Even if hedidwant it, Dash might fight the desire tooth and nail against his touch.
He didn’t look like he was fighting too hard earlier.
Emerson let out a slow breath, desire warring against logic.
“You’ve gotten this far. Are you really going to chicken out now?”
Emerson eyed Dash from his vantage point in the shadows. He wasn’t even looking up from the laptop his hands were feverishly typing over. When his hands finally stilled and his gaze lifted, he locked eyes with Emerson.
That look was a sucker punch to the gut.
Emerson had walked right into the lion’s den and wasn’t sure he’d make it out alive.
Dash’s handsshook so badly, he had to hide them in his lap so the alpha couldn’t see. Why did it have to behimwho showed up? He hadn't yet recovered from his last encounter with Emerson Walker.
“If I were in your shoes, I’d be questioning why I was here at all,” Emerson said after a couple of hesitant steps forward. The light just washed over his features, leaving him partially in shadow.
It was enough light for him to get another delicious peek. Dash leaned back in his highbacked leather office chair, his lids drooping a bit as he looked his fill. “Then tell me…whatare you doing here?”
“I wish I fucking knew,” Emerson muttered, dragging his gaze from Dash’s to eye the carpeted floor.
“Checking to make sure I’m not the enemy?” It was more than that and they both knew it, but the fuck if he was going to say what it really was.
Emerson’s gaze whipped up, and Dash had to hold back a gasp from the intensity of those piercing amber eyes. His heartbeat quickened while his skin suddenly felt too tight. The urge to close the distance between them and bury his nose in the crook of Emerson’s neck was difficult to fight. The scent he’d caught earlier in the day filled the room, growing thicker by the second, but it wasn’t enough to inhale it from across the room. He needed to lean into the source andbathein it until Emerson’s scent became his own.
“Who said that’s what I’m doing?” Emerson asked, his eyelids growing heavier.
Silence hung for a couple of seconds, Dash struggling to get enough air into his lungs without taking in too much of the alpha’s scent.
“Considering your brother Randall just… ran a background check on me.” He paused enough to appreciate the look of shock crossing Emerson’s face. “I think we both know that’s exactly what’s going on here. Making sure I’m legit.” He shrugged. “It’s the first thing I’d do.”
Emerson didn’t reply. The corners of his mouth curled upward, but just barely, as if he fought a smile with everything within him.
“I was pretty sure a visit was coming next,” Dash said. “I figured it would be Harrison.” He paused, forcing a cold smile to calm his raging nerves. “What comes next? An interrogation?Torture?”
The slick smile begging to come out finally spread across Emerson’s handsome face. “I guess that depends on which one gets you off more.”
Heat burned in Dash’s cheeks.“Neitherare really my thing.”
Why did he suddenlywantit to be his thing? Sensual torture at the hands of Emerson Walker didn’t sound like the worst thing in the world.
Though, itwouldbe the worst thing in the world. Emerson could spell the disastrous end to his entire life.
“That blush makes me think itcouldbe your thing… if done right,” Emerson said, a raw edge to his voice that made Dash clench his jaw.
“What blush?” Dash lied. “I don’t blush.”
Emerson took another step into the light.“Liar.”
Dash glared at the alpha for a couple of seconds. “If you came to ensure that your brother and his mates were in good hands, they are. No harm will come to any of them.”
“Mates?Cassidy is his beta. Raimy’s simply a guest in their apartment,” Emerson said. “Since he lost his due to the fire.”
“Sure,” Dash said. “Whatever you say.”
“And you think you know better than I do?”
Dash searched Emerson’s face. Was the guy that clueless or was he protecting his twin’s privacy? He sensed the three were in a polyamorous relationship, and if that was their thing, he wouldn’t judge. There was no point arguing over a guess,though. Not when there was something stronger he needed to fight against.
