“When’s the last time you were with a woman?”
Magnus’s gaze shot to his, and Trey saw a glitter of amusement there.
Damn it.
“Is that case-related, too?” Magnus’s teasing tone did little to loosen the knot forming in Trey’s stomach.
He took a drink of his tea, looked outside.
“You do the math,” Magnus said, his voice low. “I haven’t been with anyone but you since … since the first time we were together. I haven’t had a lot of time for dating. I spend every waking moment at the camp. I’ve dedicated the last couple of years to growin’ the business and to … you.”
Trey couldn’t help it, he looked over at Magnus.
“If you’re askin’ about before then…” Magnus smiled. “I honestly don’t know. I don’t dwell much on the past.”
That shouldn’t have made him feel better, but it did.
“You want the God’s honest truth, Trey?”
Trey swallowed, nodded.
Magnus leaned toward him, met his stare. “I’m attracted to Ava. I’ve never touched her, but I’ve wanted to.”
Trey felt a knot forming in his stomach.
“But she’s not the only one I think about when I fantasize about her.”
Trey’s heart galloped, and he found he couldn’t look away.
“I think about the three of us,” Magnus whispered. “I think about how hot it would be if the three of us were together.”
Trey’s cock swelled as the image formed in his head. He’d never been with a woman before, never had much attraction to any. He wouldn’t deny there’d been something mesmerizing about Ava, but he figured that had been based purely on his concern for her when he’d met her.
“Does that repulse you?” Magnus asked.
The image faded from his mind, and Trey focused on Magnus, then blurted the truth. “No.”
He saw the shock that flashed in Magnus’s gaze. Luckily, one of the servers came by, delivered their food, then moved on to clear off an empty table nearby. It was enough of a distraction for the subject to die off, leaving them in silence to eat. Trey didn’t hesitate, scarfing down his meal as much to sate his hunger as to keep from going down this path with Magnus.
“Ava likes bookstores,” Magnus said when they were both nearly finished.
“Are you talkin’ Barnes and Noble? Half Price Books?”
Magnus shook his head. “The independent ones. There’s one in downtown Round Rock she likes.”
“We’re not too far from there.” He glanced at his watch. “It’s Sunday, so they’ll probably close early, but we’ll swing by. Maybe we’ll get lucky. Anywhere else?”
“No. She usually came to the camp and helped out with the dogs,” Magnus said, tone solemn now. “I told her I’d hire her whenever she was ready, but she thought I was joking. I wasn’t.”
Once again, Trey could see the concern on Magnus’s face, knew he was worried. He had every right to be based on the information they had. It didn’t sound to him like Ava was one to go off on her own or to hide out from her friends, and no one knew where she was.
It wasn’t looking good, and the grim outlook was starting to weigh on him.
*
MAGNUS DIDN’T BOMBARDTREY WITH QUESTIONS DURINGthe drive to the bookstore. Instead, he spent the time thinking about where Ava might go, all the while, in the back of his mind, that niggling feeling was still there, the one that told him Ava was dead, that Harrison had killed her.
He was doing his best not to succumb to the negative thoughts, telling himself Ava needed him to be optimistic because she could still be alive. Unfortunately, that was easier said than done.
