“Nothing.” Daniel turned away, going back to his screen as Xavier left. “It’s nothing. This can’t be happening.” He muttered the last sentence mostly under his breath.
He kept muttering as he typed on his keyboard. It was wild watching him type with the claws extended on his hands, and Noel wondered if it was more comfortable with them out. When they’d been together in the past, Daniel had retracted them, a good thing since he’d had his hands all over Noel.
Fuck, he missed that.
The kiss they’d just shared had been just as explosive as it had been in the past. They had a strong connection he didn’t understand—he only knew that the banshee had stayed on his mind all this time, and touching him made Noel feel like anything was possible.
“I’d like for you to give me a chance, Daniel,” Noel said softly. “Like I said, I’ve missed you.”
“We barely know each other, so I don’t see how.”
Noel just shook his head. “Your anger at me after all this time completely contradicts what you’re saying. If we hadn’t gotten to know each other so well, neither of us would still be feeling this. And that kiss proved we still are. There’s something special here. Something I’ve never felt before in my life. I still need to explain what happened. Daniel, I don’t want to give up on what this could be.”
“Let’s just focus on finding that amulet.” Daniel didn’t look at him, just stared at one of his screens. “I’m…pissed, and I’ll need some time to work through that. You fucking lied to me.” He finally looked at Noel. “I know it was only three days, but weconnected on a level I’ve never experienced, and I can’t help but think you would have told me the truth if you’d felt that as well.”
“I did feel it.”
“Then why did it take you years to contact me?”
“There were reasons.” Noel leaned forward and placed his hand on Daniel’s thigh. He could tell this wasn’t the right time, could only hope Daniel would be open to talking later. “I never could get you out of my head. And I came back here not knowing if you’d be in a relationship. Just hoping you weren’t and that I could have a chance to make things right.”
“This is crazy,” Daniel muttered as he pushed Noel’s hand off his leg. “Just back off for now, okay? My emotions are all kinds of fucked up, and for a banshee, that’s not a good thing.”
“I’m aware.”
“Yeah, apparently you are. I still can’t believe you hid your ability from me.”
“It’s ingrained in me. If we’d been together longer, I would have told you.”
“And whose fault is that?”
“Mine. All mine.”
“You got that right.” He started tapping on his keyboard. “Let’s just get to work on that amulet, because fate is a bitch.”
Noel didn’t know what he meant by that, but he was happy to just sit here and work with Daniel. He’d get through to him. He had no choice.
Chapter Five
Daniel
Memories filled Daniel’s mind that night as he lay awake in his bed. One in particular standing out above others.
He was draped on top of Aaron, body sated, skin covered in sweat. He’d ridden the man hard, and he had to smile at the expression of utter bliss on Aaron’s face.
“We just keep getting better and better at that,” he breathed as he pressed kisses to Aaron’s collarbone and neck.
“You gotta be getting sore by now,” Aaron murmured as he squeezed Daniel closer.
Daniel clenched his ass and winced. “Yeah, a little. But there’s other stuff we can do.”
“Oh, yeah,” Aaron breathed. “Tell me more about yourself. I want to know everything.”
“You already know everything. I told you about my work, hobbies, favorite flavor of pie…”
“Mmm. I’m guessing you don’t have a boyfriend but is there a man on your radar?”
“No.”
