He shook his head, then turned around to face Dave.
