They stared at one another, like they had on the dance floor, mesmerized. His lips tingled with the memory of the kiss Dash had stolen in the dark.
A kiss Emerson wanted to sample again, though he wasn’t sure he’d get the chance.
Dash was acting cagey. Even after that kiss, Emerson sensed he wouldn’t own up to the hunger they both clearly shared. It was one thing to steal a kiss in the dark, but it was a completely different thing to own up to it in the light. The expression on Dash’s face reminded him of the one that night in the office—denial, pure and simple.
Emerson watched as Dash’s gaze swept the room back and forth like he was a captive animal searching for escape. At the same time, his eyes returned to Emerson over and over again, dark and full of need. A need Emerson felt bone deep. He had to tempt Dash to stay. Otherwise, he’d regret it as much as he’d regretted leaving Dash’s office.
“Where else are you going to go?” Emerson said, keeping his voice low and even.
Dash was silent for a few seconds, his gaze landing everywhere but on Emerson. “Don’t know. Not here.” He winced. “Anywhere but here.”
Emerson took a couple of slow steps forward. “Am I really that bad a host?”
Dash scoffed but didn’t answer. He backed up a couple of steps, getting ever closer to the door.
“It’s dangerous out there,” Emerson murmured, moving another step closer.
Dash rolled his eyes. “I’maccustomedto danger. I’ve been on missions that make tonight look like nothing.”
“Tonightwasn’tnothing. I’m used to taking risks myself—and I felt your heart beating just as fast as mine,” Emerson said. “Tucked close in that doorway, chest-to-chest, it’s all I could feel.”
It wasn’tallhe’d felt. Having the man’s body up against him had seemed so right.
“Tonight wasn’t a mission. It wasn’t something either of us trained for. We were caught off guard in a private moment,”Emerson said. “And there’s no reason for you to put yourself back in that danger again when staying here’s an option.”
Emerson paused, the sound of pelting rain indicating it had yet to let up. “Unless you enjoy being soaking wet.”
He took another measured step closer.
The look in Dash’s eyes swung between ready to bolt—and desperate to continue what they’d started on the dance floor.
“Stay here. Where it’s safe… and dry.” Emerson took one step closer. “I promise no harm will come to you tonight.”
“You can’t promise that,” Dash said, his voice thick with emotion. “Dry, sure, but it’snotsafe.”
“You’re safe with me,” Emerson replied. He grinned. “I don’t bite. Not hard, anyway.”
Dash glared at him.
“Too soon to crack a joke?” Emerson said.
“Do you realize what would’ve happened if we’d been caught?” Dash asked. It sounded more like an accusation than a question.
“I’mwell awareof the risks.”
“Yet you continue to go. Often enough to know the escape routesverywell. Why risk it over and over again?”
Emerson searched Dash’s face a second, trying to bottle the irritation rising. “Why not?”
“I think you can come up with a better answer than that,” Dash said.“Why… do you put yourself in danger like that when you don’t have to?”
“My answer hasn’t changed,” Emerson snapped. “Whyshouldn’tI go there? I put my life on the line every godsdamned day for this province. Seventeen years of running into buildings everyone else is running out of. Yet the laws of this province make a man like me a criminal. Not a hero.A criminal.”
Dash’s shoulders lowered, his focus fully on Emerson.
“The people I’ve saved? They’d shun me if they knew. The Guard? They’d throw me under the fucking prison.” Emerson released a slow breath, trying to calm down. “You know who wouldn’t treat me like that? The men inside that club. They see me exactly as I am—and there’s not much on this Earth that feels better than being seenandbeing accepted.”
Dash watched him intently but said nothing. There was perhaps a flicker of understanding in his eyes, but Emerson couldn’t be sure his words made any impact.
