I tried not to stare too openly as he licked a smear of grease from his lips, but it didn’t stop me from wondering what other talents he had. “That was a pretty good guess.”
We locked eyes across the table, and it felt like he was looking for something inside me. If he’d asked me to open my soul to him, I would have. He was so perfect, it hurt.
The warning flare went off in my head and I blinked. Only bad things would come from these thoughts. “Let me clean up, take a shower, and we can plan the rest of the day.”
He cleared his throat and took a sip of coffee. “Sounds like a good plan. I’ll go shower first.”
I got up before him, but I swear he angled his body away from me as he left the kitchen. Telling myself it was just a simple case of trying to make people happy with food, I tried to deny the deeper feeling simmering inside me. The mission had to come first.
The problem was these troublesome feelings refused to go away.
After cleaning up from breakfast, I retreated to my bedroom and pulled out my phone, fingers hovering over the screen. I needed to get these spiraling feelings for Orion under control.
Taking a deep breath, I tapped my sister Brenda’s number and waited.
“Hey little bro, how’s the big hush hush mission going? Have you perfected your gay James Bond image yet?”
I grimaced. Brenda was in rare form today. If I wasn’t so stressed, I’d have snarked back and asked if last night’s date was hung. “Good, no, and I need your advice.”
“Wow,” she said with a dramatic pause. “Seven words to get serious. That might be a record for any conversation we’ve had. What’s wrong? Are you in trouble?”
Her fear for my safety embodied her other endearing quality. She’d always protected me, even when I didn’t need it anymore. “I said I need advice, not saving.”
“When you need help with a case you call Dad. If you’re having guy trouble you call Mom. You callmewhen you got yourself in trouble and don’t want them to find out.”
She wasn’t entirely accurate, but it was close. “I’ve kinda got a thing for Orion.”
“You’ve got a man crush on Orion Freaking Blake?”
I moved the phone from my ear and slapped it back. “Geez, B. Shout it louder. Mom and Dad didn’t hear you in Europe.”
“What you mean is you don’t want Orion to hear you’re crushing on him.” She mocked me with her laughter.
I got off the bed and started to pace the room. “It’s more than a crush. It’s intense. He beat me to a pulp yesterday, and all I could think of was how fucking hot he looked standing over me when it was over.”
“Whoa. Hold on. He attacked you?”
“No, wait?—”
“Where are you? I’m going to get Ajax, Hector, and Perseus and we’ll be there in less than an hour.”
“Stop!” The problem with being the baby of the family was everyone thought they needed to save me. “We were training. He got carried away and stopped as soon as he realized I was winded.”
“Does Dad know?”
She was still too amped up. “No, and you’re not going to tell him. Or Ajax, Hector, or Perseus. I don’t need that kind of help.”
“So he beats you sore, and you lick his hand like a hurt puppy.”
I knew this was what I’d get from her, so I fought down my irritation. “Normally, I’d laugh with you, B, but this is serious. What the fuck is wrong with me?”
“There’s nothing wrong with you, Habibi. Have you seen the guy? I’d climb that tree any day of the week.”
“Brenda!” I couldn’t stop the laugh that bubbled up, her trademark crassness simultaneously horrifying and comforting me. “Could you be serious for like, two seconds?”
“Oh, I’m dead serious,” she said cheerfully. “There are only a few angels who play exclusively on your team that I wish played on mine, or at least both. You’ve got good taste, little brother.”
Chuckling under my breath, I shook my head. I called her because she’d inject some levity, but she also gave me good advice. “That’s just it, I can’t act on it. Not now. It would jeopardize everything.”
